Philly AIDS Thrift at Giovanni's Room

Giovanni's Room Bookstore is located on the corner of 12th and Pine Street in Philadelphia's Gayborhood. The main building was built in 1820, and the second building, which became part of the store in 1986, was built in the 1880s. The store was originally located on South Street and changed locations often in its first few years. It relocated to 345 South 12th Street in 1979. == Description ==

During its initial establishment, Giovanni's Room only had approximately 100 titles, which included works from notable queer authors such as James Baldwin, Gertrude Stein, and Willa Cather. A couple years later, the store would grow to over 15,000 titles dedicated towards not only gay men and women, but also feminist, transgender, and bisexual topics. Book categories include gay men and women biographies, nonfiction tell-alls, sex-safe books, and muscle magazines. Since becoming Philly AIDS Thrift at Giovanni's Room, the owners would then continue the legacy of the bookstore, while also sustaining their former business. Philly AIDS Thrift expanded their collection to include music, artwork, comics, clothing and much more. For their collection of books, Philly AIDS Thrift has 7,000 titles on shelves and a database of 48,000 works that are sold internationally, which contains queer books new and used alike. Former owner Ed Hermance stated, "In one year, we sold books to 88 bookstores in 17 countries," which include countries in Europe, as well as Australia, and New Zealand. ==History==

In August 1973, three Gay Activist Alliance (GAA) members, Tom Wilson Weinberg, Dan Sherbo and Bern Boyle, opened Giovanni's Room at 232 South Street. The store changed hands to lesbian activist and artist Pat Hill in September 1975. During Hill's time as owner of Giovanni's Room, she expanded what the store had to offer for lesbian and feminist works recommended by the community. In April 2014 the store's owner of 38 years, Ed Hermance, announced his retirement plans and closed the store on May 17, 2014. During the COVID, pandemic Giovanni's Room started focusing on e-commerce to remain open. By 2023 there was a surge in sales. ==References==