Gay bookstore receives second chance

The nation’s oldest gay bookstore is set to reopen after a recent closure due to financial difficulty. Giovanni’s Room, located in Philadelphia, is being reestablished by Philly AIDS Thrift which is an organization that already owns a thift store, whose profits go towards HIV/AIDS organizations.

Philly AIDS Thrift now has a two-year lease, and will continue to sell books from the shop as well as thift store items such as houseware and vintage clothing.

Giovanni’s Room, named for a James Baldwin 1956 novel chronicling a man questioning his sexual identity, has been open since 1973, and has been a resource and safe haven for Philadelphia’s LGBT community.