Historic Landmarks San Francisco

San Francisco’s Rarest Historic Landmarks

Beyond the Summer of Love

Photo by Angelica Irreno

Among more than 320 city-designated landmarks, only three institutions hold the rare distinction of being both official Historic Landmarks and Legacy Businesses, serving arts, culture, and community in San Francisco for over 30 years. These institutions stand as living history, capturing the very soul of the city.

This Ménage À Trois of unique San Francisco attractions are: City Lights Bookstore, The San Francisco Eagle, and the Gregangelo Museum, together representing Literature, Leather, and Love!

City Lights Bookstore

Founded in 1953 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights Bookstore invites visitors to wander the same narrow aisles where the Beat poets reshaped American literature. Its historic landmark designation honors not just the building, but the cultural revolution it sparked, making it one of the most iconic San Francisco bookstores and a global symbol of counterculture.

The San Francisco Eagle

Established in 1981 in SoMa, The San Francisco Eagle is the first leather LGBTQ historic landmark of Leather Culture, hosting vital fundraisers during the AIDS Crisis and remaining a cornerstone of community and activism. Their resilience and cultural impact are recognized across the city and beyond.

Photo by Anne Marie Kristoff

Why the Gregangelo Museum Stands Out

Unlike the extraordinary Eagle or City Lights, the Gregangelo Museum is an unfinished cultural legacy in motion.

Nestled in an unusual garden neighborhood far from the tourist corridors, this house-museum is also a stage, a canvas, and a kaleidoscopic immersive experience. Established in a 1920s residence and transformed by artist Gregangelo Herrera, it has thrived for over four decades as a hub of creativity, collaboration, and surreal storytelling.

With 27 distinct immersive installations, the Gregangelo Museum blends original architecture with fantastical design. Sixteen to twenty artists work within its mosaic-laden walls every week, continuing projects like the Global Mosaic Project, begun over 25 years ago in collaboration with True Mosaics Studio, making Landmark No. 318 a living mosaic among San Francisco’s historic landmarks.

It also serves as the headquarters of Velocity Arts & Entertainment, the production and event creators company that continues the legacy of their legendary entertainment work, crafting bespoke experiences for private and public commissions worldwide.

For those searching “immersive art experiences in SF” or “hidden San Francisco museums”, this landmark delivers something extraordinary.

A Legacy Business, A Living Landmark

To be a Legacy Business means to have endured, shaped, and served the city for at least 30 years, while being a Historic Landmark means official recognition of cultural and architectural significance. To be both is exceedingly rare.

That the Gregangelo Museum shares this rare distinction with City Lights Bookstore and The San Francisco Eagle, yet remains artist-driven and ever-changing, makes it extraordinary. Unlike a preserved monument, it is not finished, not static; it is alive.

Photo courtesy of  Haas-Lilienthal House,

SF Heritage & the Haas-Lilienthal House

The Haas-Lilienthal House, San Francisco Landmark No. 69 and a U.S. National Treasure, is one of the many significant Historic Sites in San Francisco. It serves as the headquarters and house museum for SF Heritage, the nonprofit dedicated to preserving the city’s architectural history. Since acquiring this opulent Queen Anne–style Victorian built in 1886, SF Heritage has hosted tours, programs, and events, embodying stewardship and community engagement.

The Gregangelo Museum is actively seeking creative collaboration with SF Heritage, bringing immersive performances to the Haas-Lilienthal House for special events, holidays, and teas, reimagining how a living landmark can engage the public, inspire, and delight.

Honoring All, Standing Singular

Together, City Lights Bookstore, The San Francisco Eagle, and the Gregangelo Museum form one of the most fascinating cultural trios in San Francisco’s history, each with its own legacy, yet all shaping the city’s identity.

And yet, even in that rarefied company, the Gregangelo Museum remains singular: not a monument to the past, but a living, collaborative work of art, evolving every week and offering locals and travelers alike one of the most unforgettable things to do in San Francisco.

Research sources:

• SF Cultural Heritage – Public platform for cultural heritage resources

• Citywide Cultural Resources Survey – Comprehensive survey of San Francisco’s cultural assets