William Way LGBT Community Center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- 1315 Spruce Street. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States
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| Founded | 1975 |
|---|---|
| Type | LGBT Community Center |
| Location |
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Region served | Delaware Valley |
Key people | Board Co-Chairs, Sue Gildea & Kira Kinsman Executive Director Chris Bartlett |
| Website | http://www.waygay.org |
The William Way LGBT Community Center is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and nearby communities, located at 1315 Spruce Street in Philadelphia in the Gayborhood.[1]
Chris Bartlett was center's executive director starting in 2010, before stepping down, effective June 30, 2025.[2][3]
Art and notable architectural features
This community center was founded in 1975 as the Gay Community Center of Philadelphia. Organizers purchased its current building at 1315 Spruce Street in 1997; the center has owned it since local businessman Mel Heifetz paid off its mortgage in 2005.[4]
The western wall of the community center features Ann Northrup's block-long mural, "Pride and Progress", with images of LGBT citizens who have contributed to Philadelphia's cultural and intellectual life throughout history.[5]
Programs and services
The center's programs include an extensive library, and programs in peer counseling, senior services, education, and arts and culture.[6] The center also offers numerous twelve-step meetings throughout the day and night,[7] and opened the Arcila-Adams Trans Resource Center in 2019 to centralize resources for trans people in Philadelphia.[8]
In 2021, the center collaborated with HIV/AIDS healthcare provider Philadelphia FIGHT to provide COVID-19 vaccines to LGBTQ people in Philadelphia.[9]
The center houses the John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives, which collects and preserves local and regional LGBT documents and artifacts.[10] The archive is one of the most important collections of LGBTQ documents and artifacts in the United States.[10] Along with researchers from the ONE Archives in Los Angeles, archivists from the John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives have been searching for unidentified men photographed at a gay wedding held in 1957.[11] The search, which began in 2013 and is still ongoing, was covered in both LGBT and mainstream press.[12]
