San Francisco Landmarks
)
The Lyon-Martin House, which is set back from the street and accessed by a wooden staircase, was built sometime between 1914 and 1938. The new residence next door is typical of the changing character of many historically working-class and middle-class neighborhoods in San Francisco.
27 April 2023
(Click Photo to Enlarge)
Lyon-Martin House
651 Duncan Street
The Lyon-Martin House is the longtime home of pioneering lesbian-rights and feminist activists Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin.
Lyon and Martin were founders and members of many organizations including Daughters of Bilitis (1955), Council on Religion and the Homosexual (1964), Alice B. Toklas Memorial Democratic Club (1972) and Old Lesbians Organizing for Change (1987).
They were the first same-sex couple to be married in San Francisco. Twice. First in 2004 and again in 2008
On 12 February 2004, Martin and Lyon were married by Mayor Gavin Newsom in a small ceremony in City Hall. Many other same sex couples were married. When the California Supreme Court voided these marriages, the couple became plaintiffs in a a successful lawsuit for marriage equality.
In 2008, Martin and Lyon were once again the first couple to be married in San Francisco.
After Martin’s death, several months later in 2008, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “We would never have marriage equality in California if it weren’t for Del and Phyllis.”
Source: Adapted from San Francisco Landmark Designation Application for the Lyon-Martin House, approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on May 11, 2021.