Kristin Freeman\u2019s children were born after the death of her uncle Harvey Thompson, so they never got to know him personally.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s made sure, though, to keep his memory alive for them.<\/p>\n
Thompson and his business partner Sandy Pomerantz were two of the first doctors in the Sacramento area to treat AIDS patients. Both men eventually died of AIDS-related complications themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud of him,\u201d said Freeman, who was in college when her uncle died nearly 40 years ago and is now 62. \u201cI tell my kids a lot about him, because they weren\u2019t obviously able to know him. But they know him through some of the stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
More people could soon learn the story of Thompson and other LGBTQ pioneers in Sacramento.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the Sacramento Preservation Commission is set to review a list of 20 addresses proposed by city staff either as LGBTQ landmarks or as part of a Lavender Heights Historic District. The building at 912 21st St. where Thompson and Pomerantz had their medical practice during the 1980s is proposed for inclusion in the historic district.<\/p>\n
In addition to historical figures such as Thompson and Pomerantz, the list also features some of Sacramento\u2019s most prominent gay-owned businesses.<\/p>\n
Harvey Thompson was one of the first doctors in Sacramento to treat AIDS patients. His former office at 912 21st St. is included in a Lavender Heights Historic District proposed by Sacramento city staff. Courtesy Kristin Freeman Which LGBTQ sites made the list<\/p>\n
Some of the business names on the list for the historic district might not surprise anyone who\u2019s been out for a night in Lavender Heights.<\/p>\n
The Mercantile Saloon, which has operated since 1976 at 1928 L St. and is the city\u2019s oldest gay bar still operating, is proposed for the district. So are Faces and The Depot, longtime LGBTQ nightlife destinations directly across from each other at the corner of 20th and K streets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a big landmark,\u201d said Marcus Mosinske, regional manager for The Depot. \u201cIt\u2019s a big location that\u2019s been here for multiple years, and we\u2019ve always been wanting to be a highlight in this community. So it is amazing to be part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
In all, there are eight proposed LGBTQ landmarks and 12 proposed entries for the Lavender Heights Historic District.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really think it\u2019s important for the city to recognize these landmarks, because Lavender Heights is not just one block,\u201d said Priya Kumar, a spokesperson for the center. \u201cIt is this whole neighborhood and there\u2019s like so many businesses and areas where history happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other well-known stops in the historic district could include the LGBT-friendly First United Methodist Church at 2100 J St. and a Victorian at 1931 L St. that once housed what is now the Sacramento LGBT Community Center.<\/p>\n
Not every well-known building in Lavender Heights made the list for the historic district.<\/p>\n
Henry Feuss, a preservation planner for the city, said the cutoff for the historic district was the year 2000, which ruled out Badlands. While the club is a popular destination and has hosted performances by drag queens that include BenDeLaCreme of RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race, it was built in the mid-2000s.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0067_NSL_250808_RainbowCrosswalk.jpg\" "\\"0067_NSL_250808_RainbowCrosswalk.jpg\\"")
A rainbow crosswalk guides pedestrians across the street last year near Faces at 20th and K streets in the center of the Lavender Heights neighborhood. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
City staff evaluated the MARRS Building at the behest of its owner Mike Heller, who was interested in having it be part of the historic district and qualifying for a Mills Act property tax reduction.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did the research and we couldn\u2019t find a real LGBTQ connection,\u201d said Sean de Courcy, the city\u2019s preservation director.<\/p>\n
The current home of the Sacramento LGBT Community Center at 1015 20th St. also didn\u2019t make the cut.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t have an association that actually tied to the period of significance from the \u201980s to \u201990s,\u201d Feuss said. \u201cBut that building is already a historic landmark so it wouldn\u2019t necessarily be changing anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many landmark gay businesses are gone<\/p>\n
Between both the list of proposed landmarks and the Lavender Heights Historic District, there was a common theme: Many of the addresses were associated with businesses or organizations that are long gone.<\/p>\n
Some of the businesses fell victim to biases of the day. One of the proposed LGBTQ landmarks is 729-731 J St., where the bar The Windsor was located. It went out of business after the 1957 suspension of its liquor license \u201con a charge the place had been operated as a hangout for homosexuals,\u201d according to the Sacramento Union.<\/a><\/p>\n Other times, organizations simply appear to have outgrown their spaces. On Saturday morning during the Midtown Farmers Market, Dominique Hinson and Destiny Snyder stood outside Pachamama Coffee at 919 20th St., where what is now known as the Sacramento LGBT Community Center was located in the 1990s.<\/p>\n \u201cAnytime there\u2019s a story behind a building \u2026 I\u2019m all for it,\u201d Snyder said.<\/p>\n Then there are the buildings that had multiple LGBTQ stories, such as 912 21st St. where Harvey Thompson and Sandy Pomerantz operated their medical practice. The practice opened in the late 1970s.<\/p>\n Thompson reportedly treated patients up to two weeks before his death at 45 in 1986. Freeman remembered what, in general, drove her uncle. \u201cI think he always had an affinity for people who at that time were very marginalized for their disease,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n Pomerantz continued the practice on his own until 1988. \u201cI am very fatigued,\u201d Pomerantz said in a press conference at the time. \u201c It\u2019s time to care for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Pomerantz died five years later in 1993 at 44.<\/p>\n In 1996, Ron Grantz and his romantic partner Larry Bailey launched an LGBT bookstore, The Open Book, in the building of the former medical office.<\/p>\n Their business survived being egged and having its windows broken, with Grantz and Bailey eventually growing the store to 11,000 titles. The store served coffee, hosted readings and drew both gay and straight customers. But eventually, forces like Amazon became too much. The men closed shop in 2005.<\/p>\n \u201cIt became an expensive hobby,\u201d said Grantz, who is now 86 and lives in South Land Park. \u201cIt got to the point that it was time to close, because it just wasn\u2019t sustaining itself. The community had kind of changed and they weren\u2019t using it as much.\u201d<\/p>\n A wellness and beauty business, THEA, operates in the building today, which has the addresses of both 910 and 912 21st St.<\/p>\n Response to proposed historic district<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the preservation commission is set to review the proposed LGBTQ landmarks and Lavender Heights Historic District.<\/p>\n Sacramento City Council could review the matter in about six months, according to de Courcy.<\/p>\n Reactions at the Midtown Farmers Market on Saturday to the proposed landmarks and historic district were positive.<\/p>\n Harvey Bilt, who moved with his wife to midtown from Miami in recent years, said he thought the proposal was a good idea.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we all should be inclusive, and that\u2019s what we like about living here in Sacramento,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Carrie Boyle of Antelope said it was fantastic the district would include Faces, The Depot and The Mercantile. \u201cThose are iconic places in this city and I think this community needs to be celebrated,\u201d Boyle said.<\/p>\n Asked what it meant for his former business location to be part of the historic district, Grantz was modest. \u201cI hadn\u2019t really thought about it much, but it is interesting,\u201d Grantz said. \u201cI\u2019m glad that we could contribute to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Freeman, who lives in Tacoma, Washington, only recently became aware of the city of Sacramento\u2019s recognition of her uncle.<\/p>\n \u201cIt thrills me and it\u2019s so deserved and so appropriate,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cI love it. It kind of gets me a little bit emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 11:44 AM.<\/p>\n Follow More of Our Reporting on In the Spotlight<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SAC_048_261106_JV_LGBTQ.JPG\" "\\"SAC_048_261106_JV_LGBTQ.JPG\\"")
The building at 910 21st St., photographed earlier this month, once housed the offices of Dr. Harvey Thompson and Sandy Pomerantz, two of Sacramento\u2019s most prominent physicians treating AIDS patients in the 1980s. The site, which later became the LGBT-themed bookstore The Open Book, is under consideration to be part of the proposed Lavender Heights Historic District. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n Open Book owners Larry Bailey, left, and Ron Grantz stand in their midtown Sacramento shop in 2005 after they announced that they would be selling the business, a part of the Lavender Heights business community. ANNE CHADWICK WILLIAMS Sacramento Bee file <\/p>\n
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