 |
The Castro |
| A symbol and beacon of acceptance |
I completely
'get' that the Castro has a huge symbolic meaning as the beacon of hope
to gays & other queer people throughout the world. Therefore this
will be both a photo tour as well as my little straight/gay alliance
homage to people like Matthew Sheppard and to every other person who
has had to deal with uncaring non-acceptance - and worse.
What we see here is the very tall (seven stories?) flagpole and proportionately huge gay liberation rainbow flag. This is like the Statue of Liberty for people coming to San Francisco for its tolerant attitude. I can only imagine how meaningful it must be for a new visitor to turn a corner and look up at this gigantic flag peacefully fluttering in the wind.
It was actually installed to commemorate posthumously the election to the board of city supervisors of gay pioneer Harvey Milk, who had previously been a simple shopkeeper of a photo store in the neighborhood, and got himself elected from the Castro district as the first openly gay elected official in the country.
Paraphrasing, Milk once said, "If a bullet enters my brain, let it break open every closet door in the world". He was shot and murdered in 1978 over political jealousy by fellow city supervisor Dan White, who later committed suicide in 1985, I believe.
While taking the picture, the next thing that happened I'll probably remember for a long time. When I had the shot and stepped back, I realized there was this one guy coming off the undergound metro waiting for me to finish. I was very embarrassed, and said 'sorry'.
He said - and have you ever sensed someone's story from one thing they said? - he said 'That's alright'. But the thing is, he said it in such a patient, loving, caring and yet VERY pain-filled way. I can't explain. You would have had to hear it.
Somehow, and I don't know how he did this, he was able to tell me that people had given him a lot of pain over being gay, and that he really appreciated, it was good for him, to see someone wanting to take a picture of the liberation flag. It hits me to even talk about it now. I'll probably remember this for a long time.
Market And Noe and 16th Street (Triple intersection)
(Looking southwest)
Stepping back a couple of blocks, this gives you an idea of how tall and large the flag is. You can see it at the very center of this picture. Behind the flag is the neighborhood known as "Upper Market", which is on the foothills of "Twin Peaks". You can only see one of the cone-like twin hills at the top. The cool thing is, this Market street eventually ends up at Twin Peaks by going through Upper Market. So everything in this shot is really connected. In the sky to the right you see the Sutro Tower, our broadcasting antenna visible pretty much throughout the city. We stand on Market street, which is more famous for being the diagonal downtown thoroughfare, our "Main street". You will see it later as a very wide and bright channel of light. To the left and right you see the congenial combination of businesses and residential that make the Castro a wonderful place to live for any type of family. The weather is warmer here, you can see the fog layer that hangs over the Richmond and the Sunset totally dissolving as it crests over Twin Peaks. Translation? When it's foggy in the avenues, it's sunny and warm in the Castro. Let's walk back towards the flag, taking the left sidewalk. You see those trees on the left? That's where were going to be in the next picture.
A
Castro Mural at 16th & Noe
(Looking North)
In a cool blending of gay and Hispanic cultures, this Castro bulding has an Hispanic-style mural depicting the struggle of the gay acceptance movement. Click the image to enlarge.
On Market Street Between 16th/Noe and Castro
(Looking Southwest)
We are now under those trees. You can still see the flag peeking out on the extreme right, now closer. I just wanted to give you a "you are there" shot of what it's like to be on the ground. The sky is not really white, it was actually a very pretty sunset orange/pink.
Market near Castro
(Looking NorthEast)
That's wide Market street behind the base. As you can see, Market street has stopped being flat and is now on its takeoff climb towards Upper Market and Twin Peaks. The black railing on the extreme right overlooks the entrance to a MUNI underground metro station. If you ever look on a MUNI map, we are at the Castro Station, naturally enough. Here, let me read you the plaque.
On November 8, 1997, this rainbow flag was installed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the election of Harvey Milk to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors by voters of District 5. This victory by an openly gay man was a watershed for the queer rights movement. Since then, open lesbians and gay men have been elected to many levels of public office throughout the United States. After Milk's election on November 8, 1977 the following members of San Francisco's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community have been elected or appointed to office.
Carole Migden California State Assembly Susan Leal Treasurer, city and county of San Francisco Harry Britt Supervisor, city and county of San Francisco Roberta Achtenberg Supervisor, city and county of San Francisco Tom Ammiano Supervisor, city and county of San Francisco Leslie Katz Supervisor, city and county of San Francisco Angie Fa Member, Board of education Dr. Juanita Owens Member, Board of education Dr. Timothy Wolfred Trustee, Community College Board Lawrence Wong Trustee, Community College Board Andrea Shorter Trustee, Community College Board Hon. Donna Hitchens Superior Court Judge Hon. Kevin McCarthy Superior Court Judge Hon. Herb Donaldson Municipal Court Judge Hon. Mary Morgan Municipal Court Judge Hon. Kay Tsenin Municipal Court Judge Tom Radulovich Director, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
The rainbow flag, created by Gilbert Baker, which reflects the diversity of a community, and is a internationally recognized symbol representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people throughout the world.Dedicated by Mayor Willie Brown, Jr; assemblywoman Carole Migden; the San Francisco Department of Public Works, Mark Primeau, Director; the Harvey Milk Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Democratic club, Jeff Sheehy, President.
Castro and Market
(Looking South)
So we leave the flag, finally taking a right onto Castro street. These two blocks are the main strip. At the bottom of this dip is 18th street, which is going left to right. At the middle of the next hill is 19th street. At the top of the next hill is 20th street, but that's residential and not business. But we'll show you some of that, too. In the foreground, on the right, you see the riot of businesses and rainbow flags that mark this street. Another great thing about the Castro is that it's full of mom-n-pop (or mom-n-mom, pop-n-pop) local businesses. Chain stores are very rare, and that's a great way to keep the money within the city. The colorful jumble of houses on the next hill is still the Castro, but over that hill is a twin hollow known as Noe Valley.
Same place, pulled back
(Still looking South)
Still standing in the same spot, we zoom out to reveal the wonderful Castro theatre, a 1930s-style movie palace where a real human being plays the mighty Wurlitzer to entertain the audience before a show. You'll find lots of unconventional movies, not a lot of J-Lo blockbusters here. Movies like Hairspray, 2001 and the director's cut of Blade Runner (better, shorter ending than the original!) make up this movie house's repertoire. The original picture accurately exposed the sky and the sign, everything else was nearly black. I had to do some Photoshopping to bring out the street, I'm sorry the colors are a little off.
On Castro between Market and 18th
(Looking South East)
The theatre entrance was just too awesome not to show it to you. As a lover of movies, this is the kind of place where you want to come and enjoy a show, not inside some bland cube in a mall between food court and housewares. Consider supporting your local movie palace!
360-Panorama - 18th and Castro - Click to Enlarge
The intersection of 18th and Castro streets is definitely the epicenter or this gay mecca here in San Francisco. The "strip" on Castro street is only two blocks long, between Market and 19th streets (although of course the neighborhood is much bigger and its accepting mentality stretches throughout the city). 18th street is in the middle so that's why it's the center of the gay capital of the world. I'm sorry that my camera didn't pan out (pun intended), and I had to do some Photoshop tricks to try to bring out the you-are-there atmosphere of that sparking evening. I hope it's ok I post this somewhat-adequate version for now, as a show of straight/gay solidarity. I can see how much gay liberation means to the people I know so I post this here with all my heart. If you live in a town that doesn't accept you, I am so sorry. Maybe one day you will be able to come here and live in the Castro and march in the Gay Pride parade.
19th Castro and 19th
(Looking SouthEast)
Here we are in the middle of that hill seen in the Castro Theatre picture a few shots ago. We look to the west, towards Twin Peaks and the gigantic Sutro Tower. I just wanted to show you what a more residential area off the strip looked like. Gracefully aging Victorians sit next to somewhat newer imitation Victorians of stucco but with protruding bay windows. Apartments and parking in this area are so sought-after that you can expect to pay a premium for living near the epicenter.
Noe near 17th street
(Looking South)
We are one block parallel to Castro, and already it's turned into a cute, peaceful, quiet neighborhood. You can recognize some of the same houses in the "colorful jumble" near the top of the hill, beyond which is Noe Valley. The tracks are for MUNI, our mass transit bus system which also uses Light Rail Vehicles to get people around.
You
owe it to yourself to see this. If I say so myself. Right after my
Castro trip, I went up to Twin Peaks (see above) because I guessed that
the sunset and the crawling fog would create a great light for this shot.
I had no idea.....
This shot looks back on where we just were a couple of hours ago, down on Market and Castro at the center of this panorama. If you look carefully, you can see where central, wide, bright Market bends sharply to our left, and starts going uphill. That's exactly where the flag is.
To the South from the flag, the two blocks to our right is where the "Castro strip" is, between Market and 19th streets. In fact you can see the flag itself if you peer closely. Near the flag you can also see the washed-out reddish marquee for the Castro theatre. If you have been keeping track, you can spot where 18th and Castro is, and 19th/Castro too. The whole blob to our right of the flag is considered the Castro neighborhood.
You can also see the Financial District at the far end of Market street. To the right (south) of the FinDist is South Of Market, aka SOMA. To our right of SOMA is the Potrero area. Between Potrero and The Castro lies the Hispanic Mission district.
To the left (North) of the FinDist is the area technically known as downtown, where the old skyscrapers from early 20th century still are. To our left of old downtown is Chinatown and Telegraph Hill (the dim hills in the mist).
The brigde you see crossing the bay is the Oakland Bay Bridge. In the very far distance across the bay you can see the lights of Berkeley and Oakland. The dark mountains in the horizon are the "East Bay Hills".
