Click on the photo above for an interactive timeline of the Castro Street History Walk.
Residents and business owners look forward to the incoming Castro Street History Walk—a sidewalk timeline of the neighborhood’s important historical moments—and hope it will preserve the area’s status as an epicenter of progressive change. But, as politics in San Francisco go, there is controversy and that was raised in the story of Harvey Milk’s assassination and the hated man who killed him.
“This is a fun place and some people come here for the shopping and for the restaurants, but they forget how much has happened here and how much it has impacted people,” Jack Cribbins, a longtime resident said. “The street facts will help people remember the important things that happened here.”
Historical facts chronologically set on a U-shaped timeline around the 400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street will soon tell the neighborhood story from pre-1776 to modern day. The first 10 factoids depict the area prior to its establishment as a gay neighborhood and the following 10 facts mark significant events associated with the queer community in the Castro.
The Castro Street History Walk was originally supposed to be a part of the city-funded Castro Street Streetscape Project. When the city dropped the history walk because of insignificant funds the Castro Upper Market Community Benefit District agreed to cover the $10,000 costs to make the walk a reality.
The factoids will be set in the sidewalk in pairs, each accompanied by a graphic inspired by the infamous Castro Theater. Alongside other sidewalk additions, the facts will be a part of the neighborhoods new esthetic.
As a beacon for the gay community worldwide, the designated stretch of Castro Street has a history that is important to many people. The historical timeline will give locals and visitors alike an opportunity to see the Castro’s story. The CBD board’s goal: “Selected facts are meant to convey interesting pieces of information and milestones spanning the history of the neighborhood.”
“We want to be accurate, and we want to include all of the important facts,” CBD executive director Andrea Aiello said.
Each fact is limited to 230 characters to fit the design that will soon be a part of the sidewalk. This added a spatial constraint to the challenges of factual relevance, word choice, and efforts to ensure no fact would be offensive.
For purposes of continuity, the CBD board decided on criteria each fact had to meet in order to be included. “Each fact is required to either represent an impactful event in the neighborhood or it must note the history of an official city landmark,” Aiello said. “It must also have credible sources and be specific to the Castro or to Eureka Valley.”
To assure widespread approval, the CBD board held three open meetings where members of the public were invited to discuss the facts that would be included. Input was also welcomed via email.
The CBD board also relied on social media and hyper-local online publications for public commentary. “We can talk to people, we can see the public responses online on Facebook and in comments on The Biscuit,” Aiello said at a public meeting.
Squeezing a 230-year history into only 20 reference points proved to be no easy task. Disagreements arose over which events qualified for the timeline. History can be upsetting and the CBD board struggled to remain accurate yet inoffensive.
The 15th fact, which marks the “White Night Riots” spurred by the light sentence given to former San Francisco County Supervisor Dan White for the assassination of Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone, caused a stir among CBD board members.
The jury convicted White of voluntary manslaughter instead of first-degree murder in 1978. White served just five years and the seemingly inconsequential sentence to San Francisco’s first openly gay elected official enraged the LGBT community.
Arguments over whether or not White’s name should be included in the wording of the fact took center stage at the second and third public meetings.
Some argued that naming White was a way of holding him accountable for his wrongdoings. “Not including Dan White’s name is giving Dan White a pass on his deed rather than forever tying him to his evil deed,” EVNA board president Alan Beach-Nelson said.
Others saw the value in naming the villain as an educational opportunity. “I think not naming him makes him an abstraction,“ CBD board member and Castro resident, Gustavo Serina said. “He was a person and he represented a mindset that was commonplace in many areas of San Francisco, which was demonstrated in the verdict.”
Several members of the public expressed concern over having the name of Harvey Milk’s assassin permanently etched into their neighborhood’s sidewalk. Members of the CBD argued to keep his name off Castro Street.
Scott James, a member of the CBD board, did not want to unintentionally memorialize Milk’s assassin, fearing it would upset the public. “Because of the feelings it will invoke in people, it is okay for us to make this statement; Fuck Dan White, we don’t need his name in our street, we really don’t. It is an intentional omission.”
Concerns over possible vandalism, such as scratching White’s name out of the sidewalk, were also raised. “If putting his name [Dan White] in there is going to be the cause for vandalism, I am seriously concerned from the city’s perspective,” said Nicholas Perry, a planner and urban designer at the San Francisco Planning Department.
According to Aiello, the history walk will be completed before mid-June and will not include Dan White’s name. The completion of the walk will coincide with the sidewalk-widening project currently under way.
Several other facts called for discussions of relevance and fairness in representing the neighborhood. The inclusion of more people of color, women, and transgendered people was requested, but the limited space was too restricting to include everything. The CBD board tried to meet expectations by including Lesbian couple Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, as well as African American disco star Sylvester.
Less controversial facts that will make their debut in June include the Swedish American Hall opening in 1907, Harvey Milk’s election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, and one of the first AIDS-related fundraisers in 1982.