The 20 plaques featuring historical snippets about the Castro neighborhood’s history are slated to be unveiled today at a 6:00 p.m. ceremony at Harvey Milk Plaza, just in time for the weekend of the Castro Street Fair.
But if they’re to be ready on time, the Department of Public Works will be very busy today; as of this morning, it appears that only the first one had been completed.
The first, located outside 440 Castro, reads:
The native Yelamu people live nearby in the village of Chutchui, relocating each winter to the bayside village of Sitlintac. A creek flows past grassland and chaparral toward the bay along the path of today’s 18th Street.
Ten of the plaques will describe historical events that predate the influx of gays into the neighborhood, including discussing the areas early Native Americans, the influence of Spanish settlers, and the creation of the Castro Theatre. The other ten will describe the Castro’s post-gay influence, starting with Daughters of Bilitis founders Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon moving to Castro Street in 1953, a decade before the Missouri Mule, the Castro’s first gay bar, opened in 1963.
Earlier this year, there was much debate over whether Dan White’s name should be mentioned in connection with his assassination of San Francisco’s first gay Supervisor, Harvey Milk. In the end, the commission responsible for the plaques opted to omit his name.
