Halloween has always been a major holiday in San Francisco. As far back as the mid-19th century, thousands of partiers would descend upon the streets of the city, causing those streets to be closed to traffic. Halloween has traditionally been a wild celebration for the city's gay and hippie communities, with even sex workers getting into the act at one point, when Margo St. James' prostitutes' union COYOTE (an acronym for Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) created the Hooker's Masquerade Ball in the 1970s.
In 1981, photographer Ken Werner published a book of his photos, titled simply, "Halloween: A Fantasy in Three Acts," that featured some of his photos from those wild street parties of long ago. The book has just been reissued in a new edition. As the book's cover, a photo of a two-headed monster with four arms suggests, these parties were unforgettable.
The book is thin, and the pages are not numbered, but the photos remain a fascinating historical record of what Halloween was like in San Francisco during the pre-AIDS era.
Colorful history
Werner opens the book with a brief, colorful history of Halloween in San Francisco dating back to the 1870s and 1880s, recounting events that took place over the next hundred years.
Werner's introduction is a mere four pages long, so it's impressive to see how much information he was able to fit in. Werner writes about 19th century Halloween balls that took place under the auspices of long forgotten organizations such as The Scottish Thistle Club. Thousands of people showed up for these events amid much dancing and merry-making.
In the early part of the 20th century, local merchants arranged with the police to close off streets to traffic so that public masquerade balls could be held for the kids, though there was much enthusiastic participation by adults. These parties were held in virtually every neighborhood of the city.
According to Werner, in 1938, and again in 1939, more than 100,000 people attended the parade and party on Mission Street. World War II put a stop to this. Due to concerns that there might be saboteurs, outdoor festivities were banned and parties retreated indoors.
During the 1960s and '70s, outdoor parties returned with the rise of the hippie and gay movements. But in 1977, conservatives on the Board of Supervisors blocked a request to close the streets to traffic due to what they called "degrading activities," claiming that the streets were "awash with drug peddlers and prostitutes of both sexes." There were protests, and the decision was reversed.
In the '70s, queer performance troupes like The Cockettes and The Angels of Light continued partying long after the kids had been sent off to bed.
Revels of yesteryear
What follows Werner's brief history are around 55 pages taken during these Halloween street revels of more than a generation ago. The photos are in black and white and are divided into three sections. The photos are a fascinating record of the street parties of past eras.
Some people are seen wearing bizarre masks of all kinds, while others simply paint their faces. Some images might invite laughter, like the one of a man wearing dark glasses, carrying a tin cup and a white cane, with a sign on his shirt that says "another hapless victim of masturbation."
Another photo features a person wearing a hat that reads "Sex relieves tension." There's also a photo of a woman dressed in leather, leading her scantily clad boyfriend on a chain around his neck. One clever person made himself up to look like a giant package being mailed to Daly City, their eyes peering out from a hole in the package.
While the photos may fascinate, Werner does not identify the specific years they were taken, nor does he specify which photos were taken in the Castro and which might have been taken in other neighborhoods.
Still, the book is worth a look for its historical value. Many of the people in the photos are likely no longer with us, but keeps the memory of their holiday revels alive.
'Halloween: A Fantasy in Three Acts' by Ken Werner, Anthology Editions, Hardcover, 60 pages, $38.48. www.anthology.net
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