Two lighting fixtures in Harvey Milk Plaza that are part of San Francisco's historic Path of Gold light standards along Market Street are being eyed for relocation. They both would be reassembled closer to the roadway in order to facilitate a proposed remodel of the public parklet above the Castro Muni station.
The San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission had scheduled a hearing on the lampposts at its October 19 meeting. But at the request of planning department staff, the item was postponed to the oversight body's November 16 meeting.
John Goldsmith, a gay man who opposes the renovation plans for Milk plaza, had requested that the lamppost item not be taken up Wednesday as planned. In an email to the commission, he wrote, "The Path of Gold terminates here, on the 2400 block of Market at Castro (at Collingwood). The two lampposts are located in excellent vista spots currently and should not be moved."
As explained in the staff report, the two street lamps need to be moved "as part of the larger redesign of the plaza, which includes accessibility upgrades to the Castro Muni Station, integrated memorial elements for Harvey Milk, and various landscape improvements." The group Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza has been working on a renovation plan for the plaza since 2017.
The current redesign proposal calls for a new spiral podium feature to be built at the entrance of the plaza at the intersection of Castro and Market streets. A smaller stairway leading to the underground subway station would be constructed.
A rose-colored, transparent overhang above the escalator that goes to the Muni station would be used to protect it from rainwater. The color scheme is derived from that of the red-and-white bullhorn the plaza's namesake famously used to rally residents of the neighborhood and the city's larger LGBTQ community during protests held at the site and during marches that embarked from there.
The late Supervisor Harvey Milk was the first gay person elected to public office in San Francisco and California. He was gunned down 11 months into his first term inside City Hall the morning of November 27, 1978 along with then-mayor George Moscone by disgruntled former supervisor Dan White.
City officials named the plaza in honor of Milk, a vocal public transit advocate during his lifetime, in 1985. Quotes of Milk's would be embedded throughout the plaza.
A memorial grove with 11 different kinds of trees symbolizing Milk's 11 months in office would stand at the plaza's entrance from Collingwood Street. In the same area would be a "hope grove," symbolizing the candlelight vigil that took mourners from the Castro to City Hall after Milk and Moscone were slain.
Final approval for the proposal is still required by a number of city oversight bodies. Funding to pay for the work also still needs to be secured, with previous estimates calling for upwards of $10 million to be raised to cover the costs.
Both of the lampposts currently stand in the way of the renovation plans. One is located in the walkway near the corner of Castro and Market streets and has the Castro street sign affixed to it, while the other is in the planter bed near the Collingwood end of the plaza.
The distinctive structures sport three lighted glass globes in a trident formation at the end of a slender pole painted blue with minor gold accents. Architect Willis Polk designed their look, with the first ones initially installed in 1916.
The ones at Harvey Milk Plaza are replicas that were installed in the mid-1980s, according to the staff report. All of the existing 327 light standards on Market Street from the Embarcadero to just beyond Castro Street are designated as historic resources due to being made city landmarks in 1991.
Approval for relocating the two Milk plaza lampposts closer to Market Street will come with a stipulation that only hand tools be used. It will also be required that their individual components be wrapped in protective materials for temporary storage in a secure facility sheltered from weather.
The planning department has recommended their relocation be approved after determining in the report "that the historic character of the two Path of Gold light standards located in Harvey Milk Plaza will be retained and preserved and will not result in the removal of historic fabric."
As part of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's Castro Accessibility Project a new four-stop elevator, estimated to cost between $15 and $30 million, will be built into a portion of the plaza's sunken garden area closest to the entrance into the Muni station. SFMTA's website for the project states it is currently out to bid with construction slated to start "in late 2022" and be completed in 2025.
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