This is what Castro Street looked like on May 13, 1979. It is the east side of the entire block between Market Street ( left side of top row) and 18th Street ( right side of bottom row). The picture is a composite of 15 separate images which I pieced together on the computer. The series continues beyond 18th Street for a total of 24 images.
My intention was to assemble the images so as to make one picture of the entire block, and then market the picture as a fold-out postcard. In 1979 there were no Castro postcards available and the tourists were coming by the busload. This could have been a popular item for visitors to send home or keep as souvenirs. I carefully cut and pasted the frames with scissors and glue. Computers weren't ready for this task in 1979. When I got the photos assembled on a board, it was 8 feet long. I then realized that I had a problem. Castro Street slopes downward from Market to 18th and then slopes upward again beyond 18th. This fold-out postcard was going to be harder to fold than a road map. Another problem was that when this strip is viewed without the slope, buildings and people all lean at an unrealistic angle!
So I gave up on my marketing inspiration and stashed the pictures away. Today I'm really glad that I captured a day in the life of Castro Street, but at the time, it never occurred to me that this chapter in the Castro story would become a page in the history books. When I think about that day of picture taking, I feel dumb that I didn't have the intelligence to turn around and photograph the other side of the street! DUH!
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This page created November 1, 2000 and modified November 1, 2000
• Text and Graphics � 1979 - 2000 • UD Graphics • San Francisco •
Permission to copy images is granted only for non-commercial, non-profit use.
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