Although we didn’t spend an abundant amount of
time at our final destination in the Castro, it was lovely to experience the
Lower Haight and Duboce Park/Harvey Milk districts en route. I’d been to the
Castro before, but only by bus. For some reason it always seemed so far away.
It’s easy to forget how close we actually are to many of the districts in the
city. As we made our way down the infamous Haight Street, it was quite
interesting to observe the change in atmosphere and signage in the Lower Haight
versus the Upper Haight where I spend most of my time. The Lower Haight is
definitely subtler in terms of psychedelic vibes and the “free love and drugs”
attitude. This difference in atmosphere and signage draws a much different
crowd of people, and if you will, audience to the signage. I feel as though
there is a more diverse population of people that reside in the Lower Haight.
Many of the houses and shops are less vibrantly decorated, and business in the
Lower Haight is much more lacking than in the Upper Haight. Since business
generally creates the largest amounts of signage in an area, the signage in the
Lower Haight is not as populous. In general, I would say that the Lower Haight
gives off a slightly “grungy” vibe.
As we
made our way into the Duboce Park/Harvey Milk district, things began to pick up
a little. This area seemed to be more well kept and less “grungy.” I’m not sure
if this is because of the signage that I picked up on or the people that I
observed. Either way, there was certainly a distinct change in atmosphere that
we underwent. This district seemed to attract a more artsy, acceptive genre of
people. This might be due to the fact that there is a strong emphasis on Harvey
Milk in the neighborhood. As we all know, Harvey Milk was a major gay rights
activist. I think that this majorly contributes to the district’s vibes.
The
Duboce/Harvey Milk district was a great segway into the Castro district.
Although the Duboce/Harvey Milk neighborhood was somewhat of a “statement”
region, the Castro was much more so. The Castro was a district where
historically, gays and lesbians were more or less shunned. Now, it is a place
that people love to visit because of the vibrant and loving community. One of
my favorite pieces of signage that I observed in the Castro was in front of a
bakery. It was printed on the awning. It said, “Baked with Love, Served with
Pride.” I feel as though this is a bold statement that wasn’t always accepted.
This is what I love about this particular district. Anything and everything is
done with pride, whether people decide to accept it or not. With time, more and
more has been deemed “appropriate.” It’s because of this prideful attitude that
our society today is so accepting and understanding. We see people for who they
rather than who they love or what they believe.
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