Preserving Queer Culture in District 8

When the realtors and landlords realized how the former Irish/American neighborhood had been transformed, they wanted a piece of the action. Rents skyrocketed. Many people were pushed out. Harvey lost his camera store and the apartment he occupied above it when his rent shot from $400 to $1,200/mo.

The same scenario was repeated in the mid-90s when scores of enterprising young people with lots of disposal income came flooding into the City to rent anything that had a roof over it. In the Castro, they stood in line and outbid each other for apartments. Landlords and realtors used every trick in the book to get rid of long-term tenants paying low rent. It didn’t matter if the person had AIDS. Anyone who could be gotten out of his/her rent-controlled apartments was sent packing.

There was a time when flats in the Castro rented for $1,000/mo. Young people could pile into them, utilizing every room as a bedroom. They got jobs in the neighborhood shops. They organized demos and set up tables on Saturday mornings at 18th and Castro. Queer organizations rented office space in the top floors of the shops. Halloween was as much about parading around in costumes as it was about celebrating queer sexuality. Josie’s Cabaret and Juice Joint provided a nightly spot for emerging and established artists. Demonstrations occurred regularly, and many times spontaneously, at Harvey Milk

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