STERLING WALKS: MILK

Hello again, SF cinephiles!

This walk was a lovely one I did for Pride weekend last year, and is a wonderful way to remember the life of Harvey Milk because it was shot in many of the same locations where he worked and campaigned during his life. Of course, the excellent Oscar®-winning documentary The Times of Harvey Milk goes into further detail about the history of SF and him, but this walk concentrates on the shooting locations of the Gus Van Sant film that earned Sean Penn his second Academy Award and an Original Screenplay award for Dustin Lance Black (who was born in Sacramento).

This is also the easiest of the movie walks I’ve done so if you’re waiting for things to be safer before you take these on, I would definitely recommend doing this one first as a way to get your feet wet. It’s still a hike, but a manageable one, especially for those of us who’ve been staying indoors for so long. I hope you’re having a safe holiday but one still filled with joy, reflection, and a love of movies.

Sterling

Mile 0 - Forest Hill MUNI station - Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) first meets Scott Smith (James Franco) in a NY subway station. That scene was actually shot here.

Mile 2.58 - 575 Castro – The original location of Harvey’s camera shop, the space was redressed for the film. After MILK was released, it became the headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign.

From the film

Mile 2.79 - Market at Castro (west corner) – Harvey makes several activist speeches in the movie here, with the Castro Theater in the background. Now the location of Harvey Milk Plaza.

From the film

Mile 2.82 - Market at Castro (east corner) – Twin Peaks bar is the rallying point in the film for several protest marches in the film.

Mile 3.52 - Duboce Park (Duboce at Noe) – Harvey earns political capital by spear-heading an anti-doggie doo doo legislative campaign as SF Supervisor here at the park. Now the location of the Harvey Milk Center for the Arts.

Mile 4.85 - SF Opera House (301 Van Ness Ave.) - Harvey attends a performance here and the view from his office window during his assassination.

From the film

Mile 5.11 - SF City Hall (1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Pl) – Exterior where Harvey is sworn in as Supervisor and later holds a major protest rally. Many interior shots under the rotunda were shot here too.

From the film