6 posts tagged “windows”
The devolution of Castro businesses back into the 70's continues. I actually stumbled away from my sickbed on Friday long enough to run some errands, and found myself right in the middle of the outdoor filming that was going on that day. From about midway between 18th and 19th all the way up to 19th, both sides of Castro Street were lined with retro cars, and extras in period garb were out in clusters on the sidewalks. There may have been actual heaven-sent stars present too, but I was too Nyquil-addled to tell.
At right are two crappy photos I was able to snap before security told me to put away my camera. The SFist blog has a similar picture without all the extras, so they probably took it during a break in filming.
A friend of mine who is a car-enthusiast surmised that some of these vehicles were from the local Freewheelers auto club. Does anyone know if this is true? I have my doubts since many of the antique cars were a little banged up and didn't look like anyone's babies. I loved the cranberry-colored VW bug that putted by at regular intervals, and I also loved seeing the old black and yellow California license plates from my youth.
Here's how some other businesses have transformed since my last update:
- Swirl has completely transformed inside and out, and it joins Given as being the only two stores which seem to be dislocated by the filming. The Gaycities.com blog has an interior shot which gives a better idea of the extent of the transformation. Here's an exterior shot of the finished storefront, along with a shot of the inside shelves taken through the front window. Like those prices?
The photo below is a sign which sits in the Swirl window. Apparently one significant story from Harvey Milk's life was that the Eureka Valley Merchants Association refused to cooperate with gay-owned businesses, so Milk started the rival Castro Village Association which eventually spawned the Castro Street Fair. The sign says "Eureka Valley Merchants Society" instead of "Association," so I wonder if the name was changed for legal reasons.
- Clobba's sign is now up, and the store has been renamed "The Valet" with windows full of too-hip clothing.
A helpful reader (who might be enticed to post to share her historical knowledge--please?) pointed out that this was not actually a clothing store in this spot, but rather a hair salon. I guess it wasn't in the budget for a total makeover on this store.
- Here is a slightly closer picture of the retro-looking mimeographed fliers that they have stapled over the former First American Title Company.
- Best in Show has now branched out to "shoe repairing."
- Further up the street between 18th and Market, the Toad Hall is now complete.
- But next door, the Citibank facade is undergoing a much more extensive makeover. There is a faint suggestion of a Victorian-ish overlay being built, but I can't say for sure. This will be interesting to watch develop.
- Hot Cookie is now Double Rainbow Ice Cream, and the other shops along here are getting ready for some changes. The bus shelter was removed from the sidewalk.
- Louie's removed its spiffy neon rings, and Marcello's has taken down its awning to reveal that retro-looking sign. (Yes, that was always there. It wasn't created for the filming.)
- US Bank is now Eureka Federal Savings.
- Castro Nail Salon is now taking in laundry.
- The big rainbow flag is down at Castro and Market, and all of the smaller rainbow banners are off the light poles. The MUMC president, Steve Adams, told the B.A.R. that new flags and banners will go up after the filming.
- The Castro Theatre sign is near completion, and they are lighting up the neon at night.
- Random oddity: They brought in new trash cans as set dressing. I've heard that they also disguised the parking meters to make them look era-appropriate, but I didn't see that firsthand.
- Finally, the production has taken over the old Tower space. The lower floor looks like it is being readied as the holding pen and feeding trough for the large crowds of extras that they are collecting for the march scenes.
The upper floor seems to be filled with a thrift-store of clothing racks and shoe bins, so this seems to be their costuming area.
- Film crew descends on Castro, and
- Harvey County, USA, an interview with two of the producers.
After my posting about Hepworth and Howard's, um, unique equine lighting choices, a helpful reader sent me the following photo from their recent trip to Russia:
I love the photo, but I'm not sure what idea is more shocking to me: that this horse might have traveled around the world to arrive in our little burg, or that there might exist more than one of these lamps in the world.
OK, it's not quite John Stewart's The Daily Show, but hopefully this video can tide you over a little until the writer's strike is over:
You think that San Franciscans are too jaded to be surprised anymore? Well, shove a lamp through the skull of a life-size horse statue and you'll see otherwise.
I was excited to show the horse lamp off to my partner the next morning, but it was already gone by then. Had it been snapped up by a discerning buyer who knows a conversation piece when he sees it? Or was it already pre-sold to a design client, and was only resting its electrified haunches here for the night? Or did the staff at Hepworth & Howard have a moment of clarity once the intoxicating mixture of highlighter fumes and grain alcohol wore off and then quickly shipped the horse off to its metaphorical glue factory (i.e. Goodwill)?
We'll never know for sure.
And as the weekend draws to a close, here are a few more signs welcoming the bears.
At Under One Roof, a den of bears and bear cubs play in the window, around a token of recognition from the bear community.
A.G. Ferrari wants to attract some big appetites, I guess:
So long bears! I'm glad you had nice weather, but don't get the wrong idea about San Francisco and the Castro. There are about 6 nice days here each year, and you just experienced three of them.
Next weekend is the Oscars, and I wonder if Castro business actually goes down that night, what with it being the "Gay Superbowl" and all. Hmm...
As I mentioned before, this long weekend is International Bear Rendezvous weekend, and the Castro is all dressed up to welcome the bears. I've been joking about this, but seriously, walking around, there are almost as many bear-themed windows and decorations as there were Christmas decorations back in December. Here's a selection:
Many of the bars have banners specifically welcoming IBR bears which include photos of porn actors. Here is the one from The Mix on 18th:
Here's the banner in front of The Midnight Sun:
The Edge's poster is particularly bear-y:
Upstairs at The Metro on Market (a repeat of The Mix's poster):
And in the window of Harvey's:
The HRC Store played nicely into stereotypes with a "Wizard of Oz" reference:
Here, In-Jean-ious selected some bear-relevant t-shirts for their regular display.
One interesting thing to note in the picture above is the "Bears welcome" sign in the lower left. Here's a close-up of one in another window:
These signs remind me of when my partner and I took an Atlantis (gay) cruise through the Caribbean. At a couple of the ports, some of the local merchants put signs in their windows which included rainbow flags or messages like "Welcome Atlantis Guests!" It was nice to feel welcomed, even if just for our money, but it also created a slightly odd feeling with the stores who didn't sport these signs. Did they intentionally not welcome us? Were they anti-gay? Or did they just not know about the signs? Or maybe they considered the signs a little kitschy and ridiculous?
Here in the Castro, many stores have these "Bears welcome" signs and many stores don't. But the idea that any store in the Castro wouldn't be welcoming to bears is a little nutty. Bear visitors are a big part of our tourist economy, but also we have quite a large bear population year-round.
Although now that I think about it, Badlands didn't put up a bear welcome sign, and they've been investigated by our Human Rights Commission .... Suspicious!
It's almost Halloween time, and the Castro is getting into the spirit. Here are some of the holiday-appropriate store windows on display now.
Update! No one will read this, since it is so far down the blog now, but here is another store window that I thought was great:
