Difference between revisions of "Polk Street"

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On Polk Street, a coveted bloc of San Francisco central city space long zoned as a commercial corridor, the buck has always been the bottom line. The economic forces that would help create a “gay” neighborhood in the late 1950s would also lead to its demise by the early 2000s. This essay is not a comprehensive history of Polk Street. Instead, it is an attempt to trace the street’s primary economic shifts over the past sixty years.
 
On Polk Street, a coveted bloc of San Francisco central city space long zoned as a commercial corridor, the buck has always been the bottom line. The economic forces that would help create a “gay” neighborhood in the late 1950s would also lead to its demise by the early 2000s. This essay is not a comprehensive history of Polk Street. Instead, it is an attempt to trace the street’s primary economic shifts over the past sixty years.
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* [[Introduction]]
 
* [[Introduction]]
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[[Image:PolkMap.jpg|frame|none|San Francisco gay bar map. c. 1970s. Courtesy of Coy Ellison.]]
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[[Image:Sweetlips.jpg|frame|none|San Francisco gay bar map. c. 1970s. Courtesy of Coy Ellison.]]
  
 
== Index for "Polk Street: Lives in Transition" ==
 
== Index for "Polk Street: Lives in Transition" ==
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Saving People(?)
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Saving People
  
 
* [[River Sims]]
 
* [[River Sims]]

Revision as of 04:41, 2 April 2009

Index for Polk Street: A Study of Transitions

On Polk Street, a coveted bloc of San Francisco central city space long zoned as a commercial corridor, the buck has always been the bottom line. The economic forces that would help create a “gay” neighborhood in the late 1950s would also lead to its demise by the early 2000s. This essay is not a comprehensive history of Polk Street. Instead, it is an attempt to trace the street’s primary economic shifts over the past sixty years.



1960s to 1970s: Polk Street Emerges as a Gay Economic Engine


1960s to 1970s: Queer Sex Work Zones Shift


Late 1970s to 1990s: Polk Street Sex Work Economy


Late 1990s-2008: Dot.com Boom and “Gentrification”


San Francisco gay bar map. c. 1970s. Courtesy of Coy Ellison.

Index for "Polk Street: Lives in Transition"

“Polk Street: Lives in Transition” examines Polk Street’s history through the lens of current neighborhood change, focusing on the 1980s to the present. We ask: what does it mean for San Francisco’s identity as a “safe haven,” and for its queer sociability and politics, that Polk Street’s economy and culture is changing so dramatically? In an effort to better understand the actions and attitudes of Polk Street denizens, we present personal histories from stake-holders who are living through and shaping these changes.


Saving People


"The litter of a changing economy"


A hustler bar becomes a church


"We Are Family"