Repairs Coming to Castro's Rainbow Crosswalks

The rainbow crosswalks in the Castro that were damaged during filming for a TV show should be repaired in September, city officials said.

In April, ABC-TV crews took over portions of the Castro and other parts of the city to film scenes for When We Rise , a historical drama about the early days of the LGBT rights movement that's partly inspired by a forthcoming book of the same name by longtime gay activist Cleve Jones.

During filming, however, the rainbow crosswalks were unintentionally damaged. They remain in a state of disrepair more than two months after the film crew has left the city.

According to a May 14 story published on Hoodline, the crosswalks were damaged when the TV crew covered them with a thick black material in order to hide them - the rainbow striping did not exist during the 1970s, the setting for When We Rise's Castro scenes. After the production left the city, the covering was removed, but numerous pieces of it remain adhered to the crosswalk's rainbow-colored stripes.

Several attempts were made to clean the crosswalks with pressurized cold water and with non-corrosive street cleaning solvents, but the damage remains.

Tra-Mi Callahan, of ABC publicity, told the Bay Area Reporter that the network fully intends to pay for the cost to repair or replace the rainbow crosswalks - the east and north stripes were damaged beyond repair and do need to be replaced. Callahan refereed the paper to Susannah Robbins, executive director of the San Francisco Film Commission.

"The delay is not in any way caused by the production, but a scheduling issue with all of the different agencies and people that need to be involved," Robbins told the B.A.R. via email.

Robbins explained that San Francisco Public Works would need to coordinate scheduling of the repairs with Muni, whose 24, 33, and 35 lines cross 18th and Castro streets numerous times daily.

"My understanding is that the delays are partially due to the many pieces of the puzzle that need to be coordinated to accomplish this work," she said.

It will take about four days of work to take out the asphalt, redo the asphalt, paint the white lines and then replace the rainbow crosswalks, Robbins explained.

The B.A.R. received an update from Andrea Aiello, executive director of the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District, after the print edition of the paper went to press.

In the email, Aiello said work should start September 12 and will include fixing the drainage problem at 18th and Castro streets.

The crosswalk work will be paid for by ABC, Aiello confirmed, while the drainage repairs are part of the sidewalk widening contract with Ghilotti Brothers.

Additionally, Muni would need to deactivate the electric bus lines without impeding public transportation.

Bernard Tse, with Public Works, said the agency met with the contractor Tuesday and anticipates an early September date for the repair work, "so we have enough time to perform outreach to the community and avoid events during the summer."

Muni spokesman Paul Rose told the B.A.R. that his office was in contact with Public Works in order to work out the details so that work could proceed.

"We are aware of the needed repairs and are currently working with Public Works to identify the appropriate time frame in which the work can be done as soon as possible," Rose said.