The Castro in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Pink Triangle Park and Memorial

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, May 2019

1. Pink Triangle Park and Memorial

Inscription.
In remembrance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender victims of the Nazi regime (1933-1945)

Artists: Robert Bruce and Susan Martin

A non-profit project sponsored by neighbors, businesses, city agencies, and the Eureka Valley Promotion Association

(politicians/donors names not transcribed)

Erected 2001.

Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World II.

Location. 37° 45.741′ N, 122° 26.17′ W. Memorial is in San Francisco, California, in San Francisco City and County. It is in The Castro. It is at the intersection of Market Street and 17th Street, on the left when traveling east on Market Street. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 2454 Market Street, San Francisco CA 94114, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is on California’s Coast Ranges. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself

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in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Rainbow Flag (within shouting distance of this marker); Harvey Milk (within shouting distance of this marker); Castro Street Historical Timeline (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Jane Addams (about 300 feet away); Virginia Woolf (about 300 feet away); Officer Jane Warner (about 300 feet away); James Baldwin (about 400 feet away); José Sarria (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Francisco.

Also see . . .
1. Nazi Persecution Of Homosexuals. US Holocaust Memorial Museum entry:
"Between 5,000 and 15,000 gay men were interned in concentration camps in Nazi Germany. These prisoners were marked by pink triangle badges and, according to many survivor accounts, were among the most abused groups in the camps." (Submitted on May 31, 2019.)

2. Pink Triangle. Wikipedia entry:
"A pink triangle has been a symbol for various LGBTQ identities, initially intended as a badge of shame, but later reclaimed as a positive symbol

Pink Triangle Park and Memorial - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, May 2019

2. Pink Triangle Park and Memorial - wide view

The marker is on the left here, with the plaque next to it being the braille version.

of self-identity. In Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, it began as one of the Nazi concentration camp badges, distinguishing those imprisoned because they had been identified by authorities as homosexual men, a category that also included bisexual men and transgender women. In the 1970s, it was revived as a symbol of protest against homophobia, and has since been adopted by the larger LGBTQ community as a popular symbol of LGBTQ pride and the LGBTQ rights movement." (Submitted on June 1, 2019.)

3. Pink Triangle Memorial. Memorial homepage:
"The Pink Triangle Memorial is America’s first historical landmark remembering Homosexual men persecuted in Fascist Europe between 1933-1945...Being one of the earliest minority groups targeted, approximately 100,000 men were arrested during this time and as many as 15,000 were sentenced to work and death camps. Assumed feminine by nature, Homosexual men were tagged with Pink Triangles. Lesbians however, were not considered Homosexual but Asocial, they were given Black Triangles and forced into prostitution."
NOTE: This repaired link is still damaged. (Submitted on June 1, 2019.)

Additional keywords. LGBT LGBTQ

Pink Triangle Park and Memorial - looking west image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, May 2019

3. Pink Triangle Park and Memorial - looking west

Pink Triangle Park and Memorial - looking north across market image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, May 2019

4. Pink Triangle Park and Memorial - looking north across market

The Pink Triangle symbol is incorporated a number of times in the park: the pink concrete retaining wall around the memorial is triangular, as is the the arrangement of the 15 pylons, each of which is also topped by a pink triangle (see Photo 3). Also there, but not visible here is a large pink triangle set into the ground, composed of pink quartz crystals (see Photo 2, end of path).

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 31, 2019, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 578 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 31, 2019, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 4. submitted on June 1, 2019, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.