A huge rainbow flag flaps above Castro and Market Sts, officially Harvey Milk Plaza. Look closer and spot a plaque honoring the man whose legacy is gay civic pride and political clout. Across Castro, by the F-train terminus, is Jane Warner Plaza, where ragtag oddballs and kids too young for the bars congregate at public tables and chairs.
For more on Milk, wander down the Muni-metro stairs to see text and images of his life. Jane Warner was a much-loved lesbian police officer. Compared with loud-mouth Harvey, Jane was modest – which makes it doubly ironic that in 2012 her namesake plaza attracted international attention for public nudity. Several flagrant exhibitionists lollygagged here dawn till dusk, casually splaying their legs at oncoming traffic. Their passive-aggressive behavior incited such outcry that public nudity in SF was eventually dubbed illegal – but not a sex crime, just an infraction. Now it's legal to strip only at a handful of public events, like Folsom Street Fair. You can still often spot the 'naked guys' at the plaza, only now they wear socks on their penises, posing for pictures with tourists by F-Market trains.
