page_title: Castro Camera
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Castro Camera / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Harvey Milk with his sister-in-law in front of Castro Camera in 1973 Русский: Харви Милк с супругой своего брата у входа в магазин Castro Camera, 1973
context_page_description: Castro Camera was a camera store in the Castro District of San Francisco, California, operated by Harvey Milk from 1972 until his assassination in 1978. During the 1970s the store became the center of the neighborhood's growing gay community, as well as campaign headquarters for Milk's various campaigns for elected office.
context_section_description: Milk, an avid amateur photographer, was disappointed over a developer ruining a roll of film.  With his then-partner, Scott Smith, Milk opened the store in 1972, using the last $1,000 of their savings.  The store soon became a focus of the growing influx of young gay people, who were coming from across the US to the Castro, where their sexual orientation was accepted.
  Beyond selling cameras and film, Milk turned the store into a social center, and a refuge for new arrivals.  He also made it an official polling station for San Francisco elections.  Because he was so well known for his civic involvement promoting gay businesses and gay consumers, Milk soon became known unofficially as the "Mayor of Castro Street".  Daniel Nicoletta, the photographer best known for chronicling Milk and his times, first met Milk as a patron of the store, then later worked there as a store assistant and campaign worker.  Another customer, Anne Kronenberg, who later became Milk's campaign manager, also met Milk at the store, and described her first impression of him as a "raving maniac".  Other members of Milk's inner circle such as Cleve Jones and his speechwriter Frank Robinson met, befriended, and worked with Milk at the store.
caption: Harvey Milk, here with his sister-in-law in front of Castro Camera in 1973
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