Walking around the Castro recently, you might have noticed the Rainbow Honor Walk plaques are looking a bit shinier and more colorful than usual.
That's because board members and volunteers have been polishing the plaques, some of which are 12 years old.
Additionally, the Rainbow Honor Walk logo on each bronze plaque has had rainbow colors added.
The plaque honoring Keith Haring has been polished, and the logo has been painted in rainbow colors. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
Rainbow Honor Walk board member Brian McConnell tells Hoodline, "The main driver behind this is adding a non-slip top coat so the plaques are not slippery when wet." "As a bonus feature, the coating will protect the plaques from tarnish and UV damage, so we decided to restore them prior to adding the coat."
Adding the rainbow colors was board member Christie James' idea, says McConnell.
McConnell says the project should wrap up by mid-October. "We want to get the non-slip coat on before the rainy season," said McConnell.
McConnell and volunteers, including artist Juan Manuel Carmona, are hand-polishing each plaque. Carmona tells Hoodline that he gets about two done each day.
Rainbow Honor Walk board member Brian McConnell polishing Federico Garcia Lorca's plaque. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
The plaques along Castro Street between Market and 19th streets should be completed before this weekend's Castro Street Fair. Most of those plaques were part of the first phase of installation back in 2014.
McConnell says additional plaques will be installed honoring Italian activist Mario Mieli, founding member of the Gay Liberation Front and 'Mayor of Christopher Street' Marsha P. Johnson, and creator of the Rainbow Pride Flag Gilbert Baker.
Another plaque will honor lesbian rights activist Phyllis Lyon, and her plaque will be installed on 19th Street between Castro and Collingwood, adjacent to the plaque honoring her lifelong partner, Del Martin.
A plaque honoring Glenn Burke will soon be polished. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
Exact locations for the plaques are determined by SF Public Works.
Polishing each plaque costs approximately $200 in time and materials, and the coating is expected to last five to ten years.
Fundraising is currently underway for the new plaques. Each plaque costs approximately $10,000 to fabricate and install.
Barbara Jordan's plaque has been polished, and the logo has been painted in rainbow colors. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
To date, the Rainbow Honor Walk has installed 46 plaques since launching the project in September 2014. Honorees must be both deceased and self-identified as members of the LGBT community. The second phase of honorees was announced in 2016.
The Rainbow Honor announced a third phase of 24 more plaques in 2022. Plaques for co-founder and publisher of the Bay Area Reporter Bob Ross and Roger Casement, a gay Irishman who was hanged for treason in 1916, were installed in fall 2025.
A full list of honorees can be found on the Rainbow Honor Walk's website.
