Gay San Francisco through Harvey Milk’s eyes

Have you seen “Milk,” the new biopic that stars Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the San Francisco city supervisor and gay activist who was assassinated 30 years ago? Now you can visit the movie’s key sites on a walking tour that makes its debut today.

What you’ll see: The three-hour tour, offered at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays, takes you to the two-story Victorian home in the Castro neighborhood where Milk lived, organized his political campaigns and ran his camera shop, now a gift store.

You’ll also tour San Francisco City Hall, where former Supervisor Dan White shot to death Milk and Mayor George Moscone on Nov. 27, 1978. The building’s impressive rotunda was later the site of same-sex marriages, which prompted Proposition 8, passed last month by voters, that amended California’s Constitution to ban such unions.

Another stop is a Castro storefront where the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society is displaying the bloodstained suit and shoes that Milk wore when he died, plus other items from gay history.

Many actors in “Milk” wore the actual clothes lent by people they portrayed.

What you won’t see: Not on the itinerary is the San Francisco Public Library, where a new exhibit shows family photos, love letters and other documents from Milk’s life. It runs through Jan. 10.

The 411: The Harvey Milk Tour, offered by Cruisin’ the Castro Tours, costs $55 for adults and $35 for children ages 5 to 12. Reservations are required. For more info, call the company at (415) 255-1821 or visit its website.

Doing it for free: Can’t scrape up $55? You can do a shorter, self-guided Milk tour for free by downloading a map and audio guide from the GLBT Historical Society.

— Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor

[Photo: Sean Penn as Harvey Milk in "Milk"; Phil Bray / Focus Features]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 9:45 am by Jane Engle and is filed under California, Celebrity, Gay, News, Tips & Advice, Northern California, San Francisco, Tours & Cruises. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.