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Pink Triangle Park

Pink Triangle Park is a memorial complex in San Francisco’s Castro district, created in memory of LGBT people who suffered persecution and discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Opened on June 23, 2003, it was designed by artists Robert Bruce and Susan Martin. The triangular park contains 15 three-sided white columns topped with pink triangles, arranged to form an equilateral triangle on a slope. A path runs through the park, with a central platform shaped like a pink triangle. The memorial also recalls the pink triangle as a symbol of grief in the LGBT community and commemorates those persecuted in Nazi camps. It is located near Harvey Milk Plaza, at 17th Street and Market Street.

Pink Triangle Park memorial columns with triangular caps among tall grasses
Pink Triangle Park and Memorial in San Francisco, shown with its row of gray columns and triangular tops.
© Ryan Gessner · CC BY-SA 2.0
Pink Triangle Park with tall granite pillars arranged in a triangular formation along a sloped gravel path.
Tall granite pillars at Pink Triangle Park form a triangular arrangement beside a winding gravel path.
July 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Pink Triangle Park memorial with two gray granite columns topped by pink triangles, set among grass and roses.
Pink Triangle Park in San Francisco, showing two granite columns topped with pink triangles.
September 2012 © · CC0
A grey granite pillar with a pink-speckled triangular top at Pink Triangle Park.
A close-up of a granite pillar at Pink Triangle Park, showing its pink-speckled triangular top.
July 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Diagram of Pink Triangle Park showing a green irregular park shape with a winding white path and pink triangles.
Plan diagram of Pink Triangle Park in San Francisco, showing the park layout and pink triangle elements.
© · Public domain

Identification

TitlePink Triangle Park
Historical significanceFirst permanent free public memorial in the United States dedicated to homosexuals persecuted in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust
Original-language nameMemorial Park of the Pink Triangle
TypeMemorial park and memorial site

Historical context

Dedication subjectThousands of homosexuals persecuted in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust
Historical contextThe Castro is an established LGBT neighborhood in San Francisco and is associated with Harvey Milk

Creator

DesignersRobert Bruce and Susan Martin
Robert Bruce affiliationOne of the founding members of STOP-AIDS San Francisco

Discovery and provenance

Founded on10 December, the date of adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Opened bySan Francisco Mayor Willie Brown
Opened10 December 2001
Commissioned byEureka Valley Promotion Association
Opening occasionHuman Rights Day

Location and ownership

LocationCastro district, San Francisco, California, United States
SiteAt the intersection of Market Street and 17th Street, across from Harvey Milk Plaza, above Castro Street Station of the Muni Metro
SizeJust under 370 m²
MaintainerA nonprofit organization whose name is not specified

Physical characteristics

Number of columns15
Column formTop ends are slanted and flattened
Column shapeTriangular in cross-section
ArrangementThe 15 columns are arranged in an equilateral triangle on the slope
Central featureA central triangle filled with stones, including pink crystals
Elements15 triangular granite columns and a central triangular area filled with rocks and pink crystals
ShapeTriangular
Ground surfaceA triangular area covered with pink quartz gravel

Materials

Column materialGranite
Central triangle materialPink granite
Ground materialPink quartz gravel
Additional materialExplanatory plaque

Iconography and meaning

Conceptual meaningA physical reminder that persecution of any person or group harms all humanity
Commemorated groupGay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people persecuted and discriminated against because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, especially homosexuals persecuted in Nazi Germany
Plaque contentThe plaque notes that after the fall of the Nazi regime homosexual prisoners were sent back to prisons and were not officially recognized as victims of the Third Reich until 2002
Pink triangle symbolismA symbol of mourning in the LGBT community and the badge used to mark homosexual prisoners in Nazi concentration camps
Pink crystals symbolismLove, healing, and pride
Triangle motif meaningA reference to the pink triangle Nazis forced homosexual men to wear for identification and public humiliation
Column symbolismEach column represents about 1,000 homosexuals killed in Nazi concentration camps

History and restoration

VandalismIn 2008 the memorial was vandalized by far-right vandals with Nazi swastikas

Significance

PurposeA memorial to persecuted homosexuals in Nazi Germany and a statement that persecution of one group harms society as a whole

Other

Visitor interactionVisitors are encouraged to take a pink crystal as a souvenir