Castro District residents worried construction will damage plaques

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Some residents in San Francisco's Castro District are upset with a sewage project they say could damage important and meaningful pieces of artwork.

The Bronze Honor Walk plaques along Castro Street were designed to be walked on, but not for this - construction work requiring power tools and heavy machinery.

A sewage project has left the plaque of Pulitzer prize winning playwright Tennessee Williams a mess. It's dirty, surrounded by trash and wood, and possibly damaged.

"I think it's a slap in the face for the artists who put this together," San Francisco resident Marjorie Manzella said.

"The real issue here is one of respect," David Perry said.

Perry is the founder and chairman of Castro's Rainbow Honor Walk. He says the plaques are there to pay tribute to heroes of the LGBT community and their contributions towards equality.

"What we're concerned about that we see here is someone who is doing construction on a local business and we feel maybe hasn't given one of our honorees the respect they deserve. It's one thing for someone to walk over Tennessee Williams and look down and learn about them. It's another to see them, you know, with something that might scratch it more than the usual wear and tear," Perry said.

A private contractor is replacing a sewer line. Perry reached out to Supervisor Scott Wiener, who is also investigating what happened.

"If someone was doing work and damaged one of these plaques, that contractor, in my view, needs to be financially responsible for repairing the damage," Wiener said.

Each costs $5,000. Money aside, Perry wants to remind all construction crews that these plaques are not just a piece of sidewalk.