The story behind the 1980 Muni Metro Party
We recently heard from Ken Maley, who helped organize the Muni Metro party we posted about in the summer of 2011. Here’s what Ken had to say about the planning and preparation for that party, which we’re bummed to have missed (hey! We were kids at that time, too!)
The late Jim Rivaldo, Dick Pabich, and I had lobbied Muni in 1979 to name the Castro Station after Harvey Milk. Harvey was a big supporter of Muni/public transportation. Muni told us stations weren’t named after people, but did agree to our alternative suggestion, which was the Harvey Milk Plaza and an event in the new stations.
A Harvey Milk Fund had been set up and when I learned that the Muni Metro was set to open in May/June 1980, I had the idea of having a party in the Castro station as a benefit for the MIlk Fund. Muni was very cooperative, and when they took me into the station, I realized that it would be too expensive–and unrealistic given that the system was to open the next morning after the event, to install a cover over the rails between the IN and OUTBOUND platforms. One of the Muni staff said I should use a station that had a center loading platform and the first one up the line was Van Ness station.
