Harvey Milk, the site's namesake, was a gay man who moved to Castro District of San Francisco in 1972 and went on to become a beloved community activist.

The flagpole flies the iconic Rainbow Flag designed by SF-based artist Gilbert Baker that has become a world-wide symbol for the LGBTQ+ community.

The Castro Muni Station[2] and Harvey Milk Plaza were designed by the architectural firm Reid & Tarics Associates.

In 2016, SFMTA announced plans for a large project to increase accessibility for the Castro Muni Station located under the plaza.

[6] The winning submission belonged to architecture firm Perkins Eastman[7] who went on to produce some initial design concepts for the project.