The Castro vs. AIDS: The '80s in Pictures

On World AIDS Day, the San Francisco Public Library debuts a collection of photographs from Thomas Alleman chronicling the Castro during the worst days of the epidemic.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

November 30 2012 4:00 AM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

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San Francisco's gay-centric Castro was equal amounts thrilling and frightening in the 1980s. While the neighborhood attracted LGBT people from around the world, AIDS was decimating the population. Even as the residents fought back, protesting for research and education, life went on, and the Castro's 24-hour party never abated. In the following pictures by Thomas Alleman, part of the "Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws: Gay San Francisco, 1985-1988" exhibit at the San Francisco Public Library that opens on World AIDS Day, you can see the men and women who lived, loved, and fought for their lives during that heady time.

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