San francisco castro district
After World War II, the Castro District began to change from a working-class neighborhood into
a haven for members of the LGBTQ+ community seeking acceptance and equality during a time of widespread discrimination. Then in , local resident and civil-rights activist Harvey Milk solidified Castro’s place as a mecca for the LGBTQ+ community when he became the first openly gay elected official in California.
Milk was assassinated just one year later, but the Castro District honors his legacy through empowerment and inclusivity for marginalized communities, shaping an experience of belonging for generations of LGBTQ+ individuals. Today, the district invites you to examine its rich culture, delve into its captivating history, and be your authentic self.
So get ready to embark on an unforgettable journey through this memorable community — and don’t miss a thing with our curated list of the top 10 must-dos in the Castro District.
If you want to absorb more about the history of the LGBTQ+ community, there’s no better place to do it than the Castro District, starting wi
The History of the Castro
17th Street, circa
Credit: D. H. Wulzen
Eureka Valley
Eureka Valley, named for one of the Twin Peaks (the other was called Noe), began as sparsely populated ranchos that belonged to Mexican land barons love Jose Castro and Jose de Jesus Noe. In the s when Irish, German and Scandinavian families homesteaded on the slopes of Twin Peaks, a village of dairy farms and Victorian houses flourished. With the opening of the Castro Street segment of the Market Street Cable Railway in , Eureka Valley became a desirable and accessible neighborhood.
It was every productive man's dream: purchase a cheap piece of land and build a stately Victorian, big enough for several generations of the family. And it was not just who lived in one house that was family but everyone who lived around you. It was a total neighborhood by its truest definition. There was economic solidarity; everyone was working class. They worked in the trades, public-service sectors and on the waterfront. There were bakeries, butcher shops and poultry and fish markets. Eureka Valley had its own com
Vibrant and eclectic, the Castro/Upper Market neighborhood is an internationally known symbol of gay freedom, a top tourist destination full of elegant shops and accepted entertainment spots, and a thriving residential area that thousands of San Franciscans call home.
Its streets are filled with lovingly restored Victorian homes, rainbow pride flags, shops offering one-of-a-kind merchandise, heritage streetcars, lively bars and restaurants, and numerous gay-borhood landmarks including Harvey Milk Plaza, the Castro Theatre, Pink Triangle Park and Memorial, and the massive SF Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center.
The Castro District, better known as The Castro, is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, which is also known as Eureka Valley.
San Francisco&#;s gay village is most concentrated in the business district that is located on Castro Street from Market Street to 19th Street. It extends down Market Street toward Church and on both sides of the Castro neighborhood from Church Street to Eureka Street. Although the greater gay community was, and is, conc
Perfect Day in the Castro
About the Castro
Originally known as Eureka Valley, the Castro was once part of a adj rancho owned by Jose de Jesus Noe, a Mexican land baron. He began selling it off in after the American conquest of California.
In the s, German, Irish, and Scandinavian immigrants began settling in Eureka Valley and building handsome Victorian row houses for their large families. The Market Street Cable Railway connected Eureka Valley with the rest of San Francisco in , creating a housing boom and turning the village into a thriving working-class neighborhood.
Having transformed from a working-class neighborhood through the s and s, the Castro remains a symbol and source of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activism and events.
The activism of the '60s and '70s forged a community with sizable political and economic power, and when the historic Twin Peaks bar at Market and Castro streets removed the blackout sketch from its floor-to-ceiling windows, most took it as a sign that Castro residents were secure in their gay identity.
There were, ho