The Castro District, one of the original gay neighborhoods in the nation, is located right in the center of the city of San Francisco near The Mission, Lower Haight, Cole Valley and Noe Valley. A vibrant neighborhood filled with great restaurants, bars, clubs, museums and more, The Castro is one of the most popular tourist areas in the city.
The history of the neighborhood dates back to the late 1800s, about 40 years after the peak of the Gold Rush and 20 years before the 1906 earthquake and fires that devastated the city. It was built in 1887 after a new railway line was created that would link the area to downtown. The neighborhood went through many changes as the city grew. Several years after the 1906 earthquake, the neighborhood became known as Little Scandinavia, due to the large population of Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish people who settled there. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that the gay population began to grow and The Castro wasn’t the first gay neighborhood in the city. In fact, the Polk Gulch area of San Francisco was the initial gay center of the city starting from the 1940s and then slowly declining through the 1960s and 1970s as The Castro started to grow.
As a lot of people started moving out of “Little Scandinavia” through the 1950s, a lot of great real estate opened up, which attracted a lot of gay purchasers from Polk Gulch and from outside of the city. The population began to grow, prompting the opening of the Missouri Mule, the first gay bar in the Castro. The 1967 Summer of Love, which brought 100,000 people to Haight-Ashbury, escalated the exodus to the area, which eventually took over as the Gay center of San Francisco.
As the area became known throughout the nation, it also attracted Harvey Milk to the area, who opened a small camera store in the neighborhood. Milk became an icon for the area and for the city of San Francisco as a powerful activist and the first openly gay elected official in the city. He was responsible for passing a pivotal law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, but sadly his life was cut short when he was assassinated by a city supervisor. Despite the tragic end, Harvey Milk’s influence and accomplishments are celebrated to this day.
The residents of The Castro and the gay community of San Francisco had to overcome a lot as the neighborhood grew, including discrimination, the assassination of Harvey Milk and the A.I.D.S. crisis in the mid 80s. However, the community held strong and through adversity built an iconic and safe area for the gay community.
Today, The Castro is an amazing neighborhood in San Francisco with a great culinary scene, busy nightlife and a variety of great attractions. In fact, The Castro is one of the most lively and fun neighborhoods in the city. The easily walkable area is home to some amazing bars including Moby Dick, Twin Peaks Tavern, Hi-Tops and Toad Hall. The neighborhood is busy most nights of the week, so you can usually find at least a small crowd at the Castro bars every night of the week.
As for the culinary scene, The Castro holds its own against any other neighborhood in the city. Anchored by Michelin Star restaurant, Frances, the area has a little something for everyone from sushi to Italian. Popular spots include Anchor Oyster Bar, Kitchen Story, Starbelly and Canela. Other great spots to check out include cafes like Reveille Coffee and Le Marais Bakery, boutique stores like Unionmade, Best in Show, The Apothecarium and Sui Generis as well as iconic fixtures like Castro Tattoo, The Castro Theater, The GLBT History Museum and The Rainbow Honor Walk. It is also the place to be during Gay Pride Weekend if you are not at the Gay Pride Parade or the festival at Civic Center Plaza.
Whether you are visiting for business or pleasure or live in the area, the Castro is a wonderful San Francisco neighborhood to visit for delicious eats, great shopping and a fun nightlife.
EXPLORE EVENTS
Upcoming San Francisco Events
01
January
1970
San Francisco New Year’s Eve 2018
01
January
1970
Martin Lawrence at Paramount Theater
01
January
1970
Michael Mina’s Wine & Beer Garden
01
January
1970
San Francisco Mardi Gras
01
January
1970
Super Bowl 50 Party Bus
01
January
1970
Super Bowl 50 Viewing Party
01
January
1970
Black Sabbath at SAP Center San Jose
01
January
1970
Penguin Prison at Mezzanine
01
January
1970
Dining in the Dark Pop Up Events
01
January
1970
Wicked at Orpheum Theater
01
January
1970
SF St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl
01
January
1970
Monster Energy SuperCross Party Bus to Levi’s Stadium
01
January
1970
Father John Misty w/ Tess & Dave
01
January
1970
Poolside at Mezzanine
01
January
1970
Coachella Party Bus
01
January
1970
Mission Pub Crawl San Francisco
06
May
2016
Tom Green Live at Cobb’s Comedy Club
06
May
2016
The Cure Party Bus to Shoreline Amphitheater
06
May
2016
Lightning in a Bottle Party Bus
06
May
2016
Copa América Centenario Party Bus (USA vs. Colombia)
06
May
2016
The 8th Annual Chestnut Street Pub Crawl
06
May
2016
4th of July Fireworks Spectacular With the San Francisco Symphony
06
May
2016
Rascal Flatts Party Bus
06
May
2016
Rascal Flatts
06
May
2016
Pitbull
14
July
2016
Steven Tyler
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July
2016
Darius Rucker Party Bus
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July
2016
Darius Rucker
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July
2016
The 13th Annual Union Street Pub Crawl
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July
2016
The Art of Rap Tour
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July
2016
Sublime With Rome, Dirty Heads and Tribal Seeds at Concord Pavilion
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July
2016
Adele Party Bus
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July
2016
Dead & Company Party Bus (SF)
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July
2016
Weezer Party Bus
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July
2016
Kenny Chesney Party Bus
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July
2016
Demi Lovato Party Bus
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July
2016
Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas at SAP Center
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July
2016
The Haight Street Pub Crawl
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July
2016
Star Wars Marathon
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July
2016
Heart & Joan Jett Concert Shuttle
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July
2016
California Rum Festival
14
July
2016
Giants vs. Braves (Discounted Tickets)
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July
2016
The Shop SF Closing Sale
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July
2016
Coldplay Concert Shuttle
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July
2016
Labor Day Weekend – Bottomless Sangria Sunday!
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July
2016
San Francisco Labor Day Pub Crawl
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July
2016
The North Beach Bar Run
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July
2016
Bloc Party at Mezzanine
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July
2016
Dolly Parton Concert Shuttle
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July
2016
Dolly Parton at Shoreline Amphitheater
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July
2016
Oddball Festival
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July
2016
Dodgers vs. Giants Tickets
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July
2016
Gwen Stefani Concert Shuttle
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July
2016
Gwen Stefani at Shoreline Amphitheater
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July
2016
R. Kelly
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July
2016
Kanye West Concert Shuttle
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July
2016
Kanye West: Saint Pablo Tour at Oracle Arena
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July
2016
Nick Offerman Live
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July
2016
Joel McHale Live
14
July
2016
Snowbomb Ski & Snowboard Festival
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July
2016
San Francisco Wine Festival
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July
2016
Galantis Concert Shuttle
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July
2016
Style Lounge Holiday Shopping Event
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July
2016
49ers vs. Jets Party Bus
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July
2016
49ers vs. Jets
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July
2016
Oakland Fire Relief Benefit ftg. MOBY (DJ Set)
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July
2016
Grady Brannan’s Photo Book Release Party
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July
2016
Dave Chappelle at Punchline San Francisco
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July
2016
Dave Chappelle at Punchline San Francisco
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July
2016
San Francisco New Years Eve at Hotel G
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July
2016
Stock in Trade 4 Year Anniversary
14
July
2016
Japandroids with Craig Finn & The Uptown Controllers
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July
2016
Lush Lounge Trivia Night
14
July
2016
San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Alley Party
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July
2016
Irish Bank St. Patrick’s Day Block Party
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July
2016
San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl: Lepracon 5
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July
2016
San Francisco Party Bus: San Jose Earthquakes vs. FC Dallas
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July
2016
The Walking Dead Con
14
July
2016
Mt. Kushmore Wellness Retreat featuring Snoop Dogg
14
July
2016
The San Francisco Beer Olympics
14
July
2016
Bay to Breakers DISCO Pre-Party
14
July
2016
Lady Antebellum Party Bus
14
July
2016
Lady Antebellum at Shoreline Amphitheatre
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July
2016
Comedy Clusterfest
14
July
2016
The Ferocious Few
14
July
2016
San Francisco North Beach Festival
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July
2016
San Francisco Craft Spirits Carnival
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July
2016
ID10T Festival
14
July
2016
San Francisco Oysterfest
14
July
2016
Train, O.A.R. and Natasha Bedingfield Live at Shoreline Amphitheatre
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July
2016
Bastille Day Alley Party at Aventine
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July
2016
Counting Crows San Francisco Concert Shuttle
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July
2016
Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey
14
July
2016
Hall & Oates Concert Shuttle
14
July
2016
John Mayer Party Bus (Shoreline Amphitheater)
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July
2016
The Band Perry Concert Shuttle
14
July
2016
NorCal Brew Fest
14
July
2016
Sam Hunt Party Bus
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July
2016
Kendrick Lamar Party Bus
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July
2016
Shoreline Amphitheater Party Bus (Incubus)
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