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
30
March
2025
Kitty Craft at Great American Music Hall
30
March
2025
S.F. Comedy Showcase Sunday at Punch Line Comedy Club
30
March
2025
Tobe Nwigwe Home Is Where the Hood Is
30
March
2025
Worn-Tin, Freak Nature Puppets at Bottom of the Hill
31
March
2025
Yastaki Shimizu
31
March
2025
Johnny Manchild & The Poor Bastards, Volores
01
April
2025
Chiodos: 20 Years of All’s Well That Ends Well with Hawthorne Heights, Emmure, The Callous Daoboys
01
April
2025
Kelly Lee Owens Dreamstate Tour 2025
01
April
2025
How Did This Get Made? – Live at The Masonic
01
April
2025
Lilly Hiatt at Bottom of the Hill
01
April
2025
Hovvdy at The Independent
02
April
2025
Martha Wainwright at Great American Music Hall
02
April
2025
Gusi at The Chapel
03
April
2025
Bullet for My Valentine & Trivium: The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour 2025
03
April
2025
Aziz Ansari Hypothetical Tour at The Paramount Theatre
03
April
2025
Magic Sword Year of The Sword Tour 2025
03
April
2025
Wilderness at Bottom of the Hill
03
April
2025
Club Chris Tour with Chris Olsen & Ryan Trainor
03
April
2025
Conner O’Malley at Cobb’s Comedy Club
03
April
2025
Role Model No Place Like Tour | Debbie Dawson
03
April
2025
Spencer Sutherland The Drama North American Tour at The Fillmore
04
April
2025
Dreamstate
04
April
2025
Elderbrook Another Touch North American Tour
04
April
2025
Conner O’Malley at Cobb’s Comedy Club Night Two
04
April
2025
Movements with Citizen at The Masonic
04
April
2025
Spelling Portrait of My Heart Tour
04
April
2025
Myles Smith We Were Never Strangers Tour 2025
04
April
2025
Old 97’s at The Fillmore
04
April
2025
Rubblebucket, CAPYAC at August Hall
04
April
2025
Mild Minds at Bimbo’s 365 Club
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