The Castro

The Castro is:

• a street in San Francisco, which is best known for being the heart of San Francisco's gay community. See the separate entry for Castro Street.
• the immediate area surrounding this street. The neighborhood is also known as Eureka Valley.
• a commonly used abbreviation for the Castro Theatre (as in, "I'm going to see The Women tonight at the Castro"), a landmark movie theater that shows a wide variety of films.

The gay community's presence on this street is most concentrated in the business district that is concentrated from the corner of Market St.-17th St.-Castro to 19th St.-Castro. The greater Castro district extends down Market street toward Church and on 18th street on both sides of Castro for a block or two.

The Castro came of age as a gay center due to an enterprising real estate agent and what was, at the time, the low cost of housing in the area.

During the 1950s and 1960s when families left the big cities for the suburbs, the Eureka Valley also suffered this fate. By the early 1970s, rents were low and people pushed out of homes by the gentrification of the Haight Ashbury district nearby, began to settle in the Eureka Valley. In addition, real estate agent, Paul Langley, established an office at the corner of Castro and 18th Street, at the center of this community. His active promotion of the neighborhood as a gay center and his many community activities in support of building a gay community there contributed greatly to its success as a gay neighborhood.

By 1975, gay activist Harvey Milk had opened a camera store there, and began active political involvement as a gay activist, further contributing to the notion of the Castro as a gay destination.

Special events:

• Castro Street Fair
• Halloween

Places of note:

• Castro Theatre
• Corner of 18th St.-Castro
• The F Market heritage streetcar line's turnaround at Market St.-17th St.-Castro
• The Castro Street Station, a Muni Metro subway station
• Harvey Milk Plaza
• Site of Harvey Milk's Camera Store - 575 Castro St.

External links

• http://www.dreamworld.org/sfguide/Neighborhoods/Castro Castro guided photo tour
• http://www.castroonline.com/
• http://www.sfgate.com/eguide/gay/pages/castro.shtml
• http://www.webcastro.com/castrotour/ - description of the "official" walking tour, an excellent way to get to know the Castro