San Francisco Neighborhoods · Castro
Castro
also Eureka ValleySun zoneSan Francisco's rainbow heart — a sun-warmed hilltop village where pride flies year-round and history lives on every corner.
- Among the city's sunniest
- Walkable nightlife
- Transit-rich
- Living LGBTQ history
On the map
Open Castro on the map →The story
Castro Street honors José Castro (1808–1860), a Californio leader and governor of Mexican Alta California. The area grew as Eureka Valley, a working-class streetcar suburb built out in the 1880s–90s after the Market Street cable line arrived. As families left for the suburbs in the 1960s–70s, LGBTQ residents moved in, making it one of America's first and most famous gay neighborhoods.
Things most people don’t know
Birthplace of the Pride flag
Artist Gilbert Baker sewed the first rainbow flag here in 1978. A 20-by-30-foot version has flown over Harvey Milk Plaza, above the Castro Muni station, since 1997.
Harvey Milk's camera shop
Milk ran Castro Camera at 575 Castro St and in 1977 won a seat on the Board of Supervisors — among the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. After his 1978 assassination, a candlelight march down Market St marks the day each year.
A 1922 movie palace
The Castro Theatre, designed by Timothy Pflueger, is a city landmark — a “Mighty Wurlitzer” organ still rises from the floor and plays before screenings.
Street fair & the AIDS quilt
Harvey Milk founded the Castro Street Fair in 1974; it still fills the streets each October. Cleve Jones first conceived the AIDS Memorial Quilt here in 1985.
Hidden in plain sight
It was plain “Eureka Valley” until the name “the Castro” caught on in the 1970s. Rainbow-striped crosswalks mark 18th & Castro (2014), all on the ancestral land of the Ramaytush Ohlone.
Eating and drinking
Restaurants
- Frances · 3870 17th St
- Anchor Oyster Bar · 579 Castro St
- Starbelly · 3583 16th St
- L'Ardoise Bistro · 151 Noe St
- Kasa Indian Eatery · 4001 18th St
Bars
- Twin Peaks Tavern · 401 Castro St
- The Mix · 4086 18th St
- 440 Castro · 440 Castro St
- Beaux · 2344 Market St
- Midnight Sun · 4067 18th St
Getting around and getting care
Transit. Castro Station serves Muni Metro K, L and M lines underground; the historic F-Market streetcar runs along Market St. Buses: 24 Divisadero, 33 Ashbury–18th, 35 Eureka and 37 Corbett.
Nearest hospital. CPMC Davies Campus, 45 Castro St at Duboce Ave (about 0.6 mi)
Thinking about Castro?
Send me an address and I will come back with its sun, wind and fog, what is under it, and what has closed on the block.