© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 94114, 94102
Neighborhoods
about two miles southwest of downtown San Francisco. Noted for their large gay
population and interest in rights of gays but now attracting straights,
including young families. www.mccormacks.com
Many
shops, restaurants, delis, bars along Castro Street. Theater famous for showing
classic movies. Bookstores. Hilly. Pretty. Many Victorians. Many artists
perform concerts at the Castro Theatre. If anyone felt like performing Bach,
the venue could accommodate them with its pipe organ.
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Some residents
want to discourage stores that attract tourists but this neighborhood will
always attract visitors. In fact, it is on the tour bus circuit.
Much care
lavished on neighborhood and homes. About 73 percent of residents are renters.
Free and
easy style. No apologies here for sexual orientation. A neighborhood that will
charm and shock granny. For some gays, almost a holy place, and according to
polls, the most popular spot for gay tourists in the country. Here’s where a
lot of actions were started that led to more freedom, less persecution.
San Francisco
is still a leader in social progress. In 2002 a LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender) community center opened. Brings segments of the community
under one roof. www.mccormacks.com
On the
somber side, the Castro intentionally calls attention to AIDS and the deaths it
has caused. In 1994, Harvey Milk Institute opened on Church Street, an academy
devoted to gay and lesbian studies. Milk, a gay and a county supervisor, was
assassinated.
Neighboring
Noe Valley is considered by some as part of the Eureka Valley-Castro district
(but see separate profile).
Buses and
light rail to downtown. Within walking distance (if you like to walk) of many
of the cultural offerings of the City. Short bus ride (30-40 blocks) or light
rail to the Giants' stadium and to the jobs at Mission Bay.
San
Francisco parking divides into improbable and impossible. With the first, on
the weekends, if you drive several blocks, you will find a parking spot. With the
second, no matter how many blocks you drive, nothing. Castro is one of the impossible.
Situated
east of Twin Peaks, which means some protection from the fog. Many of the
streets rise into the hills with, in some instances, views of the Bay. www.mccormacks.com
According
to news stories, young families like the neighborhood because it has been fixed
up. Other forces at work: changing attitudes toward gays. In many other parts
of the City and in many suburbs in the Bay Area and urban-suburban California,
they are no longer considered pariahs. For this reason, some gays are moving to
other neighborhoods or the suburbs. Or simply not moving into the Castro.
Like many
cities, San Francisco is always changing, new groups replacing old and
sometimes old replacing new.
• Many
communities would pay a bounty to land a Trader Joe's, the fresh-food purveyor.
In the Castro, after a year of trying, TJ withdrew. People objected to the
traffic the store would generate.
• Tiresome.
The Castro District is famous for its Halloween Party, which attracts over
100,000. For a long time, the party was celebrated as an event for gays to
dine, drink, dance, listen to music and show off outrageous costumes. In recent
years, however, people have been stabbed, shot and assaulted and, acceding to
complaints, city officials are trying to move the event to the waterfront or
end it. Even the costumes are getting out of hand. One fellow showed up with a working
chainsaw. www.mccormacks.com
