The San Francisco neighborhood known as the Castro is one of the best-known in the city. It was a birthplace of the LGBTQ+ rights movement in the U.S. and was where Harvey Milk, the gay-rights activist and politician, began his political career. It’s also a very picturesque and historic part of the city, with some of its best examples of Victorian housing, that originally had strong links to Russia and Finland. Today the Castro District is a major attraction for San Franciscans and visitors, drawn in large numbers by its great restaurant and cafe scene and vibrant nightlife.

In this article I’ll give you a brief(ish) history of the Castro and some of its important figures, and then make some recommendations for things to do, historic sites to visit and some places to eat and drink there.

Early History of the Castro

The Castro District gets its name from the Mexican Governor of Alta California (the name of the state when it was part of Mexico), José Castro. He was interim governor of the state in 1835-6 and was a strong supporter of the independence of Alta California from Mexico in his youth (as well as opposing the take-over of the state by the U.S. during the Mexican American War of 1846-8).

However, during San Francisco’s early years, and for some time after, the area was only sparsely settled. That only began to change in 1887, when the Market Street Railway Company built a line linking that part of the Eureka Valley with downtown San Francisco. Following this development the neighborhood began to develop as a residential area.

During its early years Castro was settled by a lot of Finns. Why Finns? Well, in those days most of the crews of Russian ships were made up of people from Finland, which was at the time part of the Russian Empire. The Russians had maintained an interest in California since the mid-1700’s, when they’d established settlements at several places in the region, which is where the San Francisco neighborhood of Russian Hill gets its name. 

During the latter half of the nineteenth century many Russian vessels manned by Finns would stop in San Francisco and, over time, a large Finnish community developed in Castro. To get an idea of how big it was it’s useful to know that some estimates put it at more than 10% of the entire seafaring community in the city at the time.

By the early 1900’s they’d been joined by immigrants from other Nordic nations, and the neighborhood had become known as Little Scandinavia (the Cove on Castro, which is on the corner of Castro and Market Streets, was called the Norse Cove when it opened in 1935).

The area survived the Great Fire intact (due the Golden Hydrant, on the edge of Mission Dolores Park being one of the few to provide water) and because of this it has some of the best examples of Victorian housebuilding in San Francisco.

A lot of Irish and Italian immigrants joined the local mix during the 1930’s, maintaining the area’s working-class (and immigrant) identity.

Castro Becomes a Gay Neighborhood

During and after the Second World War many gay service-members in the U.S. military were discharged because of their sexuality and, ultimately, ended up staying in the Bay Area. In the 1950’s ‘White flight’ (white, middle-class, families moving out of the city to the suburbs) meant that a lot of housing stock in places like the Castro and the nearby Haight opened up and became significantly cheaper.

This is one of the main reasons that so many hippies moved to the Haight in the 1960’s. That neighborhood’s large Victorian mansions very much suited their communal style of living, and the low rents suited their erratic income.

However, after the 1967 Summer of Love, the communes and councils became more characterized by drug-taking and dropping out, meaning many gay people moved over to the nearby Castro, concentrating their population there.

Harvey Milk

In 1973 a disaffected New Yorker, called Harvey Milk, opened a camera store on Castro Street. It was an event that was to have big consequences for himself and the city. Milk had, like many others before him, been driven out of the U.S. Navy when he’d been forced to resign, rather than be court-martialed for homosexuality, in 1955.

Milk originally considered himself to be a conservative and he worked on the presidential campaign of Republican Barry Goldwater in 1964. However, the hippie era of the late 1960’s completely changed his political perspective and from Castro Camera, his base in the neighborhood, he began to get involved in local politics, eventually becoming known as the unofficial ‘mayor of Castro’.

Milk ran for office several times before finally succeeding in 1977, when he became a San Francisco County supervisor. The election that brought him to power is particularly notable, not only for his election as the first openly gay non-incumbent to win election in the U.S., but also for the other candidates who won office. Sworn in with him was a civil-rights activist single-mother, as well as the first Chinese-American and the first African-American woman to hold the office of supervisor.

The city had just moved to a system of neighborhoods voting for their own supervisors, as opposed to a city-wide ballot, in order to make local government more responsive to the concerns of its citizens – and it seemed to have worked!

Murder of Milk

Unfortunately, Milk was only on the board for ten months. On the morning of November 27, 1978, he was assassinated by another supervisor, Daniel White, in his office at City Hall, along with Mayor George Moscone.

It’s never been exactly clear why White carried out the killings, they were clearly premeditated and planned (he even reloaded his gun between murders), but they bear all the hallmarks of hate crimes. In a bitter irony White had been elected on a law and order platform in the same election that had put Milk in office. 

White’s defense was extremely weak – he’d grown depressed and he’d had distant from his wife and family. As evidence of that, his lawyers noted that the ex-soldier and firefighter had gone from eating a healthy diet to bingeing on junk food.

Reporters latched onto this detail and it became known as ‘the Twinkie defense’, even though White’s lawyers didn’t argue that junk food caused him to commit the murders and twinkies were only mentioned in passing.

Ultimately, White was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to seven years in prison, due to ‘diminished mental capacity’. With the time reduced for various reasons he ended up serving just five years. Many felt that he’d literally gotten away with murder. 

However, shortly after being released and returning to San Francisco White committed suicide, in 1985. He never publicly expressed any remorse or regret for the killings, although the manner of his death would seem to suggest that felt his actions to be a heavy burden.

Aftermath of White Assassinations

The murders and subsequent trial of Dan White had three major effects.

First of all, there was a riot, known as ‘the White Night’, as thousands of residents of the Castro marched on City Hall in anger, when news of the verdict got out. Hours later the police responded with their own riot in the Castro itself. Eventually peace was restored, but much of the anger remained and simmered.

The second significant change was that California barred diminished mental capacity as a defense, although it can be considered when sentencing.

The final major impact was on the county voting system, which went back to being a city-wide ballot, since San Franciscans worried that voting by neighborhood was creating too many conflicts, with the potential for violence.

In 2000 the city returned to district supervisor elections, which have been used ever since.

Castro Today

The Castro District is still the spiritual heart of the gay community in San Francisco, but the Castro has attractions and things to do for everyone, as well as some great restaurants and bars. An open mind is required for your visit though, otherwise you might be shocked to see a naked man happily walking up the street, or you could be offended by the cookies sold at Hot Cookie (which resemble, ahem, male body parts).

It’s only a short ride on the historic streetcar from the downtown Financial District and has a MUNI station at its heart, so the Castro is a very accessible part of San Francisco, and it’s very walkable.

Our Recommendations

The Castro itself is quite a small district (which is perhaps surprising, bearing in mind its fame), occupying less than a square mile, but there are a lot of things to do in the area, and surrounding neighborhoods, so you can easily spend a very pleasant day exploring it.

1. CASTRO THEATRE

The Castro Theatre marquee, with its famous and picturesque blade sign, dominates Castro Street. Amazingly the same family has owned the theatre since it opened over a hundred years ago, in 1922. The theatre actually moved to this new building from its old home, which is now Cliff’s Variety Store, a few doors down. 

The Castro recently reopened (February 2026) after a $40 million historic renovation funded by Another Planet Entertainment, which has a long term lease on the theater. The plan is for it to host a mixed line-up of concerts, live shows and movies. Check here for more information.

2. CASTRO STREET

Castro Street has a ton of great café’s, bars, restaurants and shops, making it a great spot to have lunch (or dinner) and enjoy the vibe. Some of the best known are:

• The Cove on Castro
• Hot Cookie
• Cliff’s Variety
• Twin Peaks.

3. HARVEY MILK PLAZA

Harvey Milk was a crucial early figure in Castro’s journey to becoming the LGBTQ+ friendly district that it is today. His murder in 1978 was a shocking event for all of the neighborhood’s residents at the time, and he’s honored with an informational mural dedicated to his life at MUNI’s Castro Station.

4. MISSION DOLORES PARK

One of the loveliest parks in San Francisco, it’s technically in the Mission District, but Castro borders the park on one side and it’s less than ten minutes walk from the intersection of Castro and Market Streets. The park has its own micro-climate so that the weather’s often warm and sunny in there, even when it’s cool and overcast in other parts of the Bay Area (more info here). 

The sloping park, with its amazing views of the city, is a great spot for a picnic and there are several nice cafes and bars surrounding it; Woods Cerveceria and Dolores Park Café flank the park on either side and both are well worth a visit.

5. TWIN PEAKS AND BUENA VISTA PARK

Fancy a hike? Both Buena Vista Park (the oldest official park in San Francisco) and Twin Peaks Park are great parks that, since they’re on the top of the hill, have great views.

From the ‘the Window’, an overlook on the western side of Buena Vista Park, there’s a sweeping vista of Golden Gate Park, the Pacific Ocean, and on rare clear days, the coast up to the white cliffs of Drake’s Bay to the north.

Both are a relatively short (although steep) walk from the Castro District.

6. HISTORIC STREETCAR

If you’re going to Castro from the direction of the Financial District, or leaving that way, then you have to take the F Market and Wharves line streetcar. The terminus is right on the corner of Market and Castro and the MUNI’s wonderful collection of vintage streetcars ensure this is a memorable ride. You can take the F-line from here all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf.

Read our article on how to ride SF cable cars and trams for more information about the San Francisco icon and how to use it.

7. TOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Every Sunday our SF: Food + History + Art Tour takes guests on a walk through the next-door Mission District, finishing at Mission Dolores Park, right on the Castro’s doorstep.

Also, both our daily SF in a Day tour and our daily Half Day SF City Highlights tour include a walk through the neighborhood, visiting Castro Street itself and Mission Dolores Park, before heading off to the nearby Haight District for lunch.

This map is interactive. To open in Google Maps click the icon in the top right corner.

If you have any feedback on Castro: SF’s Naughty Neighborhood, please email us or reach out on social media, we’d love to hear from you.

– By Damien Blackshaw (Twitter)