How San Francisco’s Castro Became an LGBT Landmark

LGBT Culture and Activism Find a Hub
Reveling at the crossroads of two social revolutions, the Castro came of age in the culturally turbulent 1960s, when swarms of young people, who found in it what they could not find in their often repressive hometowns, came to San Francisco to join the antiwar protests and embrace counterculture.

Thanks to word-of-mouth buzz around its welcoming atmosphere, the district soon became a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ locals. One significant legacy of this work is the GLBT Historical Society, which was established in 1985 in the midst of the AIDS crisis. Its collection now encompasses a whole range of queer memorabilia, including the first Pride flag.

In the 1970s, Harvey Milk, perhaps the most important political activist in the American LGBTQ+ rights movement, settled down in the Castro. A camera store owner on Castro Street after he moved to the neighborhood in 1972, Milk became a community organizer. He co-founded the Castro Village Association, one of the country’s first L.G.B.T.-owned business groups, and became known as the “Mayor of Castro Street.”

Milk was elected to the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco in 1977, and became the first openly gay male elected official in the United States. He played a role in opposing Proposition 6, which sought to prohibit gay and lesbian teachers from working in schools. Before holding office for a year, Milk and Mayor George Moscone were murdered by fellow supervisor Dan White. His death brought him to symbolize the struggle for equality.

Namesakes A US Navy ship and a San Francisco International Airport terminal were later named in his honor.

But though Milk was the most visible, others such as activist and academic Sally Gearhart were also instrumental. Gearhart collaborated with Milk on the campaign against Proposition 6 and co-founded one of the first women’s studies programs in the country at San Francisco State University. Supporters insist that the entire spectrum of contributors be recognized, which includes women, trans persons, seniors, and queer youth.

By ERICA ORDEN Reena Advani and Davesh Mavani were married on March 23 at 3 West Club in Manhattan.

Fifty years after Milk arrived, the Castro is still a monument to queer culture but also a microcosm of contemporary urban tensions. Though it is a hub of LGBTQ+ pride, the neighborhood today is one of San Francisco’s most expensive. Gentrification, driven by the tech boom, has driven up costs and altered the character of the neighborhood. In the 1990s, luxury retailers like Diesel started to show up, and then global names like Apple and Starbucks that now join local businesses as neighbors at the table.

But Castro’s character remains the same. A camera store owned by Harvey Milk remains at 575 Castro Street, from which issue a memorial on the front and a mural. But to maintain this history, the GLBT Historical Society has recently found a home of its own in the neighborhood — a place where not just locals, but visitors from around the world, can discover beautiful things.
Although LGBTQ+ people reside throughout the city, the Castro remains a draw for people from across the planet. For many, it is a cultural touchstone and a lasting symbol of community resilience.

“I have spent my entire life in San Francisco,” says Roberto Ordeñana, the executive director of the GLBT Historical Society. “I never left. I love the world, I love traveling the world, but this is home.”