Castro District

The Castro Theatre for which the district is named.

If there is a capital of the gay rights movement in the United States it is the Castro district of San Francisco.

A monument at Castro and Market streets commemorates the neighborhood as the place where gay people from around the country transplanted themselves and “planted the seeds” of change that eventually resulted in greater acceptance of gay lifestyles - with the ultimate victory being the legalization of gay marriage.

Today the Rainbow flag flies high throughout the neighborhood, but there is no sense any one is challenging the sensibilities of mainstream society. It’s just another city block with its own personality.