You’ll know you’re in the Castro when you see rainbow flags adorning businesses and homes and pink triangle bumper stickers on cars. Since the early 1970s this neighborhood has been attracting gay men and women from around the world. Before the AIDS epidemic it was known as a spot for open revelry, with disco music pumping on Castro street 24 hour a day. Today the community is less carefree than in the first years of open gay pride, but on weekends it still bustles with people socializing on the streets, in the bars, and at the gyms.
The heart of the district is Castro Street between Market and 19th streets. At the southwest corner of Market and Castro, where the K, L, and M Muni streetcar lines stop, is Harvey Milk Plaza, named in honor of California’s first openly gay elected official. On November 27, 1978, Milk and then-mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, a disgruntled former supervisor. During his trial White claimed the high sugar content of his junk-food diet altered his mental state – the so-called Twinkie defense – and was convicted of voluntary manslaughter by reason of diminished capacity. The night of the verdict 40,000 San Franciscans gathered at the plaza and launched what have come to be known as the White Night riots, in which property was burned and destroyed. They then proceeded to city hall in candlelight march; the procession is repeated every year on the anniversary of the event.
One block away, where 18th and Castro streets meet, you’ll find the gayest four corners in the world: All of the shops, bars, and cafes cater to the gay community. On weekends people hand out advertisements for gay clubs, marches, lectures, and political causes. Travel agencies bill themselves as gay and lesbian vacation experts, and card shops have names such as Does Your Mother Know…(4079 18th St.) and stock coming-out and same-sex love cards. A block from the intersection is the Castro Theatre, the grand Art Deco repertory house that hosts the much loved International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival each summer.
Everywhere, the Castro abounds with unique shops and services. The offerings at Man Line include Keith Haring earrings and rainbow-striped robes and flags while Under One Roof carries license plate holders marked with pink triangles.
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