NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Castro District

The Castro is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, which is also known as Eureka Valley. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2032x921, 398 KB) The Castro in San Francisco, California. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2032x921, 398 KB) The Castro in San Francisco, California. ... Six color rainbow gay pride flag flying over the Castro gay village in San Francisco, June 2005 A rainbow flag is a multi-colored flag consisting of stripes in the colors of the rainbow. ... Six color rainbow gay pride flag flying over Castro Street, San Francisco, June 2005 The gay pride or simply pride campaign of the gay rights movement has three main premises: that people should be proud of what they are, that sexual diversity is a gift, and that sexual orientation and... Nickname The City by the Bay; The City That Knows How; Golden Mountain (historic Chinese name) Location Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Government City-County San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Geographical characteristics Area - Total - Land - Water 600. ... Eureka Valley is a term for the greater Castro district of the city of San Francisco, California. ...

Description

Castro street, which runs through the neighborhood, is best known for being the heart of San Francisco's gay community. The Castro is also a commonly used abbreviation for the Castro Theatre, a landmark movie theater located in the Castro community. It is also home to the famous ESPN sports talk TV show SportsCenter, where it is taped in ESPN's relay broadcasting centre. In modern society, gay is a word which can be used as either a noun or adjective. ... Castro Theatre in San Francisco, California. ... ESPN (once an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day. ... SportsCenter is a sports news television show shown every day on ESPN since the network was founded on September 7, 1979. ...

San Francisco's gay village is most concentrated in the business district that is located on Castro Street from Market Street to 19th Street. It extends down Market street toward Church and on 18th Street on both sides of Castro for a block or two. The greater Castro includes the surrounding residential areas. It is bordered by the Mission District, Noe Valley, Twin Peaks, and Haight-Ashbury. It may be considered to include Duboce Triangle and Dolores Heights, which have a strong gay presence. Torontos Church and Wellesley district, one of the largest gay villages in North America Rainbow flags are displayed in the Castro area of San Francisco as a symbol of gay pride The entrance to Chueca metro station in the Plaza de Chueca (Chueca square) in Madrid (Spain), during gay... Downtown Honolulu in United States, an example of an urban downtown district Central business district, (CBD used in Australia, New Zealand and sometimes elsewhere), or downtown (used mainly in North America) are terms referring to the commercial heart of a city. ... Mission Theatre on Mission Street The Mission or the Mission District is the name of a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. ... Noe Valley is a neighborhood in the central part of San Francisco, California. ... The Twin Peaks. ... Categories: US geography stubs | San Francisco neighborhoods ... The Duboce Triangle neighborhood is located near the center of San Francisco, on the hilly slopes of Buena Vista between the neighborhoods of the Castro/Eureka Valley, the Mission District, the Haight-Ashbury and the Western Addition. ...

Castro Street itself runs south through Noe Valley, crossing the 24th Street business district, and terminating a few blocks farther in the Glen Park neighborhood. The street was named for Joaquin Isidro de Castro, an 18th century Spanish soldier who took part in Juan Bautista de Anza's expedition to California. Glen Park is a small neighborhood in San Francisco, California. ... Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 1736 - December 19, 1788) was a Novo-Spanish explorer working for the Spanish empire. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area Ranked 3rd - Total 158,302 sq. ...

History

The Castro came of age as a gay center following the controversial Summer of Love in the neighboring Haight Ashbury district in 1967. The gathering brought tens of thousands of middle-class youth from all over the United States. Dreams of love, peace, drugs, and sex were dashed as conditions quickly deteriorated and violent crime became rampant. The Summer of Love is a phrase given to the summer of 1967 to try to describe the feeling of being in San Francisco that summer, when the so-called hippie movement came to full fruition. ... The corner of Haight and Ashbury in 2001 The Haight-Ashbury is a district of San Francisco, California, named after the intersection of Haight Street and Ashbury Street, commonly known as The Haight or, in recent years, The Upper Haight. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

During the 1950s and 1960s, when families left the big cities for the suburbs, the Eureka Valley also suffered this fate. By the early 1970s, rents were low and people who had been pushed out of homes by the gentrification of the district nearby began to settle in the Eureka Valley. Local real estate agents played a key role in the process of gentrification. The 1950s were a decade that spanned the years 1951 through 1960. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1961 to 1970, inclusive. ... Illustration of the backyards of a surburban neighbourhood Suburbs are inhabited districts located either on the outer rim of a city or outside the official limits of a city (the term varies from country to country), or the outer elements of a conurbation. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1971 to 1980, inclusive. ... Gentrification refers to the process whereby dilapidated neighborhoods are restored and refurbished, usually in conjunction with changing demographics and an influx of wealthier residents. ...

By 1975, Harvey Milk had opened a camera store there, and began active political involvement as a gay activist, further contributing to the notion of the Castro as a gay destination. Some of the culture of the late 1970s included what was termed the "Castro Street Clone", which was a mode of dress in vogue with the gay population at the time, and which gave rise to the nickname "Clone Canyon" for the stretch of Castro Street between 18th Street and Market Street. There were numerous famous waterholes in the area, contributing to the nightlife, including the Corner Grocery Bar, the Norse Cove, the Pendulum, and the Elephant Walk. A typical street scene of the period is perhaps best illustrated by mentioning the male belly dancers who could be found holding forth in good weather at the corner of 18th and Castro, on "Hibernia Beach", in front of the financial institution from which it drew its name. Harvey Milk (1930-1978) American politician and gay-rights activist. ...

The area was hit hard by the AIDS/HIV crisis of the 1980s. Beginning in the 1980s, city officials began a crackdown on bath houses and launched initiatives that aimed to prevent the spread of AIDS. Kiosks lining Market Street and Castro Street now have posters promoting safe sex and testing right alongside those advertising online dating services. The Red Ribbon is a symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by infection with... Human immunodeficiency virus (commonly known as HIV, and formerly known as HTLV-III and lymphadenopathy-associated virus) is a retrovirus that primarily infects vital components of the human immune system such as CD4+ T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. ...

Like any other part of a vibrant city, the gay community and Castro neighborhood continue to address these and other issues of gender, race and class amongst others.

Notable locations

Castro Theatre in San Francisco, California. ... SportsCenter is a sports news television show shown every day on ESPN since the network was founded on September 7, 1979. ... F Market PCC cars at Jones Street terminal. ... Castro Street Station is a Muni Metro station at the intersection of Market Street and Castro Street in San Francisco, California. ... Muni Metro is a mass transit system operated in the City and County of San Francisco by the San Francisco Municipal Railway. ... Subways redirects here; for British indie rock band, see The Subways. ... Harvey Milk (1930-1978) American politician and gay-rights activist. ...

Special events

The Castro Street Fair is one of the largest of the City of San Francisco Street Fairs. ... Halloween is an observance celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting sweets or money. ... Pink Saturday is an event on the Saturday night before Gay Pride Day in San Franciscos Castro District. ...

Demographics

In November 2000, the Noe Valley Voice reported the following statistics for city District 8, which includes Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, Glen Park, Twin Peaks, Corona Heights, Duboce/Reverse Triangle, and Castro/Dolores Heights. The paper cited a 1999 poll of registered voters by David Binder Research, a prominent local polling agency.

References

External links

Categories: San Francisco neighborhoods | Gay villages There are approximately 90 neighborhoods in San Francisco, California. ... San Francisco Flag. ... Alamo Square is a park located on top of a hill in the Western Addition neighborhood in San Francisco, USA. It takes up four city blocks and is bordered by Hayes Street to the south, Fulton Street to the north, Scott Street to the west, and Steiner Street to the... Anza Vista (Also known as the Upper Haight) is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. ... Balboa Park is a public park in San Francisco, California. ... The Bernal Heights neighborhood, familiarly called Bernal, lies to the south of San Franciscos Mission District. ... An intersection of Chinatown in San Francisco. ... The Crocker-Amazon is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California bordering the Excelsior District. ... San Franciscos urban renewal projects undertaken during the 1950s and 1960s were aimed at wholesale change in their environments. ... Dogpatch is a neighborhood on San Franciscos eastern side, adjacent to the waterfront of San Francisco Bay, and to the east of, and below, Bernal Heights. ... Tree-lined sidewalk access to parking, Victorians, and more modern buildings on Sanchez Street near 14th Street in Duboce Triangle. ... The Embarcaderos Ferry Building The Embarcadero is the name given the eastern waterfront roadway of the Port of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, along San Francisco Bay. ... The Eureka Valley, looking north on Castro Street from 20th. ... The Excelsior District in San Francisco is the area along Mission Street, south of Interstate 280 and north of Geneva Avenue. ... The Fillmore District, also called The Fillmore or The Lower Fillmore, is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. ... Image:Sanfranciscocity. ... Fishermans Wharf sign Fishermans Wharf is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, U.S. Roughly speaking it encompasses the northern waterfront area of San Francisco from Ghirardelli Square or Van Ness Street east to Pier 35 or Kearney Street. ... Stairway into Forest Hill from Pacheco Street and Dewey Boulevard up to Castenada Avenue Forest Hill is an affluent neighborhood in San Francisco, California. ... Glen Park is a small neighborhood in San Francisco, California. ... The domed Conservatory of Flowers is one of the worlds largest. ... The corner of Haight and Ashbury in 2005 The Haight-Ashbury is a district of San Francisco, California, USA named after the intersection of Haight Street and Ashbury Street, commonly known as The Haight or, in recent years, The Upper Haight. ... Haight-Fillmore, or the Lower Haight, is a neighbourhood in San Francisco, California. ... Looking south along Octavia Boulevard from Fell Street, where the Central Freeway once was. ... Hunters Point or Bayview-Hunters Point is a neighborhood in the southeastern portion of San Francisco, California, zip code 94124. ... The commercial district along Geary Boulevard is bookended by the Japan Center pagoda and the AMC Kabuki 8 movie theater complex. ... Little Saigon is a name given to any of several overseas Vietnamese immigrant and descendant communities outside Vietnam, usually in the United States. ... The Marina District is an affluent, picturesque neighborhood of San Francisco, California. ... Mission Bay is a 303 acre neighborhood on the central bayshore of San Francisco, bounded by Townsend Street on the north, San Francisco Bay on the east, Mariposa Street on the south, and 7th Street and Interstate 280 on the west. ... Mission Theatre on Mission Street The Inner Mission often called The Mission, The Heart of the Mission or (also: La MisiÃ³n or El CorazÃ³n de la MisiÃ³n in Spanish) is the name of a neighborhood in the Mission District, San Francisco, California in the United States. ... The cross atop Mt. ... Nob Hill refers to a small district in San Francisco, California adjacent to the intersection of California and Powell streets (and the respective cable car lines). ... Noe Valley is a neighborhood in the central part of San Francisco, California. ... Looking south-east Columbus Street (on the left), Stockton (on the right), and Green Street (not visible). ... Cloudy Weekend at Ocean Beach Ocean Beach is a beach that runs along the west coast of San Francisco, California at the Pacific Ocean. ... The sidewalk on Fillmore Street, looking north from Bush Street. ... Park Merced is a neighborhood and large apartment complex in San Francisco, California. ... Potrero Hill is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, located on the east side of the city, east of the Mission District and south of the South of Market area. ... The Parade Grounds at the Presidio of San Francisco. ... Geary Boulevard, looking eastward from 36th Avenue The Richmond District is a neighborhood in the northwest corner of San Francisco, California. ... A view of Lombard Street and Russian Hill from Telegraph Hill Russian Hill is an affluent, largely residential neighborhood of San Francisco, California, in the United States. ... Sea Cliff (sometimes spelled Seacliff) is a very affluent neighborhood located in northwestern San Francisco, California. ... South of Market or SoMa (South of Market) is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. ... St. ... The Outer Sunset from Grand View Park The Sunset District is a neighborhood in the west-central part of San Francisco, California, USA that is primarily residential and is built along a grid pattern. ... The Tenderloin is a neighborhood in San Francisco. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... An aerial view of Treasure Island in the foreground, with its link to Yerba Buena Island in the background. ... The Twin Peaks. ... Union Square is the central shopping, hotel and theater district in San Francisco. ... Located in the south eastern quadrant of San Francisco, the Visitacion Valley neighboorhood is roughly defined by McLaren Park to the East, Mansell Blvd to the North, Bayview Hill and Candlestick Cove to the West, and San Francisco / San Mateo county line to the South. ... A southern view from Alta Plaza Park, which is in the Pacific Heights neighborhood. ... West Portal is a principal shopping street for much of southwestern San Francisco, California, and is also considered a neighborhood itself. ... Westwood Park is an affluent residential neighborhood located in southwestern San Francisco, California, near St. ... An aerial view of Yerba Buena Island in the background, with its link to Treasure Island in the foreground. ...

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