From Wikitravel

Originally an Irish working class neighborhood of San Francisco, the Castro, for the past 35 years, has been a center of American gay and lesbian life.

Contents 1 Get in 1.1 By Muni 1.2 By car 2 See 3 Do 4 Buy 5 Eat 6 Drink 7 Contact

Get in

By Muni

This is the best way to get to the Castro. The Castro is on the K, L, or M underground Muni lines at the Castro stop or the Church Street stop. The J Church line can also get you to the Castro, although it comes above ground and turns south on Church St. For a more scenic ride, take the historic F Market line street car. San Francisco has refurbished historic street cars from around America and the world which run from Fishermen's wharf along the Embarcadero and then along Market street and end in the Castro. Bus lines 24, 33, 35, and 37 also serve the neighborhood.

By car

Don't drive into the Castro. Use public transit, instead. There is a public parking garage on Noe just north of Market, but it is small. Street parking is very hard to find, especially on the weekends. If you park at the Safeway on Market and you don't go exclusively there, you will be towed. There are some metered spots along 18th between Sanchez and Eureka, but these are hard to come by. On weekends, parking is better as the 2-hour neighborhood permits don't apply.

See

The Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, between 17th and 18th Streets. +1 415 621-6120. [1] A lovingly restored Art Deco jewelbox of an independent movie theatre, with a Wurlitzer organ and splendid organist, special sing-along showings, and more. It tends to be part of film festivals, and to play unusual but worthwhile film festivals.

LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street at Octavia. [2] The Center houses the offices of various community organizations, and has space for public events and meetings. The ground floor features a cafe space, and on the third floor there is a cyber center which offers an hour of free computer time.

Roxie Cinema. 3125 16th Street, at Valencia. +1 415 863-1087. [3] This cinema is a close walk for art flick and documentary buffs.

Do

There are several major cultural festivals/events in the Castro annually, including the Gay Pride Block Party in late June, the Castro Street Fair on the first Sunday in October, and a Hallowe'en block party on the last Saturday in October.

Buy

Don't miss Cliff's Variety 479 Castro between Market and 18th Street, +1 415 431-5365, fax: +1 415 431-0803. M-Sa 9:30AM-8PM. Expensive. Toys, gifts, kitchenware, hardware, and the newly remodeled annex next door is where to shop for do it yourself home decor items and is THE place to get rhinestones.

Not far from Cliff's is A Different Light bookstore at 489 Castro Street, +1 415 431-0891. [4] This is the place to find GLBT books; especially ones too "controversial" for more mainstream bookstores. Its also still possible to pick up community newspapers from outside the area; when there's still some left.

Just up Castro Street, between 18th and 19th, is Under One Roof, a retail store at 549 Castro - which supports 33 AIDS Service Organizations thoughtout the Bay Area. +1 415 503-2300. M-Sa 10AM-8PM, Su 11AM-7PM. [5] "The mission of Under One Roof is to generate unrestricted funds for agencies that provide HIV/AIDS education and support services."

ImagiKnit, 3897 18th Street at Sanchez. +1 415 621-6642. M-Sa 11AM-6:30PM, Su 11AM-4PM. [6] These women opened up the yarn shop that they'd like to hang out in and the whole neighborhood concurs that they're doing it right.

Eat

• Sausage Factory Italian, 517 Castro between 18th Street and 19th Street, +1 415 626-1250, 11:30AM-12:30AM daily. It's larger than it looks from the outside, extending back into the middle of the block. Wine, beer, dykes welcome. Delivery.

• Sparky's 24-Hour Diner, 242 Church Street. +1 415 626-8666. 24/7 daily. Delivery. Full-on diner fare, good salads and baked items.

• Thai House Express, 599 Castro Street, +1 415 864-5000. M-F 11:30-10:30 Sat-Sun 11:30-1AM. Excellent Thai food in a gay atmosphere, with some dishes that are not on the menu of most American Thai restaurants, such as Kao Soy, chicken with soft and crispy noodles in mustard sauce.

• Welcome Home, 464 Castro Street. +1 415 626-3600. Good, hearty American food with a sweet atmosphere. Friendly waiters, Americana on the walls, and soft music. Welcome home, indeed.

• Yokoso Nippon Sushi, 314 Church St. Looking for good cheap sushi? This is the place for you. Known to locals as "No Name Sushi," this hole-in-the-wall restaurant offers sushi at unbelievably cheap prices. But remember to bring your own beer cause they don't serve alcohol (get it in a brown paper bag to look inconspicuous). They don't accept credit cards either, so come with cash.

Drink

• Cafe Flore, 2298 Market Street at Noe. +1 415 621-8579. [7] Go for the good tea or latte and the prime peoplewatching, not necessarily the food. This place is a total scene. Everyone acts as if they're under a spotlight and crave that people watch how fabulous they are. Very L.A.

• Samovar Tea Lounge, 498 Sanchez Street at 18th Street. +1 415 626-4700. M-F 7AM-10PM, Sa-Su 8AM-10PM. [8] Live Jazz on Fridays, a Stitch-and-Bitch knitting aficionado gathering on Sunday afternoons, over 100 kinds of tea. Comfortable hangout.

Contact

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