San Fran Voice

I don’t actually know how it is possible that I managed to get this far along in my profile posts of San Francisco’s neighborhoods without getting around to mentioning The Castro.  It is the first neighborhood in San Francisco where I got out to enjoy the nightlife and it is one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city, for both day and night activity.  Although, now that I think of it, maybe it makes sense that I missed mentioning The Castro.  Although it’s an area I love, it’s not one that I get up to all that often, and so I guess I take it a bit for granted.  I love it, but I kind of assume it will just always be there and I’ll get to it later.

The Castro quite possibly has more information written about it than any of the other neighborhoods in San Francisco.  Essentially the home to the gay rights movement, The Castro is known the world over as the gay neighborhood in the gayest city in the United States.  And yes, there are plenty of gay activities to enjoy in The Castro.  Although, the truth is that there are plenty of gay activities to enjoy all throughout San Francisco if that’s your cup of tea.  The Castro just happens to be the neighborhood that is famous for them.

The nightlife is what really draws people to the Castro.  They go dancing at Badlands, the most stereotypical of gay boy dance clubs (think diluted version of Babylon from when Queer as Folk was on TV).  They head to Latin night (Thursdays) or hip hop night (Sundays) at The Café.  They lean out over the balcony at Metro Bar to get a good view of the rest of the Castro street scene.  They consider a stop at Harvey’s, named after the famous murdered ”Mayor of Castro Street“, or they make it an early night starting at the double-fisting happy hour offered at The Bar.  The list goes on and on.  There is no shortage of places to drink in The Castro and if you know what your scene is, you can find it.  Bonus points for Castro bars in comparison with the rest of the city: the drinks are strong, the boys are beautiful and the music is always fun.

Of course, the nightlife is what happens every single night in The Castro, but it’s the annual events that really bring people to the area.  Starting, of course, with Pride.  The SF Pride Parade isn’t actually a Castro affair but the neighborhood hosts The Pink Party each year where tourists and locals alike can go all out and get their gay on.  For locals, it’s mostly the time of year to kind of roll your eyes and accept that this is when the Castro is going to be filled with those who “don’t normally go to gay bars”.  Another time like this is Halloween.  Halloween in the Castro is huge, but it’s also dangerous.  I was there at the 2006 event and heard the gunshots.  No joke.  And the party raged on, because that’s what we do at insane festivals like this I suppose.  Where the real fun comes to The Castro is when there are neighborhood events which are not huge tourist draws.  One example is the annual Tour de Castro tricycle race.  Good fun for a good cause doesn’t get any better than when it’s done in The Castro.

As for non-drinking, less-partying things to do in this neighborhood, shopping tops the list, although it vies for attention with dining.  Both can be found in plenty in The Castro.  Go from store to store for fun trinkets, lots of porn and adult toys, GLBT reading material, furniture, clothing, independent music and DVD options and plenty more.  Continue the good cause with a stop in to Under One Roof where you can get any number of unique gifty items with proceeds going to support HIV/AIDS awareness.  When shopping’s gotten the best of you, satiate your hunger with a stop at any one of The Castro’s restaurants.  Nirvana with its many different kinds of noodles is a good bet if you’ve got some money, but there are places large and small with every kind of food you can imagine.  If you’re not quite ready to leave the neighborhood, The Castro Theatre usually has something playing on its screen that is of interest, and even if it’s not, the organ player at the beginning of each show will absolutely make you glad you stopped in.

Maybe I neglect The Castro in not getting up there as much as I could.  But then again, The Castro is one of those neighborhoods that’s always gonna be there.  Sure, it’s changed over time.  Sure, it’ll keep changing.  But there’s a lot of history there which keeps on making its mark and there’s always going to be plenty to do in the area when you’re there.