The Castro Part 1: From Eureka Valley to the Streetcar Suburb

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series exploring the Castro, one of San Francisco’s most iconic neighborhoods.

Before the rainbow flags and nightlife, this area was known as Eureka Valley—a quiet district of farms and sand dunes. In the late 1800s, streetcar lines climbed the hills from Market Street, bringing commuters and sparking a building boom. By the early 1900s, elegant Victorian homes and corner shops filled the valley, and a grand neighborhood theater opened in 1922: the Castro Theatre, which still lights up the marquee today.

After the 1906 earthquake, thousands of displaced residents moved here, giving the neighborhood a strong, family-oriented identity. For decades, Eureka Valley remained a modest working-class enclave, shaped by Irish, Scandinavian, and German immigrants who built churches, schools, and the small businesses that gave the streets their close-knit feel.

Next time, we’ll fast-forward to the late 1960s and 70s when the neighborhood underwent a transformation that changed San Francisco - and LGBTQ+ history - forever.