The Castro became one of the nation’s most distinctive and visible gay neighborhoods and a hub of sexual activism and politics. San Francisco attracted gay men and others with non-normative sexualities after World War II, but especially in the 1960s and 1970s as it became known as a city open to people who identified as gay.(1) Gay men and women grouped together, creating gay neighborhoods – places where they could seek safety in numbers, live an openly gay lifestyle, buy homes, and launch their own businesses.
Today, the SF LGBT Center is the only non-profit in San Francisco serving all members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. This landmark event breathed new life into the physical space and created financial sustainability. In April 2017, the center inaugurated a state-of-the-art building-a $10.3 million remodel. The SF LGBT Center, first opened in 2002, seen here in mid-2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
