Queer Arts Featured: The Castro: The Story of San Francisco’s Best-Known LGBTQ+ Neighborhood

San Francisco Bay Area residents & visitors: Mark your calendars for this Thursday evening, November 13, at Queer Arts Featured (@queerartsfeatured) for the launch of a new illustrated booklet on the history of the Castro District.

Prof. Jen Reck (@jrotoole) of San Francisco State University (@sanfranciscostate) and I are the co-authors.

Published by the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District ( @castrolgbtq), the work is based on extensive original research using archives, oral history interviews and published primary and secondary sources.

The history we’ve uncovered is quite surprising, tracing the emergence of what is perhaps the world’s most famous gayborhood back to the early 1950s.

We reveal unexpected stories of diversity, conflict, resistance, joy, wit, sexual expression, gender autonomy, community building and cultural production in the face of exclusion, trauma, and social and legal persecution alongside growing recognition and support from our city.

Join us to learn about our research, our efforts to bring a nuanced analysis to understanding the Castro, and our ongoing work to produce a full-scale book (the last of which means we’re keen to hear your stories about the neighborhood).

Publication Launch:
“The Castro: The Story of San Francisco’s Best-Known LGBTQ+ Neighborhood” by Gerard Koskovich & Jen Reck

Queer Arts Featured
575 Castro St., San Francisco
Thursday, November 13
6:00–7:30 p.m.
Free & open to the public
Copies of the booklet will be available for purchase & signing