城市的中心
卡斯特罗

By 泰勒科恩

对于卡斯特罗的居民, the only thing more inspiring than the neighborhood’s storied past is its wide-open future. 找出你如何能成为其中的一部分.

在那个时候 ”+ 文化从未如此主流, it might be tempting to think that dedicated gayborhoods are a thing of the past. Not according to the locals who call San Francisco’s Castro their home.

即使是在贝博体彩app这样一个热情包容的城市, these business owners and neighborhood advocates believe that the community and character of the Castro is worth protecting and nurturing, 以确保它仍然是城市的中心对于任何来到这里的人.

城市的中心

卡斯特罗

见证历史

在变装出现之前 必备的研究手段, 卡斯特罗是另一种同性恋. 没有向勇敢的”+先驱者致敬的荣誉游行. 没有巨大的彩虹旗在哈维米尔克广场上空飘扬. 没有哈维·米尔克广场! There were, however, businesses that welcomed everyone and adapted to the community’s changing needs.

Terry Atsen Bennett是 Cliff的这是一种社区主食，让人想起经典的五角硬币. “We like to say, if we don’t have it, you don’t need it,” she quips.

克里夫的综艺节目始于1936年, first operated by Terry’s great-great-grandfather as a paper goods store and then greatly expanded by her great-grandfather, 厄尼, 一个能修理和修复任何东西的修理工.

Restoration is what would drive the growth of the neighborhood generations later, as the city’s ”+ population started moving out of Polk Gulch and into the Castro’s classic Victorian homes. In response, Cliff’s began carrying paint, plaster, and other home improvement items. 这家商店也开始满足社区的其他需求.

当变装皇后开始到来的时候, 我们开始带假发和睫毛,她笑着说. “我们的睫毛价格是全城最优惠的!”

一个社区需要的不仅仅是一个购物的地方. 它需要一个人们可以联系的地方. Bill Pung and Dennis Ziebell have owned and operated the classic American diner, 孤儿安迪的, 自1977年以来. For them, 孤儿安迪的 was always intended as a neighborhood beacon.

“人们从世界各地来到这里，”丹尼斯说. “People come into the neighborhood to seek a safe place to hang out.” The decision to remain open 24 hours a day—almost unheard of in San Francisco—was not just a competitive business choice. “这有助于社区的活力，”他说.

这种活力不止一次受到威胁. 特里、比尔和丹尼斯都记得过去的挑战. “What made it unique was all of the political activism in the ‘70s, 为了我们的公民权和人权,丹尼斯回忆道。. “然后在90年代，随着艾滋病危机的爆发.”

Terry is proud of the fact that Cliff’s was among the first businesses in San Francisco to hire openly gay employees and to extend them long-term disability benefits when AIDS ravaged the community.

“随着社区和城市的变化, 我们经历了所有的艰难时期和艰辛,比尔说, “But it also made all of us stronger and helped us to find out who we really are.”

塑造未来

随着时间的推移，卡斯特罗告知身份的能力并没有减弱. 对约什·德隆贡(Josh Decolongon)来说，抵达卡斯特罗酒店是一场变革.

“直到我搬到这里，我才真正觉得自己是自己."

“我真的很喜欢卡斯特罗代表过去的方式, 目前的, 以及酷儿社区的未来,他说. “Every year that I’ve spent here, the demographics have really changed. 在年龄和种族方面，它无疑变得更加多样化. And I think that is super cool because it really is showing the direction that the neighborhood is evolving.”

作为卡斯特罗的十年居民, Josh has seen the neighborhood evolve through its food and beverage businesses. “有一家酒铺叫卡斯特罗村葡萄酒公司它们已经存在了几十年. 还有其他地方，比如漩涡它有一个非常酷的全球焦点，还有一些非常新的地方，比如瓶酒神节，专注于新浪潮——天然葡萄酒. They’re all literally within a two or three block radius of each other.”

深夜咬人是这个社区的家常便饭, but Josh has watched carefully as the Castro has upped its culinary game. 餐厅如早午餐最爱寓言真正展示了他们的艺术. It's nice to know that there are places that really focus on the art behind what you're eating."

乔希认识到卡斯特罗对新来者的影响, 就像曾经对他的影响一样——他希望这种影响能继续下去. “These places are still necessary for people to come to and to get to know themselves and be confident. Everybody that I see that visits finds something that they really connect to, no matter who they are. 每个人离开的时候都会感觉很好.”

城市的中心

Long-time locals and more recent arrivals agree that with its legacy, 承诺, 和好客, 卡斯特罗是这座城市的中心.

“You walk down the block and everybody knows your name,” says Terry. “你关心你的邻居贝博体彩app. 你关心的是周围贝博体彩app. 你是重要的.”

克里夫家和孤儿安迪家都有, employees stick around; a testament to both good leadership and an accepting community. “We’ve had gay, straight, bi, trans, every color under the rainbow,” says Terry. For Bill and Dennis, having staff from across the country and around the world is invaluable. “They bring all of that into the restaurant, and it becomes part of the vibe.”

“每个人都欣赏每个人的本来面目.”

“One thing that I love about the Castro is that no emotion is really held back,” says Josh.

特里同意. “卡斯特罗 is a place where people come to celebrate, to mourn, to protest, to be who they are. 在那里做这些事很安全.”

集体激活, 团结的精神, that supportive network is what animates the Castro as it moves forward and continues to call out to those who feel they haven’t found themselves or their community. 对这些社区领导人来说，这是一个令人兴奋的前景.

“It’s going to leap forward into a new generational concept of who we are as ”+ people,丹尼斯说。. 对于当地人和游客来说，这是一段值得一游的旅程.

泰勒科恩

泰勒是老大. 全球内容经理 & 贝博体彩app旅游公司的通讯部. He has lived in San Francisco since 2015 and has been part of the San Francisco Travel team for just as long. He enjoys splashy production numbers and outdoor sporting events equally, which means you can usually find him at one of San Francisco’s many great theaters or at Oracle Park, 为巨人队加油.