• Castro Theatre
• Harvey Milk Plaza
• GLBT Historical Society Museum
• Swedish-American Hall

The Castro takes its name from Castro Street, itself named for José Castro — a Mexican general and alcalde of Alta California from 1835 to 1836. Originally known as Eureka Valley, the neighborhood developed as a working-class residential district after the Market Street Cable Railway connected it to downtown San Francisco in 1887. In the early twentieth century, the neighborhood earned the nickname 'Little Scandinavia' as Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish immigrants settled its Victorian row houses.

The neighborhood's modern identity began to take shape after World War II, when gay veterans discharged by the military chose to remain in San Francisco rather than return to less tolerant hometowns. Through the 1960s and 1970s, LGBTQ+ residents transformed Eureka Valley into the Castro — one of the first openly gay urban neighborhoods in the United States. Harvey Milk opened Castro Camera at 575 Castro Street in 1973, and in 1977 became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the country. The Castro Theatre, designed by Timothy Pflueger and opened in 1922, remains the neighborhood's most beloved architectural landmark.

The Castro stands as a global symbol of LGBTQ+ identity, activism, and resilience. MY-NHD's Castro collection is made for those who carry that legacy with them wherever they go.