the 45 places that make us proud

CELEBRATING 45 YEARS OF PRIDE
This year, Pride marks its 45th anniversary. To celebrate San Francisco Travel
is highlighting places of pride. While the Castro is known for its culture of pride
in San Francisco, here are locations that extend across the city with significance
to LGBT history and culture. Plus, some San Francisco areas that make both
locals and visitors proud of this city!
Make sure you extend your trip and check out these 45 points of pride!
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7 32
16 14 8
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This map includes Pride landmarks of historical importance for reference and locations you
can experience San Francisco Pride for yourself (in alphabetical order).
1. Ambassador Hotel – One of
the most important residential
sites associated with the AIDS
epidemic in San Francisco was
the Ambassador Hotel at 55
Mason St. in the Tenderloin.
The hotel accepted everyone,
including drug users and acutely
sick people who would have been
screened out by other programs.
The 150-unit Ambassador began
to deteriorate in the 1990s, and
was renovated and converted to
low-income housing in 2003.
2. Anna Klumpke Residence –
Located at 731 – 14th Ave across
from the California Academy of
Sciences in Golden Gate Park,
is the final home of the late,
world-renowned painter, Anne
Klumpke (1856-1942). In her adult
years, Klumpke spent some time
in France where she met her
life partner, celebrated French
animal painter Rosa Bonheur
(1822-1899).
3. Asia SF – Located at 201 9th
St, this San Francisco favorite
combines restaurant, lounge and
dance club elements to celebrate
diversity. Since 1998 Its world
famous transgender stars, Ladies
of Asia SF, have been the focal
point of the experience and
their talent has made it a go-to
location for celebrations.
4. AT&T Park – As the home
stadium to the San Francisco
Giants, AT&T Park has also
hosted various events including:
the annual Kraft Fight Hunger
Bowl, concerts, LGBT nights
and major players in the “It Gets
Better” campaign. Located in
the South Beach neighborhood
of San Francisco, at 24 Willie
Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third
and King Street, AT&T Park is a
city landmark with breathtaking
views and classic design for all
to experience.
5. Black Cat Café – In 1933 The
Black Cat Café opened at 710
Montgomery St. – the home base
of drag performer and civil rights
activist José Sarria in the 1950s
and early 1960s. During a time
where homosexuality was not
fully accepted, the owner, Sol
Stoumen, lost his liquor license
in 1949 for serving “persons of
homosexual tendencies.”
After a successful win, the
State Supreme Court legalized
homosexual assembly in
California. Sarria went on to
become the first openly gay
person to run for office in the U.S.
and a street in the Castro now
bears his name.
6. Brava! – For Women in the Arts
(Brava Theater Center) – Brava!
For Women in the Arts is a
professional arts organization
that cultivates and celebrates
the intersection of feminism and
multiculturalism. It was founded
in 1986, and is currently owned
and operated by the Brava
Theater Center, spotlighting
artists from around the Bay Area
and beyond.
7. The Castro – One of the first
gay neighborhoods in the United
States, the Castro is iconic for
its queer identity and is one of
the liveliest communities in San
Francisco. Vibrant and bustling
with activity, the Castro is home
to the historic Castro Theatre and
GLBT History Museum.
8. Cliff’s Variety – Cliff’s Variety
is an iconic hardware, home
goods, variety and fabric store
located in the Castro since 1936.
With a rich family history and one
of the oldest family owned stores
in San Francisco, it has been in
business for over 75 years and
is considered a neighborhood
institution at 479 Castro St.
9. Club Fugazi – Home to Beach
Blanket Babylon which is now
in its fourth decade and is the
longest running revue in the
U.S. with 15,000 performances.
Seen by nearly six million people,
BBB audiences love the show’s
hilarious spoofs of pop culture,
spectacular costumes and
outrageously, gigantic hats. The
story follows Snow White on a
search for Prince Charming –
meeting an ever-changing
line-up of characters along the
way. Located at 678 Beach
Blanket Babylon Blvd.
10. Davies Symphony Hall –
Home to world-renowned
conductor, pianist and
composer, Michael Tilson
Thomas (widely known as
“MTT”), has directed the San
Francisco Symphony since
1995. His music career has
taken him across the world and
into pop culture as the director
of the YouTube Symphony
Orchestra in 2009. Davies is
located in the Civic Center at
201 Van Ness Ave.
11. Dolores Park – A popular
lounging and picnic location,
the park allows visitors to take
in stunning views of the city
– featured on the HBO series
Looking, it’s an iconic spot to
visit. Stop by the nearby Bi-Rite
Creamery to get a sweet taste
on a warm day.
12. Equality Hall – This Mission
District location at 141-143
Albion St. is connected to two
significant figures in LGBT
history, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld,
co-founder of the ScientificHumanitarian Committee, and
Dr. Tom Waddell, Olympic
decathlete and founder of the
Gay Games. Separated by a
couple of decades both these
pioneers lived or stayed in this
building for some time.
13. Gay Games at Kezar
Stadium – San Francisco
hosted the first Gay Games in
1982 at Kezar Stadium near
Golden Gate Park, marking a
watershed year for gay and
lesbian athletics. The idea of
the Gay Olympics was
initiated by physician and
former Olympic decathlete
Dr. Tom Waddell, who in the
summer of 1981 drove around
the country with friends to see
if the idea appealed to other gay
men and lesbians.
14. GLBT History Museum and
Archives – Celebrating San
Francisco’s queer past through
exhibitions and programming,
the GLBT History Museum
(4127 –18th St.) is the first
full-scale, stand-alone museum
of its kind in the United States.
The museum is a project of the
GLBT Historical Society, which
houses its famed archives that
contain an impressive collection
of lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender historical materials.
15. Glide Memorial Church –
Three decades after it opened
in the early 1930s, Glide
Memorial Church (330 Ellis St.)
joined the national movement
among religious organizations
to focus more actively on social
justice. In 1964 Glide helped
bring together homophile
activists (precursors to the gay
rights movement) and religious
leaders in San Francisco to form
the Council on Religion and
the Homosexual (CRH)—the
first organization in the U.S.
to include “homosexual” in
the title.
16. Golden Gate Men’s Chorus –
The Golden Gate Men’s Chorus
(GGMC) is a gay men’s chorus
representing the ethnic and
social diversity of
San Francisco. Formed in
1882 by Dick Kramer, one of
the founding fathers of the
American gay choral
movement, GGMC gives voice
to the gay community through
song and carries on the
tradition of men’s choral music.
17. Golden Gate Park / AIDS
Memorial Grove – The
National AIDS Memorial Grove,
or “The Grove,” is located in
the eastern part of Golden Gate
Park, in the San Francisco
Botanical Garden. This is a
dedicated space where millions
of Americans affected directly
or indirectly by AIDS can gather
to honor, cherish, embrace
and heal.
designers of the 20th century,
gathered his inspiration here in
San Francisco’s Sea Cliff
neighborhood, from 1970
until his death in 1986.
The acclaimed “Emperor of
California Design” and named
one of the “20 Great Designers
of All Time” by Architectural
Digest, Taylor was
internationally recognizable
for his “California Style.”
18. Harvey’s – Named after the
late “Mayor of Castro Street,”
Harvey Milk, Harvey’s
Restaurant and Bar is located
in the heart of the Castro and
offers drinks, food, trivia and
comedy shows. The building
was previously home to the
Elephant Walk bar/restaurant,
which was praised by Milk
in the 1970s for its important
role as an accepting and safe
place for the gay community.
After a fire nearly destroyed the
building and the Elephant Walk
in 1988, it was reopened as
“Harvey’s” in 1996, dedicated
to serving as stewards of
Harvey’s legacy.
25. Mission High School – The
grand auditorium at Mission
High School has hosted a
number of events important to
recent LGBTQ history. BiPol,
the first bisexual political
organization, organized the first
national bisexual conference.
Historian Clare Hemmings
writes that this event was
understood as a “key moment
in the development of bisexual
identity and community.”
19. Harvey Milk’s Camera Store
Location – The Human Rights
Campaign Action Center &
Store, located at 575 Castro St.,
between 18th and 19th streets,
is the historic home of civil
rights legend Harvey Milk.
This new location is the former
home of Milk’s Castro Camera,
where Milk worked, lived
and organized the political
campaign that eventually led
him to be the first openly gay
man elected into a major
public office.
20. Home of Emily Williams
and Lillian Palmer – Built in
1913, the building at 1037-39
Broadway was designed by and
home to pioneering female
architect Emily Williams and
her partner, Lillian Palmer.
Emily Williams began her career
as a teacher but after meeting
journalist Lillian Palmer, she
was inspired to pursue
architecture, later starting
her own firm and designing
residential buildings in Pacific
Grove, Carmel, San Jose and
San Francisco.
21. James C. Hormel Gay &
Lesbian Center on the Third
Floor of the Main Library –
This not only honors Hormel’s
legacy, who among other
achievements was America’s
first openly gay ambassador,
but also has curated exhibits
and offers books, periodical and
archival collections documenting
lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgendered history and
culture, with a special emphasis
on the Bay Area.
22. Langley Porter –
San Francisco became an
important center for the study
of gender and sexuality in the
1940s and 1950s through the
work of the Langley Porter
Clinic at 401 Parnassus Ave.
Beginning in the 1940s, the
clinic’s founding director, Dr.
Karl Bowman and his colleague
Louise Lawrence made Langley
Porter an international hub for
research and medical care for
transgender people.
23. Macondray Lane of Tales
of the City – Located on the
south-eastern side of Russian
Hill is a small pedestrian lane,
extending two blocks east-west
between Leavenworth and
Taylor Street, that was recast by
Armistead Maupin as Barbary
Lane for his Tales of the City.
The views of San Francisco’s
most legendary landmarks are
seen from the lane – Alcatraz
Island and San Francisco Bay.
24. Michael Taylor Residence –
Interior designer, Michael
Taylor, recognized internationally
as one of the most influential
26. Mnasidika – Bisexual, rock
and roll – The storefront at 1510
Haight St. in San Francisco was
home to the Mnasidika clothing
boutique from 1965 to 1968.
Embodying its Greek poetry
roots of “a young female lover
of Sappho,” the boutique was
owned by an openly bisexual
woman named Peggy Caserta.
27. Mona’s 440 Club –
Well-known in the 1940s for its
male-impersonating waitresses
and lesbian entertainers,
Mona’s 440 Club at 440
Broadway was arguably San
Francisco’s first lesbian bar after
the repeal of Prohibition.
28. New Conservatory Theatre
Center – Founded in 1981,
the New Conservatory Theatre
Center is a not-for-profit theatre
company that has been in
operation for 30 years. It is
home to productions and
theatre experiences for youth,
artists, and the queer and
allied communities.
29. Osento Women’s Baths –
Osento Women’s Baths (955
Valencia St.) is one of the final
survivors of the women’s and
lesbian-feminist enclave of the
1970-80s. Located along San
Francisco’s Valencia Corridor,
this landmark is beloved by two
generations of Bay Area
lesbians who utilized the
therapeutic spa from 19812008. While no longer operational,
you can still visit its location
and capture shots of its exterior.
30. Pink Triangle Park – Located
in the Castro District, at the
intersection of 17th and Market
streets, the pink-quartz-filled
triangular shaped mini-park is
home to the first permanent,
free-standing memorial in
America to the thousands of
persecuted homosexuals in
Nazi Germany during the
Holocaust. Fifteen triangular
granite columns stand – one for
every 1,000 gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender
person estimated to have been
killed during the Holocaust –
with the triangle theme
stemming from the Nazis
forcing gay men to wear a pink
triangle sewn to their clothes
as an identifier and badge
of shame.
31. Polk Street – San Francisco’s
Polk Street was a thriving gay
enclave from the 1960s to 1980s,
but also (not coincidentally) the
hippest place in the city to buy
men’s clothing. One of the first
gay-owned businesses on Polk
was the Town Squire men’s
clothing store at 1318 Polk,
opened c. 1962 by August
Territo and Terry Popek.
Another popular gay clothing
store was the Casual Man at
2060 Polk, opened c. 1965.
32. Rainbow Flag at Market
and Castro – “How action
could create change” – the
words of Harvey Milk and
inspiration behind artist, Gilbert
Baker’s Rainbow Flag. In 1974,
Baker met the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors and was
challenged to create a positive,
bold symbol of pride for the gay
community. In 1978, Baker’s
handmade vibrant-colored
flag was unfurled and blew in
the wind for everyone to see
and now the Rainbow Flag is
recognized not only as a flag
but a call to action for those to
stand for the pride and hope of
the gay community.
33. Rainbow Honor Walk –
Honoring heroines and heroes
of the LGBT communities, the
Rainbow Honor Walk is located
along Castro Street in the
historic Castro District. Plaques
currently honor 20 pioneers
for their contributions to the
community; the walk is being
developed by an all-volunteer
organization.
34. San Francisco City Hall –
Reopened in 1915, in the city’s
Civic Center, San Francisco City
Hall is the seat of government
for the City and County of San
Francisco. The structure’s dome
is the fifth largest in the world
–taller than that of the United
States capitol by 42 feet. It is
here where a number of samesex marriages were performed
shortly after then-Mayor Gavin
Newsom authorized staff to
issue marriage licenses to
same-sex couples.
35. San Francisco Gay Men’s
Chorus – The San Francisco
Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) is
the world’s first openly gay
chorus, today with a
membership of about 300
voices. Founded by gay music
pioneer Jon Reed Sims, the
group is most often credited
with creating the LGBT choral
movement with a mission to
spread social equality for the
LGBT community.
36. San Francisco General
Hospital Wards 5A and 5B –
Wards 5A (1983) and 5B (1986),
were the first hospital units in
the world dedicated to housing
those fighting AIDS. Between
1976 and 1997, over 15,500 San
Franciscans died of AIDS, and
approximately one-third
of those who died were
hospitalized here.
37. San Francisco LGBT
Community Center –
The San Francisco LGBT
Community Center (1800
Market St.) is a nonprofit
organization dedicated to
connecting its diverse
community to opportunities,
resources and each other. The
Center offers free services such
as career counseling, job fairs,
social activities, mentorships,
workshops and more.
38. SFMade – What’s made in
our 49 square miles mirrors
San Francisco’s ethos and
ingenuity. SFMade, a non-profit
organization, recognizes this
and helps us discover locally
made products. Among their
ranks are Timbuk2, whose line
of tough-as-hell messenger
bike bags was born and bred in
San Francisco, and Rickshaw
Bags, whose 49 Miles Pride tote
features a design from 3
Fish Studios.
39. SIR Center – The Society for
Individual Rights (SIR) was formed
in San Francisco in September
1964 with the hope of creating
a democratic organization that
would include “all expressions
of the homosexual community.”
Built on a prideful ground at 83
Sixth St., SIR opened the first gay
community center in the country
in 1966, marking it as “a
symbol of our unity,” passion
and responsibility in the
larger community.
40. Tea Room Theatre – Located
at 145 Eddy in San Francisco’s
Tenderloin, the Tea Room
Theatre is one of the rare and
long-lasting vestiges of the
neighborhood’s thriving gay
and trans community in
operation since the 1970s.
Before it became a gay theater,
it was an after-hours bar called
the Letterman’s Club and before
that, in at least the 1950s, it was
the Aloha Club.
41. Theatre Rhinoceros –
Theatre Rhinoceros is the
world’s oldest continuously
producing professional queer
theater, founded in 1977 by
Allan B. Estes, Jr. Its mission is
to produce works that enlighten,
enrich, and explore both the
ordinary and extraordinary
aspects of the queer
community. Performance
locations vary.
42. Trax Bar – The bar at
1437 Haight St. in the
Haight-Ashbury is the
longest-running gay bar in
the neighborhood and the only
remnant of the Haight’s history
as a pre-Castro LGBTQ enclave.
The space that houses Trax
has been a gay bar since the
early 1970s when it was the
Question Mark.
43. Twin Peaks Tavern – First
opened in 1935, but later
purchased by lesbian friends,
Peggy Forster and Mary Ellen
Cunha in 1971, Twin Peaks
Tavern is believed to be the first
gay bar in the nation to feature
full-length, open plate glass
windows that let its patrons
look out and the public look in.
At a time where gays still feared
losing their jobs or being socially
accepted, the bar has become
a historic landmark over the
last 40 years, and one of the
Castro’s most memorable and
welcoming establishments.
44. Venetian Room at the
Fairmont – After 21 years
of being “dark,” the Venetian
Room at the Fairmont San
Francisco reopened in 2010. Its
legendary Venetian Room – one
of the most elegant showrooms
in the world – is where Tony
Bennett first sang, “I Left My
Heart in San Francisco” and
artists such as Ella Fitzgerald,
Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole,
Tina Turner and The Supremes
performed regularly.
45. The Women’s Building –
Adorned with a beautiful mural,
this Mission District building
is not only a fantastic addition
to your Instagram feed, but
also has significance in the
LGBT community. The first
women-owned and operated
community center in the US,
established predominately by a
lesbian collective, it is a center
for community and activism
– most noteworthy holding a
memorial service for Harvey Milk
shortly after his assassination.