With nine major developments planned for Market Street, including a splashy 113-unit condominium designed by Arquitectonica, anxiety about the future is swirling. In the Castro, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society held public meetings earlier this year to grapple with such questions as “Are Gay Neighborhoods Worth Saving?” “Twenty years ago, if you were gay and lived in rural Kansas, you went to San Francisco or New York,” he said. and Virginia Beach, according to census figures and extrapolations by Dr. Among them: Fort Worth El Paso Albuquerque Louisville, Ky. Gates, a demographer and senior research fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles.Īt the same time, cities not widely considered gay meccas have seen a sharp increase in same-sex couples. There has been a notable shift of gravity from the Castro, with young gay men and lesbians fanning out into less-expensive neighborhoods like Mission Dolores and the Outer Sunset, and farther away to Marin and Alameda Counties, “mirroring national trends where you are seeing same-sex couples becoming less urban, even as the population become slightly more urban,” said Gary J. These are wrenching times for San Francisco’s historic gay village, with population shifts, booming development, and a waning sense of belonging that is also being felt in gay enclaves across the nation, from Key West, Fla., to West Hollywood, as they struggle to maintain cultural relevance in the face of gentrification. Last year, nine people were wounded when a gunman opened fire at the celebration.įor many in the Castro District, the cancellation is a blow that strikes at the heart of neighborhood identity, and it has brought soul-searching that goes beyond concerns about crime. The once-exuberant street party, a symbol of sexual liberation since 1979 has in recent years become a Nightmare on Castro Street, drawing as many as 200,000 people, many of them costumeless outsiders, and there has been talk of moving it outside the district because of increasing violence. The city’s most popular Halloween party, in America’s largest gay neighborhood, is canceled. Craig, this year’s camp celebrity - will be celebrating behind closed doors. 24 - This Halloween, the Glindas, gladiators and harem boys of the Castro - along with untold numbers who plan to dress up as Senator Larry E.