At Home in the Castro?

Migrant Footsteps Audio Walk: San Francisco Castro

In the 1950s, Eureka Valley was a sleepy Irish Catholic enclave. Then a wave of gay migration began.

Take a walk with Mike Gerry, one of those pioneers, to learn how this neighborhood transformed into the Castro, a gay homeland.

To get started, download the CalMigration App and this tour, grab your headphones, and meet us in San Francisco. This tour starts outside Twin Peaks Tavern, 401 Castro Street.
Not local to San Francisco? Explore our interactive 360 video to experience this tour from anywhere in the world.
For the best experience, fully charge your phone or tablet, bring headphones, and download the tour on wifi in advance.
Augmented reality scenes appear throughout the tour. When prompted by the narrator, activate the scene by selecting the [Start AR] button on your screen.
RESTROOMS
- Restrooms are available inside the Castro Muni station, near the beginning of the tour.
TIMING & ACCESS
- This audio portion of this tour lasts about 35 minutes. The distance traveled is approximately 0.4 miles, and is mostly flat (total elevation change 10ft). There are no steps up or down to enter landmarks.
- This tour can be taken at any time. The route includes a visit to Cliff’s Variety which is open 10am-6:30pm.
- Consider allowing an additional 30 minutes to explore suggested stops, shops and landmarks along the way.
- Audio transcripts and a virtual 360 video of this tour with closed captions are available here >
- This tour was created in February 2023. While we make an effort to keep things current, you are walking through a living neighborhood and sometimes things change. Be curious, and embrace the unexpected.
Learn more about the history of gay migration to San Francisco, the transformation of the Castro and the politics of drag through our learning guide and lesson plans.

This tour is part of Migrant Footsteps, a series of free immersive audio walks developed by the California Migration Museum that break through the traditional museum walls to tell the living stories of immigration, one neighborhood at a time.

360° Video Experience

Explore San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood virtually with us! Visually immersive archival scenes, animated captions and soundscapes help tell the the stories of gay migration in the 1970s.

Get the App

Download the CalMigration app, select your tour and get started.

Don’t forget to fully charge your phone or tablet, and consider downloading the tour on wi-fi in advance.

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