Let’s be clear: San Francisco is still extremely gay, with 6.2% of the population identifying as LGBT, according to a recent Gallup poll that puts the Bay Area as the gayest region in America. “We lose the cultural vitality, the political power – you also lose the specialized social services.”
“When you lose the geographic concentration, you lose a lot,” Jones said. This winter, The Gangway, the oldest gay bar in town, is closing down. When an iconic building was on the market earlier this year, it was between two potential tenants: a gay strip club and a SoulCycle. In a recent small survey, 77% of people who have lived in the neighborhood for 10 or more years identified as gay, while only 55% of those who moved in the past year did. Residents of San Francisco’s historically gay Castro district are worried that it’s changing, as speculators come in to flip the few remaining ramshackle old Victorians and the old-timer gay bars shutter.
