Castro station
| Company type | Muni Metro station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
| Products | Light rail transit services (K Ingleside, M Ocean View, L Taraval, S Shuttle, F Market) |
Castro station is a Muni Metro stop situated at the intersection of Market Street, Castro Street, and 17th Street within San Francisco's Castro District. It provides underground service for the K Ingleside, M Ocean View, L Taraval, and S Shuttle lines, while the F Market line operates at street level at the 17th and Castro stop.
Station layout and history
This station is distinguished by its two slightly curved side platforms located on the second level—a feature unique among Muni Metro stations—due to the connection between the Market Street subway and the Twin Peaks Tunnel. Access points are restricted to one entrance on each side of Market Street: the southern access within Harvey Milk Plaza at Market and Castro, and the northern entrance equipped with an elevator at Market and 17th Streets.
Originally built by BART as a segment of the Market Street subway, the station was designated "Castro" in 1965. The design was crafted by Howard Grant of Reid & Tarics Associates, with construction completed in 1976 and operations commencing on June 11, 1980.
The transit plaza at the corner of Castro and Market was named in honor of Harvey Milk, San Francisco’s first openly gay elected official, in 1985. In 2016, its escalator received an upgrade featuring colored lighting inspired by the rainbow flag, a concept later adopted for additional escalators throughout the system by 2019.
Plans from Muni include enhancing accessibility by adding a second elevator at the southern entrance within Harvey Milk Plaza. While potential inclusion of the plaza in the California Register of Historical Resources might postpone extensive redesign efforts, elevator installation began in June 2023 with an anticipated completion date in 2026.
In 2022, as part of the Upper Market Street Safety Project, a decorative railing was installed on the F Market & Wharves boarding island. This addition showcases a quotation from Harvey Milk’s 1977 "You've Got to Have Hope" speech alongside an image of historic streetcar #1051, which is dedicated to Milk.