Castro station

---

title: "Castro station" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["muni-metro-stations", "castro-district,-san-francisco", "market-street-(san-francisco)", "railway-stations-located-underground-in-california", "railway-stations-in-the-united-states-opened-in-1980"] description: "Muni Metro station in the Castro district of San Francisco, California" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castro_station" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Muni Metro station in the Castro district of San Francisco, California ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox station"]

Field	Value
name	Castro
custom_header
image	Inbound T Third Street train at Castro station, August 2013.jpg
image_caption	Inbound train at Castro station in August 2013
address	Market Street at Castro Street and 17th Street
borough	San Francisco, California
coordinates
owned	San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
line	Market Street subway
structure	Underground
platform	2 high level side platforms (Muni Metro)
1 low level side platform (Muni surface)
tracks	2 (Muni Metro)
2 (Muni surface)
connections	Muni: , , ,
accessible	Yes
architect	Reid & Tarics Associates
opened	June 11, 1980
services	{{Adjacent stations
line1	K
line2	L
line3	M
line4	S
note-row5	Surface stop at 17th and Castro
line6	F
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	14
::

| name = Castro | custom_header = | image = Inbound T Third Street train at Castro station, August 2013.jpg | image_caption = Inbound train at Castro station in August 2013 | address = Market Street at Castro Street and 17th Street | borough = San Francisco, California | coordinates = | owned = San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency | line = Market Street subway | structure = Underground | platform = 2 high level side platforms (Muni Metro) 1 low level side platform (Muni surface) | tracks = 2 (Muni Metro) 2 (Muni surface) | connections = Muni: , , , | bicycle = | accessible = Yes | architect = Reid & Tarics Associates | opened = June 11, 1980 | services = {{Adjacent stations|system=MUNI |line1=K|left1=Forest Hill|right1=Church |line2=L|left2=Forest Hill|right2=Church |line3=M|left3=Forest Hill|right3=Church |line4=S|left4=Forest Hill|right4=Church |note-row5=Surface stop at 17th and Castro |line6=F|right6=Market and Noe | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 14

Castro station is a Muni Metro station at the intersection of Market Street, Castro Street, and 17th Street in the Castro District of San Francisco, California. The underground station is served by the K Ingleside, M Ocean View, L Taraval and S Shuttle lines. The F Market line serves the station on the street level at 17th and Castro.

Station layout and history

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Muni_1053_at_17th_and_Castro,_September_1999.jpg" caption="F-Market streetcar on the surface at 17th and Castro in 1999"] ::

The station consists of two side platforms next to the tracks on the second level down with the concourse mezzanine level overlooking it. Uniquely among Muni Metro stations, the platforms are slightly curved due to the transition from the Market Street subway to the Twin Peaks Tunnel between this station and the now-disused Eureka Valley station, just southwest. At both Castro and , there is only one entrance on each side of Market Street leading into the station. (All other stations on the Market Street subway have entrances spread out along the length of the station.) The southern entrance is located in Harvey Milk Plaza on the southwest corner of Market and Castro, and the northern entrance and street elevator on the northwest corner of Market and 17th.

The station was constructed by BART as part of the Market Street subway. The BART Board approved the name "Castro" in December 1965. It was designed by Howard Grant AIA of Reid & Tarics Associates and was completed in 1976. Service at the station began on June 11, 1980.

Castro station features a transit plaza at the corner of Castro Street and Market Street. In 1985 it was dedicated to Harvey Milk, the slain SF supervisor and first openly gay elected official in California. In May 2016, the escalator in Harvey Milk Plaza was retrofitted with colored lights (to resemble the rainbow flag that flies above the plaza) after being rehabilitated. This test was considered a success; lights were added to 17 other escalators in the system, including the other three escalators at Castro, in 2018–19.

Muni is constructing accessibility improvements, including a second elevator, in Harvey Milk Plaza at the south entrance of the station. A 2020 determination that the plaza is eligible for inclusion on the California Register of Historical Resources was not expected to impact elevator construction, but could stall the larger plaza project. Elevator construction began in June 2023. The elevator will have stops at street level, plaza level, and station lobby level, plus an emergency-only stop at the eastbound platform. , the elevator is expected to open in early 2026.

In 2022, a new decorative railing was added on the F Market & Wharves boarding island as part of the Upper Market Street Safety Project. It features a quote from Harvey Milk's 1977 "You've Got to Have Hope" speech, as well as an illustration of streetcar #1051, which is dedicated in Milk's honor.

References

References

1. Cerny, Susan Dinkelspiel. (2007). "An Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area". Gibbs Smith.
2. {{Muni Chronology
3. (December 10, 1965). "Names Approved for 38 Rapid Transit Stations Around Bay". Oakland Tribune.
4. (January 10, 2020). "A History of Castro Station and Harvey Milk Plaza". Hoodline.
5. Keeling, Brock. (May 20, 2016). "Castro Unveils Rainbow Escalators In Time for Pride". Curbed San Francisco.
6. (March 14, 2018). "Color Lights Installation Coming to Muni Metro Escalators". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority.
7. Phelan, Lori. (October 29, 2019). "New Escalators Rising to the Challenge". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority.
8. (15 August 2017). "Castro Station Accessibility Improvements Project". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority.
9. Bracco, Steven. (December 18, 2019). "Castro Muni station to get new elevator, as Harvey Milk Plaza redesign remains in limbo". Hoodline.
10. Bajko, Matthew S.. (July 15, 2020). "Harvey Milk plaza elevator project moves forward". Bay Area Reporter.
11. Bracco, Steven. (June 27, 2023). "Construction Begins on Long-Delayed Castro Muni Station Elevator Project". Hoodline.
12. Bajko, Matthew S.. (December 18, 2025). "Castro elevator readies for its 2026 debut". The Bay Area Reporter.
13. (June 2021). "Upper Market Safety Project: Summer 2021 Construction Update". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
14. (June 2021). "Streetscape Plan". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
15. Bajko, Matthew S.. (October 19, 2022). "SF project adds Milk nod to Castro arterial". The Bay Area Reporter.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::