It’s where communities struggled with - and eventually overcame - the devastating AIDS crisis in the ’80s and ’90s. The Castro is where Harvey Milk made waves as an openly-gay politician in the 1970s. The GLBT Historical Society, which preserves and exhibits over a century’s worth of queer history, is a cultural landmark, as is the iconic Pride flag that flies above the neighborhood.
At the corner of Market and 17th, you’ll find the Pink Triangle Memorial honoring gay and lesbian Holocaust victims. Although rising rents and societal acceptance have pushed out long-time residents to places like nearby Oakland, it’s unlikely the Castro will ever lose its designation as the country’s queer mecca.Īmble along Castro Street, and you’ll see bronze plaques hailing LGBTQ pioneers embedded in the sidewalk. The Castro is America’s quintessential gayborhood: replete with rainbows, littered with LGBTQ businesses, and simmering with queer history. If you’re more of a voyeur, see one of the queer-friendly burlesque shows by Company XIV. House of Yes is a mixed queer club where guests dance in glitter-clad costumes after checking identity hangups at the door. Hot Rabbit, a femme-flavored pop-up party, is where NYC lesbians go to cut a rug. Chill with a tropical cocktail on Happyfun Hideaway‘s low-key back patio, or eye your astrological match on the dance floor at Zodiac-themed Mood Ring. Whatever mischief you’re hoping to find, the clubs of Bushwick will deliver. They’re eccentric and experimental - the perfect scene for a 20s-something in search of a wild night. In many ways, the people and bars you’ll find in Bushwick mirror the street art-strewn blocks where they live. Contrary to gay-and-lesbian haunts like Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen, this East Brooklyn nabe lives in the non-binary future. The West Village might be NYC’s historic gay center, but when it comes to contemporary queer life, Bushwick is the place to be.
We hope you love the spaces and stays we recommend in these gay-friendly cities! Just so you know, Matador may collect a small commission from the links on this page if you decide to book a stay. We’ve listed out our favorite safe small towns in the US, now it’s time for these nine gay-friendly cities in America to take center stage. Modern gayborhoods are as dynamic and diverse as the alphabet-soup mafia that gave them birth. Disappear into queer locales where lavender life is but an asterisk in their fabric. Hit up old-school communities that wear their identity on every sidewalk. Luckily, travelers are spoiled for choice when it comes to gay-friendly cities in America.
According to a 2019 survey by Community Marketing and Insights, the number-one reason LGBTQ people travel is to relax - and for them, relaxing means visiting somewhere they know is queer-friendly, like a well-established gayborhood. What hasn’t changed is the necessity for gay-friendly cities. Areas like the Castro, the West Village, and Boystown have grown, shrunk, and sometimes changed their names to reflect the ever-changing communities that live there. It’s been a tumultuous journey since early cradles of queer civilization sprouted in major American metropoles following World War II.
America the beautiful: purple mountain majesties, fruited plains, and enough rainbow-waving gay-friendly cities to make LGBTQ travelers feel at home across the country.