Eureka Valley / The Castro

Eureka Valley is the original name for the neighborhood now known as The Castro, a historic district located in the heart of San Francisco. While the term "Eureka Valley" encompasses a broad residential area comprised of mostly Victorian and Edwardian period homes, "The Castro" refers to the mostly gay-oriented shopping district located on Castro between Market and 19^th Streets. Once known as "Little Scandinavia" in the early 20^th century, Eureka Valley evolved into a working-class neighborhood of mostly Irish, German, and Scandinavian families in the 1930s and remained that way through the end of the 1960s, when young people from across the country came to San Francisco in the wake of The Summer of Love. Among those transplants was Harvey Milk, an openly homosexual businessman whose camera store at 575 Castro Street became a hub of political activism in the early 1970s. As depicted in the Oscar-winning biographical film Milk, Milk became in 1977 among the first openly gay politicians elected to public office.He was assassinated less than a year later and his death spurred other homosexuals to descend upon The Castro, further cementing the neighborhood's identity as a center for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. Eureka Valley's sunny weather, picturesque hillsides, and central location are among its many draws to families. While the period houses in this area tend to be dark and arrow (the typical home lot is 25' x 100'), many residents have compensated by making renovations such as skylights, decks and additional windows to improve sunlight penetration. Serviced by The Castro Muni Metro underground train station, access to both downtown and parts of town west of Twin Peaks is very convenient.Landmarks in this area include Mission High School, the historic Mission Dolores Church, and The Castro Theatre, a noted retro movie palace where live music on the Wurlitzer organ is played before many films and events. Renovated in 2008, the local San Francisco Park & Recreation Facility at 100 Collingwood is a welcome benefit to residents; it includes an auditorium, children's playroom, basketball court, and play ground.

Dolores Heights

Dolores Heights, as the name suggests, is all about the views. Built on a hill that is east of The Castro, west of the Mission District and north of Noe Valley, it is a neighborhood that boasts some of the nicest homes in San Francisco (a number of which have built on slightly larger lots), not to mention some of the most breathtaking views of the City. For this reason, homes in this area tend to be priced higher than those in the bordering valley neighborhoods of Noe and Castro to the south and north respectively. Among the lore of the neighborhood is Casa Cielo, the palatial, 5,000-square-foot home at 21^st and Sanchez Streets originally built in 1930 by "Sunny Jim" Rolph, the flamboyant figure who was at the time mayor of San Francisco. Rolph, who also owned the house next door at 775 Sanchez Street, built Casa Cielo as a home for his mistress, silent film star Anita Page. Legend has it that because Casa Cielo had a clear vantage point of City Hall, Rolph would inform his staff to fly a flag at the top of the building to let him know when he was needed.

Additional information at Wikipedia and SFGate.