Castro Theatre movie cinema, on Castro Street

The Castro Theatre (429 Castro St., 415-621-6120), which often shows films of queer interest, is one of the true landmarks of the city's longtime gay 'hood, The Castro. The ornate Spanish Colonial building, which dates to 1922, sits right along a prime stretch of Castro Street, and it enjoyed a prominent appearance in Gus Van Sant's eloquent biopic Milk (Harvey Milk's camera shop had been located just up the street, at 575 Castro, which is also the name of a film by queer filmmaker Jenni Olson). The historic theater has long functioned as a cultural and social hub for the Castro, and for the city's gay and lesbian community more generally. It still shows movies (it's one of only handful of movie theaters from that time that continues to do so), and often the films screened here have particular relevance to the gay community (they're almost always art-house movies and indie flicks) - in fact, the premiere of Milk was held here in 2009.