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    Castro Street Cam Nears 5 Million Views

    The Castro Street Cam https://bit.ly/4xUD7SW, produced by the San Francisco Bay Times, is an educational service in celebration of the rainbow flag at Harvey Milk Plaza and other points of interest in the Castro, such as the rainbow crosswalks. This Pride Month, the Castro Street Cam is nearing 5 million views. These include vistas that show up and down Castro Street, Harvey Milk Plaza, Jane Warner Plaza, and The Castro Theatre.

    Cam #5, highlighting The Castro Theatre, was introduced earlier this year to mark the theater’s reopening after it was closed for two years for the theater’s $41 million restoration and renovation. From the daytime crowds for festivals such as Frameline50 to night views showing the theater’s glowing colorful blade and other lights, this cam is fast becoming one of the most popular in the system.

    LGBTQ+ community leaders and friends of the San Francisco Bay Times,
    including Sister Roma and Terry Asten Bennett of Cliff’s Variety, joined in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 31, 2025, to commemorate the soft launch of Cam #5 of the Castro Street Cam system. Cam #5, which highlights The Castro Theatre, was permanently launched on February 7, 2026, to coincide with the reopening of the theater. A pub crawl throughout the Castro district to celebrate the launch took place on that day and was hosted by the San Francisco Bay Times and led by Donna Sachet and Gary Virginia.

    The highest number of views so far, however, are for Cam #4, showing Jane Warner Plaza. The plaza also recently received a refresh, with footage from Cam #4 revealing some of that effort along with before and after scenes: https://bit.ly/4fRhGLT

    Through June 28, be sure to check out Cam #2, which captures the Pink Triangle atop Twin Peaks. The rainbow crosswalks, also seen from this cam, add a striking counterpoint to the Pink Triangle. With the rainbow flags, also captured by this cam, three of the Castro’s most powerful and iconic symbols are in a single view.

    While the system last month showed a hit-and-run suspect literally running down Castro Street (https://bit.ly/43MlPtm), the Castro Street Cam is not a security camera nor is it affiliated with a security system. Its five cameras are carefully positioned to show the overall landscape, similar to systems highlighting other landmark neighborhoods such as New York City’s Times Square and New Orleans’ Bourbon Street.

    Since its launch in 2017, the Castro Street Cam has become one of the city’s most popular live webcam systems. The highest number of public cam views overall in the city, though, go to the Pier 39 Cam: https://bit.ly/4oCjpXT

    This was especially true when the 2,000-pound Stellar sea lion Chonkers visited San Francisco starting in March. He hauled out on K-Dock in full fleshy view of the cam. Chonkers left in May, but marine mammal experts say he could be back. Sea lions regularly display homosexual behavior, so we hope this stellar Stellar will be back later this Pride Month.

    Another popular cam in the city belongs to the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers. It goes live during important moments, such as the rare bloom of the conservatory’s corpse flowers. “Scarlett” is doing just that, right in time for Pride: https://gggp.org/corpseflower/

    The Castro Street Cam, though, is 24/7, every day of the year. The San Francisco Bay Times thanks partners Cliff’s Variety, Orphan Andy’s, and SoulCycle, along with many other sponsors and partners. Check those out, along with all of the cams of the system, at https://bit.ly/4xUD7SW

    Celebrating Pride 2026
    Published on June 25, 2026