Photos: With Capacity Limits Lifted, the Castro Comes Alive Again With fifteen months of COVID-19 restrictions behind us, the Castro’s bars and restaurants were bumping Tuesday night with San Franciscans celebrating the end of social-distancing rules. San Francisco’s gayborhood roared back to life Tuesday night in a way that would’ve been completely inconceivable just a few months ago. Like the thousands who filled staple bars and go-to eateries in the 'hood, I, as well, saw it only fit to celebrate the city’s reopening by clinking glasses at watering holes crowded with people — comfortably bumping shoulders with strangers and asking for libations without muffling requests through a piece of cloth.