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Sam Smith has kicked off his residency at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, with the singer’s 20-date stint helping to officially usher in a new era for the historic landmark.

First erected in 1922, the Castro closed in 2024 for a reported $41 million renovation project. But the century-old Spanish-style Baroque theatre is open for business — and music — once again, with its gilded ceiling and ornamental walls restored to its original design, while seating is now reconfigurable for different events, including 650 seats that can be removed to create more standing room space (like for Smith’s concert). More importantly, city officials hope the re-opening of the Castro Theatre will also help revive the predominantly queer neighborhood it sits in, which shares a name with the venerable venue.

“Do you guys realize how special this street is?” Smith asked the sold-out crowd, during night two of their residency last week. “I grew up in a village in the middle of f-ckin’ nowhere,” they shared. “I was the only gay in the village and yes I was very dramatic about it as well,” they added with a laugh.

“There is nothing like this street and nothing like the Castro and the community here,” Smith said. “I’ll never forget coming here when I was 20 years old, so reopening this theater now is such an honor.”

Tickets to Smith’s Castro residency quickly sold out when the shows were first announced but you can still find stubs on sites like StubHub, Vivid Seats and SeatGeek. New users can use the promo code THR30 to save $30 on orders of $300 and up at VividSeats.com. SeatGeek customers can use promo code HOLLYWOOD10 to save $10 at SeatGeek.com.

Smith’s San Francisco stint follows their “To Be Free: New York City,” residency which took place last fall at Brooklyn’s historic Warsaw club. Other artists set to play at the Castro this spring include Father John Misty, José González, Santigold and Lucy Dacus. The Castro will also help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the LGBTQ-themed Frameline Film Festival this June.

ALSO AVAILABLE

Castro Theatre Tickets on Vivid Seats

Smith’s residency runs until March 14.

According to tourism officials and local businesses, Smith’s new Castro residency and the reopening of the theatre has already helped to bring in a number of new visitors to the area. Mat Schuster, the executive chef and owner of long-time neighborhood fixture, Canela, says business has been “very busy” in the last few weeks, crediting Smith’s show with bringing out new diners to the Spanish restaurant, which has been on Market Street since 2011. Other local hotspots like wine bar Bar49, the San Francisco outpost of Hi Tops, and the women’s sports bar, Rikki’s (named after Gay Games Federation founder Rikki Streicher), were all packed on a recent evening following Smith’s Castro concert.

According to San Francisco Tourism, the reopening of The Castro Theatre is poised to deliver “meaningful economic gains” to the surrounding neighborhood, which some stats estimating that the venue will draw more than 200,000 visitors annually.

With the Castro Theatre now open again, local officials are looking ahead to other upcoming celebrations, including a planned reimagining of the Castro and Market Street intersection into The Memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza, honoring the first openly gay elected official in California (and the inspiration for the 2009 Sean Penn film). Milk’s legacy is already enshrined at the San Francisco airport of course, with terminal 1 at SFO renamed as the “Harvey Milk Terminal;” the new memorial is scheduled to be completed by 2028. The annual Castro Street Fair, meantime, a community street celebration founded by Harvey Milk in 1974, will take place on the first weekend of October.

The reopening of the Castro comes amidst a busy few months for San Francisco, which recently saw a number of athletes and celebrities in town for the Super Bowl. Steph Curry’s new speakeasy, The Eighth Rule, was among the hotspots over the big game weekend and the basketball star’s bourbon-forward bar continues to be a hot reservation in the city. Opened in the fall, the bar is tucked away in a nondescript hallway inside the Westin St. Francis hotel in Union Square, offering an intimate and exclusive setting for the Golden State Warriors point guard’s Gentleman’s Cut Bourbon, which can be ordered on its own or as part of a six-course omakase-style cocktail tasting (we loved the clarified coconut milk punch and the truffle-vanilla whiskey sour). Of course, guests can also order cocktails a la carte, choosing from different bourbons and whiskeys, plus a full selection of other spirits.

Next door to The Eighth Rule is Bourbon Steak San Francisco, the latest outpost of Chef Michael Mina’s award-winning steakhouse. The restaurant marks the celebrity chef’s return to the Westin St. Francis, where he opened his first eponymous restaurant in 2004. In addition to its selection of steaks, seafood and caviar offerings (like Mina’s famous “caviar twinkee”), this Bourbon Steak outpost offers a family-style dining experience for six people, available through advance reservations. This is the only Bourbon Steak location to offer this communal table format.

New this month is the highly-anticipated opening of JouJou, an elevated French brasserie concept from the owners of the two Michelin-starred Lazy Bear. Located in the city’s Design District, JouJou is poised to be the next celebrity hangout, with its ornate dining room and marble-topped counters setting the scene for steak frites and star sightings alike. As chef David Barzelay told the San Francisco Chronicle when asked about the inspiration for JouJou: “It always feels like you’re just in a place where it’s happening.”

Richard Jackson

OBITUARY

Richard E. Jackson, affectionately called “Jackson”, was beloved by his family, friends and colleagues. He passed peacefully surrounded by his wife and children. He was receiving exceptional medical care at City Park Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center at the time of his death. A devout Catholic, he received his Last Rights from Fr. John Ludanha of Blessed Sacrament Church and School.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Gannon University and a Master’s degree in Education from the George Washington University. For over 30 years, he was employed by the federal government, mostly as an analyst for the Social Security Administration (SSA). Other positions he held were: Beneficiary Services Specialist, Division of Medicare, Health Care Financing Administration; Public Affairs Specialist for SSA; and Management Analyst SSA Office of Management and Budget. After he retired, he was a consultant to the State of Colorado Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Jackson was a devoted father, step-father and foster father. He would take over the kitchen and cook spaghetti and meatballs, a family favorite, and then transport children to gymnastics practice and friends’ houses. He had a remarkable sense of humor, bringing joy and laughter to his home. He adored his wife and would leave her weekly love notes in drawers around the house. Exercising at the Denver Athletic Club, taking walks with his wife, and reading the New York Times were three of his favorite activities. He was born in Westfield, New York. His parents were Canadian immigrants. He was the youngest of eight children.

He is survived by his wife, Joycee Kennedy; his children – Kimberly Jackson (Mike Estes), Dawn Jennings (Ed Jennings) and Kevin Jackson; his stepchildren – Cary Kennedy (Saurabh Mangalik) and Jody Kennedy (Christopher Thompson); his grandchildren – Elizabeth, Chase and Drew; his step grandchildren – Kadin, Kyra, Bryce and Sena; and his first wife Madonna Smyth.

Services will be held at Blessed Sacrament Church – the time and day to be announced.

That stretch begins with five more home games: A skilled and successful Carolina squad Monday, followed by St. Louis (for the second time in a week) Wednesday, Ottawa next Saturday, then Nashville (just behind Seattle in the West wild-card race) on March 10 and then finishing with Western Conference leader Colorado March 12.

Stars Shine and Star-Crossed Hat Trick

Vince Dunn opened the scoring in his 600^th NHL game. Jordan Eberle topped the best Kraken-season goals mark with his 21st and 22nd goals of the year, with 23 games left to flirt with his first 30-plus goals on the year since his sophomore season in 2011-12. Joey Daccord registered 27 saves on the victorious night, including nine high-danger chances in the first 40 minutes alone.

To the fans’ disappointment, the slick-stickhandling Daccord missed a historic goalie goal by inches. But the sellout crowd was rewarded when Eberle cashed in on the Vancouver empty net. Eberle now has four two-goal games this season.

In a bizarre twist, when Eberle scored that empty-netter, Kraken fans rightfully cheered and tossed headwear for what was presumed to be a hat-trick score. But after Eberle scored, the scoring change on the Kraken’s power play goal was announced when off-ice officials realized Eberle’s shot had just ever-so-slightly deflected off Matty Beniers’ skate. So no hat trick for the second time this season. Linemate Jared McCann and hat-tossing fans thought the Kraken’s all-time leading scorer had notched a hat trick earlier this season, only to have it reversed when an offside infraction by, wait for it, Beniers, erased the goal.

Eberle joked post-game that maybe fans deserved some hats. The Kraken captain also said when Daccord missed by inches on his goalie goal, he was on the bench saying, “he got it, he got it.” Post-game, Eberle said, “It’s just a matter of time before he gets one” because he greatly admires the goaltender’s puck-handling skills.

The Kraken came out fast Saturday night with two goals, a couple of near-misses, lots of scoring attempts and pucks on net during the first 20 minutes. One near-miss was a hard wrist shot from Jordan Eberle that clanged off the far post. But no matter, Eberle scored a pivotal goal in the second period, getting in front of a Vancouver shot and chasing his own ricochet to create a breakaway with his still-elite speed. The 35-year-old Seattle captain went to his lethal backhand to beat Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen. Eberle’s tally re-upped the two-goal lead.

Good night for Kraken special teams as well. The penalty killer snuffed an early third period Canucks power play to keep the two-score cushion. Later third period, Matty Beniers scored on the power play, deflecting an Eberle shot, to push the score to 4-1. Chandler Stephenson earned his second point of the night with the primary assist. Same for Dunn, who notched the second assist. The Kraken needed just 10 seconds to score the man-advantage marker.

Captaining His Best Kraken Season…

It is Eberle’s 21st goal of the season. The next one he scores will set a new high as a Kraken for the teammate everyone calls “Ebs.” That makes it three of five seasons that Eberle has scored 20 or more goals. Eberle almost scored again later second period when matching cross-checking penalties on SEA forward Kaapo Kakko and VAN defenseman Filip Hronek. The ensuing 4-on-4 play was dominated by the Kraken quartet of Eberle, Matty Beniers, Brandon Montour and Ryker Evans. Beniers stood with some moves and an improv that had future Hall of Fame play-by-play man John Forslund saying, “Beniers did everything but score.” It was heartening to see Seattle flexing its offensive chops with a 3-1 lead.

The Kraken scored twice in an opening 20 minutes played to order, returning to the hard forechecking game they exhibited on a heater 10-game streak before the Olympic break. The starting goalie did his part, stopping all nine of Vancouver’s shots in the first 20 minutes to bring confidence to the first-intermission home locker room.  

Jumping Out of the Starting Blocks

The Kraken faithful were mega-decibel loud during the announcement of the starting lineups, welcoming back Olympian bronze medalists Kaapo Kakko and Eeli Tolvanen, as well as Seattle teammates. This week’s two road losses forgotten, replaced by rousing cheers for starters and fourth-liners Freddy Gaudreau, centering Jacob Melanson and Ben Meyers (on the wing for the first since a road matchup in LA right before the winter holiday break).

Defenseman Cale Fleury and Ryker Evans rounded out the skaters in front of Joey Daccord. It’s not a stretch to think head coach Lane Lambert was sending a message with his fourth line and third pair getting the first shift after losing two games in the Midwest by a composite score of 9-2.

Saturday morning, both defenseman Vince Dunn and Lambert both talked about what would be the ideal first 10 to 20 minutes in this Pacific Division showdown with rival Vancouver.

“We need to play simple and hard and direct,” said Dunn, who was playing in his 600^th NHL game, 333 with Seattle. “I think we’re very connected when we can get our forecheck going. I think the way we play as a five-man unit is that we slow teams down and don’t get scrambled in our own end. We’re more patient in our own end and letting guys accept their positions and roles and areas that they need to defend in.

“Right away, we need to start shooting pucks … the past two games, the shot count hasn’t been where we wanted it to be in the first 10 minutes. So let’s get some looks and see what happens. Let’s see if we can get the other team scrambling.”