San Francisco Hotel Project

Winter Morning - Hyde Street

^{(r-l) CENTRAL CITY SRO COLLABORATIVE, LA VOZ LATINA, HYDE ST. STUDIOS, COSMOPOLITAN APARTMENTS - 259-255, 251, 245, 225 HYDE ST.}

Central City SRO Collaborative (formerly Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distribution Corp.). 1930. Architects: O'Brien Bros. & W.D. Peugh. 2 stories, stucco facade w/lion heads.
Common space for CCSROC & La Voz Latina (Formerly United Artists, Inc.). 1930. Architects: O'Brien Bros. & W.D. Peugh. 2 stories, Art Deco stucco facade, tragic/comic masks w/collars & ties.
La Voz Latina (Formerly RKO Distributing Corp.) 1930. Architects: O'Brien Bros. & W.D. Peugh. 2 stories, Art Deco stucco facade.
Hyde St. Studios (formerly Fox Film Corp., then Wally Heider Studios). 1931. Probable architects: O'Brien Bros. & W.D. Peugh. 2 stories, Art Deco stucco facade.
Cosmopolitan Apartments (formerly Hotel LaSalle). 1927. Designer unknown. 6 stories, stucco facade, base totally altered.

Hotel Ambassador

^{AMBASSADOR HOTEL - 55 MASON STREET}

1911 & 1922. Architects: Earl B. Scott & K. McDonald. 6 stories, brick & stucco facade.

The Ambassador was originally the Ferris Harriman Theater and Hotel. In 1923, following additional construction, it was rechristened with its current name. The theater was converted to a garage in 1929. The hotel was the home of science fiction and true crime writer Miriam Allen de Ford from 1936 until her death in 1975. She is perhaps best known for her book The Real Bonnie and Clyde, published in 1968.

The Real Bonnie & Clyde © 1968, Ace Books

Exit Theater

^{EXIT THEATER: STOREFRONT, WILLIAM PENN HOTEL - 156 EDDY ST.}

"San Francisco's center for experimental theatre since 1983, Exit Theatre draws audiences for cutting-edge performances staged in three intimate venues, all with a bohemian cabaret atmosphere. Exit Theatre is also the producer of the annual San Francisco Fringe Festival. Exit Theatre, Exit Stage Left, and Exit Café are located at 156 Eddy Street."

YMCA

^{SHIH YU-LANG CENTRAL YMCA - 220 GOLDEN GATE AVE.}

YMCA (Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA, 2002). Athletic facilities, offices, classrooms, auditorium, and hotel with 207 rooms and 55 baths. 1909. Architects: McDougall Brothers. 8 stories, steel frame structure with brick walls, granite and terra cotta trim, rusticated base with bronze sconces, galvanized iron cornice; 2-part vertical composition; Renaissance/Baroque ornamentation. Vestibule: Ionic pedimented portico in terra cotta with bronze arched window. Alterations: doorway, entry pediment, many aluminum windows, painted terra cotta, lobby remodeled. Built with funds raised in the East after the 1906 fire.

Summer Day - O'Farrell St.

^{BEN HUR APTS. - 400 HYDE ST., SOVEREIGN APTS., ADA COURT APTS., FARLOW APTS., ALLEN GARAGE, APARTMENT BLDG., APARTMENTS - 666, 656, 646, 640, 628 & 626 O'FARRELL ST.}

Ben Hur Apts. c.1926. Designer unknown. 7 stories, stucco facade, chariots on spandrel panels.
Sovereign Apts. 1924. Architects: Baumann & Jose. 5 stories, stucco facade, free-standing, high entry arch.
Ada Court Apts. (formerly Hermione Apts.). c.1916. Designer unknown. 5 stories, brick & galvanized iron facade.
Farlow Apts. (formerly Madrone Apts.). 1915. Architect: C.O. Clausen. 3 stories, Flemish bond brick & galvanized iron facade, cornice removed.
Allen Garage. 1924. Architects: O'Brien Bros. 2 stories, stucco facade, Tudor ornament.
Apartment Bldg. 1921. Contractor: Monson Bros. 4 stories, stucco facade, cornice & base altered.
Apartments & restaurant (formerly Annandale House). 1908. Architect: George A. Dodge. 3 stories, brick facade, entry remodeled in Art Deco style, base recently remodeled.

The side wall of the former Annandale House was the subject of Time Portal. The Snow Bell Laundromat has been replaced by the Dim Sum Bar, a major improvement, although Harlem Alley is now gated, making that wonderful side wall inaccessible. The Annandale was occupied as a private hospital in 1929 and the ground floor was a Safeway store in 1937.

View from Natoma Street

^{447 MINNA ST. (rear), CHRONICLE HOTEL, HILTON TOWER I}

There are still places south of Market Street, mostly on narrow back streets between the main thoroughfares, where the buildings have stood unchanged for a century, remnants of a vibrant past; survivors of the "slash and burn" tactics of urban renewal.

447 Minna Street

Cadillac Hotel's 100th Anniversary

Sunset - The Cadillac

^{CADILLAC HOTEL – 380 EDDY ST.}

1907. Architects: Meyer & O'Brien. 4 stories, brick & terra cotta facade, E-plan.

Owned and operated by Leroy and Kathy Looper's Reality House West since 1977, the Cadillac was the first non profit-owned SRO in California. It was the model for supportive housing as a means to reduce homelessness in San Francisco. Leroy's numerous contributions to the community have had a deep and lasting impact and have assured him of an honored place in the City's history. His title of "Father of the Tenderloin" is well-deserved.

Antonia Manor

^{ANTONIA MANOR - 180 TURK ST.}

(Formerly Hotel Governor). 1925. Architect: Creston H. Jensen. 10 stories, stucco facade, double-hung aluminum sash, new base & entry, new marquee.

Nicely renovated by TNDC, the Antonia is home to Mimi's Manor House restaurant, one of my long-time favorite Tenderloin eateries. The portions are huge, the prices unbelievably low; plus, I am completely infatuated with Mimi herself, a real gem in this or any other neighborhood. The entrance to the restaurant is on Jones St. (bottom left in the photo).

Dalt

^{DALT HOTEL - 34 TURK ST.}

1910. Architect: Charles W. Dickey. 7 stories, brick facade, base & entry altered, new marquee.

The Dalt is yet another acquisition of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, which has been renovated and now serves as supportive housing. Next to the Dalt is McDonald's Bookstore (also known as "A Dirty, Poorly-lit Place for Books"), the place to go for bibliophiles in the know.

^{DALT HOTEL LOBBY}

Loving Life

^{SERGE ECHEVERRIA - TENDERLOIN RESIDENT, SPAULDING HOTEL}

I occasionally meet with Serge, my remarkable friend of Chilean origin, to catch up on what's happened since the last time we met. It has been our habit to meet at a coffee house so that we can imbibe hot chocolate as we talk, a ritual we have shared since the beginning of our friendship. We first met in 2002 at a campaign kickoff party for our district supervisor. Refreshments at the party included several huge, chocolate flat cakes, of which I had several large pieces. A tall, slender gentleman in his 60's or 70's, with bright, deep-set eyes and aristocratic features, helped himself to some cake and sat down next to me. I made some comment about my love of chocolate, to which he replied that the sharing of a hot cacao beverage, while seated under a cacao tree, was central to the Toltec's concept of friendship. I remembered reading something about the Toltecs in a book published by the National Geographic Society many years before, but whatever I learned had been lost in time. Serge shared his extensive knowledge with me, revealing that he had even translated some of the Toltec's poetry. The campaign party receded into background noise as we conversed and thus our friendship was begun. We continue to share the ritual drinking of hot chocolate in honor of that beginning.

Just Passing Through

^{(VANTAGE POINT - 835 GEARY ST.)}

I was seated at an outside table at a little coffee house on Geary St., waiting for Serge. As I watched the flow of humanity on the sidewalks before me, I began to reflect on the transient nature of life and was inspired to take this photograph.

We have come to dream.
Suddenly we come out of the dream...
And we have only come to dream.
It is not true, it is not true that we have come
to live upon this earth.
Our lives are as the grass in spring.
Our hearts give birth to flowers from our flesh
and make them germinate.
Some open their corollas, others fade.
You have lived your songs, opened your flowers,
lived your lives!

A Toltec poem, translated through the Spanish by Serge Echeverria
Just Passing Through is available as a 12" x 18" poster.

Ellis & Mason

^{EED'S CORNER SALOON, THAI NOODLE CAFE & HOSTEL - 201 ELLIS ST.}

(First occupants: "cigar store, boot black stand, saloon, and two stores", rooming house with 25 rooms and 11 baths; later, Diamond Hotel). 1910. Architect: Smith O'Brien. 3 stories, decorative brickwork with marble inlay, galvanized iron belt course and cornice.

One of the eastern entries to the Tenderloin at one of my favorite times of day.

Sunrise - The Ambassador

^{AMBASSADOR HOTEL - 55 MASON STREET}

1911 & 1922. Architects: Earl B. Scott & K. McDonald. 6 stories, brick & stucco facade.

An early morning view of the Ambassador, showing its nicely restored neon sign.

Dusk - Harriet Alley

^{PARKING LOT - HARRIET ALLEY}

This photo captures the raw, post-industrial atmosphere that has, unfortunately, almost completely vanished from the south of Market landscape.

Golden Era

^{SWEDEN HOUSE HOTEL, ABBEY GARAGE, FARALLONE APTS., COAST HOTEL - 570, 550, 540, 516 O'FARRELL ST.}

Sweden House Hotel (formerly Hotel Stratton). c.1907. Designer unknown. 3 stories, brick facade with painted terra cotta trim.
Abbey Garage. 1924. Architect: W.H. Crim, Jr. 2 stories, stucco facade, gargoyles.
Farallone Apartments. 1922. Architect: August G. Headman. 6 stories, stucco facade, griffins-supported balcony/door head, door grill.
Coast Hotel (formerly Hotel Shawmut). 1912. Architect: L.B. Dutton. 6 stories, brick facade with terra cotta details, some store sash & prism glass transoms intact.

The name of the vegetarian restaurant in the lower level of the Sweden House Hotel is also an apt name for the time in San Francisco's history (between 1906 & 1925) during which nearly all of the existing structures in the Tenderloin were built. The images in this posting, all of which are part of a survey of the Tenderloin being submitted to the National Register of Historic Places, position some of the buildings found elsewhere in this blog within the larger context of the neighborhood streets on which they can be found.

Lower Leavenworth

^{(far left) ST. GEORGE (K & H) HOTEL - 395 EDDY ST.; McALLISTER TOWER - 100 McALLISTER ST.; YMCA - 220 GOLDEN GATE AVE.; PAGE HOTEL, HOTEL HURLEY, IVANHOE APTS., APARTMENT BLDG., GRAND RAPIDS APTS., APARTMENT BLDG. - 161, 201, 223, 237, 245, 255 LEAVENWORTH ST.; ALLEN HOTEL - 411 EDDY ST.}

Lower Turk

^{HELEN HOTEL, STAR GARAGE, BOSTON HOTEL, BUILDING, CAMELOT HOTEL, YOUTH HOSTEL CENTRALE - 166, 150, 140, 132, 124, 116 TURK ST.; TAYLOR ST. CENTER, WARFIELD HOTEL - 111, 118 TAYLOR ST.}

Turk & Taylor

^{WARFIELD HOTEL - 118 TAYLOR ST.; BUILDING, DAHLIA HOTEL, ARANDA HOTEL, BUILDING, DALT HOTEL, HOTEL METROPOL - 76, 74, 64, 50, 34, 16 TURK ST.}

Jones & Geary

^{HOTEL ST. CLAIRE - 595 GEARY ST.; HOTEL NAZARETH, BUILDING, HOTEL PIERRE, BUILDING, PACIFIC BAY INN, ABBEY APTS., APARTMENT BLDG., RIVEIRA HOTEL - 556, 548, 540, 532, 520, 450, 424, 420 JONES ST.; HOTEL MENTONE - 387 ELLIS ST.}

O'Farrell Street

^{AMBIKA HOTEL, EDGEWORTH HOTEL, CRISTOBAL APTS., O'FARRELL GARAGE, APARTMENT BLDG., GARAGE - 788, 770, 750, 740, 730, 720 O'FARRELL ST.}

Jones & Ellis

^{MENDEL APTS., ALDRICH HOTEL - 415, 439 JONES ST.; GARLAND HOTEL, COAST HOTEL - 505, 516 O'FARRELL ST.; (far right) RIVEIRA HOTEL - 420 JONES ST.}

View from the Empire Market

^{CADILLAC HOTEL, HOTEL ELM, EDDYSTONE APTS., PENWELL APTS., HOTEL HERALD - 380, 364, 340, 326, 308 EDDY ST.}

O'Farrell & Leavenworth

^{HARDING APTS., FARRELWORTH APTS., HAMILTON HOTEL (now condos) - 595, 601, 631 O'FARRELL ST.}

Upper Tenderloin

^{ST. ANTHONY APTS. - 795 GEARY ST., REYNOLDS APTS., ARCADIA APTS. - 534, 522 HYDE ST.}

St. Anthony Apts. c.1912. Designer unknown. 6 stories, brick facade, glavanized iron balconies.
Reynolds apts. 1912. Architects: Hladik & Thayer. 3 stories, stucco facade.
Arcadia Apts. c.1910. Designer unknown. 4 stories, stucco facade, pilastered lobby.

In San Francisco, property values tend to increase in direct proportion to both altitude and due North on the compass.

Leavenworth above Eddy

^{HOTEL VERONA, APARTMENT BLDG., WESTERN HOTEL, APARTMENT BLDG. - 317, 325, 335 & 345 LEAVENWORTH ST.}

Hotel Verona. (Formerly Rosslyn Hotel, Burbank Hotel). c. 1910. Designer unknown. 6 stories, Flemish bond brick and galvanized iron facade, beamed lobby.
Apartment Building. 1907. Architects: John & Zimmerman. 3 stories, brick facade, base altered.
Western Hotel. (Formerly Hotel Rocklin, Hotel Blank). 1907. Architects: Welsh & Carey. 4 stories, painted brick & galvanized iron facade.
Apartment Building. c. 1919. Designer unknown. 4 stories, painted brick & stucco facade, new door.