Tenderloin district touts its history
Thursday, October 16, 2008 | 6:58 PM
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By Carolyn Tyler
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A San Francisco neighborhood is about to get federal designation for its historic significance, and you might be surprised where. It's not Chinatown or the waterfront. It's the Tenderloin -- a place known for crime and homelessness.
The Tenderloin is often called gritty, seedy, down and out. Soon you can add the word historic.
Randy Shaw is director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, a leading provider of housing for homeless people in San Francisco.
He's been a key force in pushing to place this neighborhood near city hall on the national register of historic places.
"Right now if you end up living in the Tenderloin, you feel like you've been a failure. Oh, God, what could be worse. I'm living in the tenderloin. Now people can say I live in the uptown Tenderloin Historic District, it's a really hip place," said Randy Shaw from the Tenderloin Housing Clinic.
The Tenderloin we see today is the result of the 1906 earthquake and fire that wiped out the neighborhood. It was rebuilt along with the rest of the city.
According to architectural historian Michael Corbett, the post-quake Tenderloin was specifically designed for a new breed of city worker.
"The first new skyscrapers and the first office buildings were being built downtown. So the Tenderloin was built for these people, the new class of people, for middle class workers around Union Square and the Financial District," said Corbett.
Corbett surveyed the Tenderloin for the federal nomination. He says there are 409 buildings that are pieces of history and there are primarily two types.
Old hotels from the 20's and 30's are now called SRO's that provide rooms for formerly homeless and others with low-incomes. This is thought to be the nation's largest collection.
And then there are apartments which could include the first studio apartments ever built.
"We say it's significant not because of the architectural features, but because of the building types and because of the social history," said Corbett.
The state has already approved the Tenderloin's historic designation. The paperwork is headed to the federal government which is expected to agree.
Gold-colored plaques will be placed on the buildings to highlight their significance.
Property owners in the new Uptown Tenderloin Historic District will get a 40 percent tax credit for any renovations they make. The vast majority like Elaine Zamora have signed off on the plan.
"It could be the beginning of rejuvenation of property facades and property in general. It is gaining a lot of positive momentum," said Zamora.
Others we talked to who live in the neighborhood are skeptical that being called historic will change the reality of life here.
"It's going to be rough. I mean anything is possible, but it's going to be rough," said Tenderloin resident Tony Boutrin.
"I've been living here for 18 years. I don't think it's going to do any good, that's my opinion, I could be wrong, but I doubt it," said Tenderloin resident Raymond Easter.
But Randy Shaw has no doubt the Tenderloin will forge a new identify that goes beyond the listing in the national register.
A history museum is already in the planning stages and he'd like tours to bring in tourists, who are usually warned to steer clear of the Tenderloin.
"I think 20 years from now we'll be the last neighborhood that is unchanged from how we were in 1980 and 1960 and 1940, and I think that's special and will lend an interest to people coming to check out this place from around the country," said Shaw.
This historic proposal is more than 20 years in the making.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
State Approves Uptown Tenderloin Historic District
thought this www.BeyondChron.org article might be of interest to you.
State Approves Uptown Tenderloin Historic District
State Approves Uptown Tenderloin Historic District
The State Historical Resources Commission voted unanimously on July 25 to create the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District. The nomination for federal historic district status now proceeds to the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, D.C., which could add the 18 whole and 15 partial city blocks in the neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places within 45 days. The Commission’s action culminates a process that began in 1983, was halted for over two decades, and then restarted in 2006. The District’s 470 buildings include the world’s largest collection of historic single-room occupancy hotels (SRO’s), such historic structures as the Central YMCA, the Hibernia Bank, and the former Empire Hotel (now Hastings Tower), and the astonishing Alcazar Theater. After decades of being primarily described by the media as “seedy,” the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District finally gives the community defined boundaries and a positive identity. The District’s creation also means that the dream of maintaining the Tenderloin as a rare urban neighborhood combining affordable housing, primarily low-income residents and a high quality of life is a large step closer to reality.
I recently took an author of a book on the historic neighborhoods of Paris on a walk through the Tenderloin, and he was astonished by what he saw. Noting the many neon signs and incredible diversity of pre-1940’s structures, he said he felt like he had taken a trip to the past---and this is a person who lives in the Bay Area, frequently visits San Francisco, and simply had no idea of the Tenderloin’s historic treasures.
He will hopefully be the first of thousands upon thousands who begin looking at San Francisco’s Tenderloin district with fresh eyes once it becomes a National Historic District. And among those looking at the neighborhood differently will be many of its residents, who have often felt stigmatized living in the community and can now take pride in living among the nation’s largest residential historic districts.
Boundaries
The Uptown Tenderloin Historic District runs from McAllister on the south, to Mason on the East, Geary to the north (but only between Taylor and Polk), and just east of Polk as the western border. No Polk Street properties are included, as this corridor has its own rich, independent history.
Previous maps of the area seemed to show McAllister Street, which features two historic landmark buildings, the Empire Hotel and Hibernia Bank, as in the Civic Center Historic District. But research found neither included, allowing them to join the Uptown Tenderloin.
A 20 Year Delay
Although a historic building survey of the Tenderloin was conducted in 1983, the community rejected the proposed historic district due to fears it would produce gentrification and displacement. The neighborhood’s proposed residential rezoning was still pending, and the thought was that the historic district issue could be revisited once permanent controls were enacted.
But after the community’s rezoning became law in 1985, the idea of moving forward on creating an historic district was forgotten. It was not until the Tenderloin Housing Clinic (publisher of Beyond Chron) submitted a grant to the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development in 2006 for a historic survey of the Tenderloin that the idea of making the community an Historic District was revived.
In other words, a community long struggling with economic revitalization simply forgot for two decades that it could seize upon an economic development tool---the creation of an Historic District-- that it knew it had in 1983. And this breakthrough still would not have occurred had the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development not had a committee staffed with leading preservationists like G.G. Platt who remembered the 1983 survey and could not understand why the Historic District should not go forward now.
One reason the Historic District was forgotten is that the Tenderloin lacked broad community leadership for much of late 1980’s through the 1990’s. We only renewed our seriously thinking about neighborhood economic development and positive identity strategies when the North of Market Community Benefits District (CBD) (link to http://nom-tlcbd.org/) was formed in 2004.
Economic Revitalization
The Housing Clinic initially applied for a grant to create a Tenderloin Historic Tour, a proposal we then broadened to focus on the creation of an Historic District. The planned tours for the neighborhood, however, will still happen. The tours will be linked to a Tenderloin History Museum for which a thirty-year lease has already been signed for the corner of Eddy and Leavenworth, under the historic Cadillac Hotel. The San Francisco office of the international architectural firm of Perkins & Will (link to http://www.perkinswill.com/) has agreed to donate design services for the museum, meaning that the community will have a facility that will have a look and feel that is truly world-class.
During the 2007-08 academic year, I was fortunate to have access to two students in the economic justice clinic at Hastings Law School. These students did extensive research on how the Tenderloin can implement strategies for making the community the type of historic district that visitors will be interested in walking through.
Ultimately, the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District will finally give the tourists staying at the Hilton and nearby hotels a reason to investigate the community, and eat in its restaurants. The recently created Little Saigon will be a beneficiary of this increased tourist traffic, as will the Indian restaurants around Eddy and Mason Streets (the just released issue of San Francisco Magazine touts the Indian and Pakistani cuisine on Jones between O’Farrell and Geary).
More foot traffic means safer streets and more successful businesses. It means getting the Tenderloin a greater share of the city’s billion-dollar tourist trade, which was always part of the neighborhood’s plan but has not been fulfilled.
Of course, the tax benefits accruing to property owners in historic districts are simply enormous. The Mills Act, applicable to such owners, gives a 40% tax credit for renovations to historic properties, which should encourage owners of long neglected properties to finally begin upgrades.
Even owners of beautiful, well-kept buildings like the historic Hamilton condominiums at 631 O’Farrell Street will reap the economic benefits of the Historic District. The Hamilton recently spent $2.5 million waterproofing one side of the building; when it performs this improvement to the other side under the Mills Act, the owners will get a 40% tax credit. The tax credits begin after federal approval of the Historic District.
The enthusiasm for the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District has crossed all class and ethnic groups, with virtually everyone excited about the new status it creates for the long troubled community.
Michael Corbett is the noted architectural historian who authored the building-by-building description of the Uptown Tenderloin and the entire nomination application. At every level of review, preservations were deeply impressed with Corbett’s work, and it was Corbett’s research that determined that the community’s historically accurate name was “Uptown Tenderloin.”
Photographs from CBD Board member and longtime Central City resident Mark Ellinger bolstered Corbett’s application. And neither could have performed their services without the financial and enthusiastic support of Rich Hillis of the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development.
It could take a few months for the feds to act, but by this time next year, people walking through the Tenderloin will know that they are witnessing history---with the community’s best years yet to come
State Approves Uptown Tenderloin Historic District
State Approves Uptown Tenderloin Historic District
The State Historical Resources Commission voted unanimously on July 25 to create the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District. The nomination for federal historic district status now proceeds to the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, D.C., which could add the 18 whole and 15 partial city blocks in the neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places within 45 days. The Commission’s action culminates a process that began in 1983, was halted for over two decades, and then restarted in 2006. The District’s 470 buildings include the world’s largest collection of historic single-room occupancy hotels (SRO’s), such historic structures as the Central YMCA, the Hibernia Bank, and the former Empire Hotel (now Hastings Tower), and the astonishing Alcazar Theater. After decades of being primarily described by the media as “seedy,” the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District finally gives the community defined boundaries and a positive identity. The District’s creation also means that the dream of maintaining the Tenderloin as a rare urban neighborhood combining affordable housing, primarily low-income residents and a high quality of life is a large step closer to reality.
I recently took an author of a book on the historic neighborhoods of Paris on a walk through the Tenderloin, and he was astonished by what he saw. Noting the many neon signs and incredible diversity of pre-1940’s structures, he said he felt like he had taken a trip to the past---and this is a person who lives in the Bay Area, frequently visits San Francisco, and simply had no idea of the Tenderloin’s historic treasures.
He will hopefully be the first of thousands upon thousands who begin looking at San Francisco’s Tenderloin district with fresh eyes once it becomes a National Historic District. And among those looking at the neighborhood differently will be many of its residents, who have often felt stigmatized living in the community and can now take pride in living among the nation’s largest residential historic districts.
Boundaries
The Uptown Tenderloin Historic District runs from McAllister on the south, to Mason on the East, Geary to the north (but only between Taylor and Polk), and just east of Polk as the western border. No Polk Street properties are included, as this corridor has its own rich, independent history.
Previous maps of the area seemed to show McAllister Street, which features two historic landmark buildings, the Empire Hotel and Hibernia Bank, as in the Civic Center Historic District. But research found neither included, allowing them to join the Uptown Tenderloin.
A 20 Year Delay
Although a historic building survey of the Tenderloin was conducted in 1983, the community rejected the proposed historic district due to fears it would produce gentrification and displacement. The neighborhood’s proposed residential rezoning was still pending, and the thought was that the historic district issue could be revisited once permanent controls were enacted.
But after the community’s rezoning became law in 1985, the idea of moving forward on creating an historic district was forgotten. It was not until the Tenderloin Housing Clinic (publisher of Beyond Chron) submitted a grant to the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development in 2006 for a historic survey of the Tenderloin that the idea of making the community an Historic District was revived.
In other words, a community long struggling with economic revitalization simply forgot for two decades that it could seize upon an economic development tool---the creation of an Historic District-- that it knew it had in 1983. And this breakthrough still would not have occurred had the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development not had a committee staffed with leading preservationists like G.G. Platt who remembered the 1983 survey and could not understand why the Historic District should not go forward now.
One reason the Historic District was forgotten is that the Tenderloin lacked broad community leadership for much of late 1980’s through the 1990’s. We only renewed our seriously thinking about neighborhood economic development and positive identity strategies when the North of Market Community Benefits District (CBD) (link to http://nom-tlcbd.org/) was formed in 2004.
Economic Revitalization
The Housing Clinic initially applied for a grant to create a Tenderloin Historic Tour, a proposal we then broadened to focus on the creation of an Historic District. The planned tours for the neighborhood, however, will still happen. The tours will be linked to a Tenderloin History Museum for which a thirty-year lease has already been signed for the corner of Eddy and Leavenworth, under the historic Cadillac Hotel. The San Francisco office of the international architectural firm of Perkins & Will (link to http://www.perkinswill.com/) has agreed to donate design services for the museum, meaning that the community will have a facility that will have a look and feel that is truly world-class.
During the 2007-08 academic year, I was fortunate to have access to two students in the economic justice clinic at Hastings Law School. These students did extensive research on how the Tenderloin can implement strategies for making the community the type of historic district that visitors will be interested in walking through.
Ultimately, the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District will finally give the tourists staying at the Hilton and nearby hotels a reason to investigate the community, and eat in its restaurants. The recently created Little Saigon will be a beneficiary of this increased tourist traffic, as will the Indian restaurants around Eddy and Mason Streets (the just released issue of San Francisco Magazine touts the Indian and Pakistani cuisine on Jones between O’Farrell and Geary).
More foot traffic means safer streets and more successful businesses. It means getting the Tenderloin a greater share of the city’s billion-dollar tourist trade, which was always part of the neighborhood’s plan but has not been fulfilled.
Of course, the tax benefits accruing to property owners in historic districts are simply enormous. The Mills Act, applicable to such owners, gives a 40% tax credit for renovations to historic properties, which should encourage owners of long neglected properties to finally begin upgrades.
Even owners of beautiful, well-kept buildings like the historic Hamilton condominiums at 631 O’Farrell Street will reap the economic benefits of the Historic District. The Hamilton recently spent $2.5 million waterproofing one side of the building; when it performs this improvement to the other side under the Mills Act, the owners will get a 40% tax credit. The tax credits begin after federal approval of the Historic District.
The enthusiasm for the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District has crossed all class and ethnic groups, with virtually everyone excited about the new status it creates for the long troubled community.
Michael Corbett is the noted architectural historian who authored the building-by-building description of the Uptown Tenderloin and the entire nomination application. At every level of review, preservations were deeply impressed with Corbett’s work, and it was Corbett’s research that determined that the community’s historically accurate name was “Uptown Tenderloin.”
Photographs from CBD Board member and longtime Central City resident Mark Ellinger bolstered Corbett’s application. And neither could have performed their services without the financial and enthusiastic support of Rich Hillis of the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development.
It could take a few months for the feds to act, but by this time next year, people walking through the Tenderloin will know that they are witnessing history---with the community’s best years yet to come
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Uptown Tenderloin Historic District files papers
New Nabe Alert: "Uptown Tenderloin Historical District"
Tuesday, November 20, 2007, by Sarah Hromack
20Nov_Loin.jpgDo we smell another nabe on the horizon? Oh yes, we do. Papers have been filed with the state Office of Historic Preservation to creat the "Uptown Tenderloin Historical District;" architectural historian Michael Corbett prepared the papers on behalf of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. The "Uptown" district consists of the entire 16 block area bounded by Taylor, Turk, Larkin, and Geary Streets plus surrounding extensions.
Did you know that prior to 1940, when a W.P.A. guide identified the area as the "Uptown Tenderloin," the area lacked a distinct name? Drop a "Tenderloin" in San Francisco today, and visions of crack heads and gunmen (and Tu Lan! and Luggage Store Gallery!) begin to dance through one's head. It wasn't always that way though, and proponents hope that bringing the "uptown" back into the 'Loin will help to improve it's image— if only by association. Godspeed, we say, as does Minty Fresh.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007, by Sarah Hromack
20Nov_Loin.jpgDo we smell another nabe on the horizon? Oh yes, we do. Papers have been filed with the state Office of Historic Preservation to creat the "Uptown Tenderloin Historical District;" architectural historian Michael Corbett prepared the papers on behalf of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. The "Uptown" district consists of the entire 16 block area bounded by Taylor, Turk, Larkin, and Geary Streets plus surrounding extensions.
Did you know that prior to 1940, when a W.P.A. guide identified the area as the "Uptown Tenderloin," the area lacked a distinct name? Drop a "Tenderloin" in San Francisco today, and visions of crack heads and gunmen (and Tu Lan! and Luggage Store Gallery!) begin to dance through one's head. It wasn't always that way though, and proponents hope that bringing the "uptown" back into the 'Loin will help to improve it's image— if only by association. Godspeed, we say, as does Minty Fresh.
Historic Preservation Fund Committee 12-12-2007
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Historic Preservation Fund Committee
Historic Preservation Fund Committee >> Meeting Information
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December 12, 2007
HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND COMMITTEE
NOTICE OF MEETING
and
AGENDA
December 12, 2007 9:30 a.m.—12:00 noon
City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton Goodlett Place, Rm. 421
1. Roll call
Dennis Antenore (SFPP)
Alan Martinez (LPAB)
Bruce Bonacker (Mayor)
Mrs. G. Bland Platt (BOS)
Charles Chase (SF Heritage)
Mark Ryser (SF Beautiful)
Kelley Kahn (SFRA)
2. Announcements
3. Citywide Survey Program [Discussion Item and Possible Action Item]
a. Update on Planning Department’s Citywide Survey Program and Funding
• Work program for FY 07-08 budget ($300,000)
• Work program for FY 07-08 addback ($250,000)
b. Public comment
4. Notice of Funding Availability Update [Discussion Item and Possible Action Item]
a. Report from Tenderloin Housing Clinic on Uptown Tenderloin Historic District nomination
b. Public comment
5. Staff Report [Discussion Item and Possible Action Item]
a. Update on TDR study
b. Update on Survey Consultant RFP
c. Update on Redevelopment Agency Surveys
d. Public comment
6. Establish next meeting agenda [Discussion Item]
a. Public comment
7. Public Comment
8. Adjournment
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE SUNSHINE ORDINANCE
Government’s duty is to serve the public, reaching its decisions in full view of the public. Commissions, boards, councils and other agencies of the City and County exist to conduct the people’s business. This ordinance assures that deliberations are conducted before the people and that City operations are open to the people’s review.
For information on your rights under the Sunshine Ordinance (Chapters 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code) or to report a violation of the ordinance, please contact:
Frank Darby, Administrator
Sunshine Ordinance Task Force
415-554-7724
Copies of the Sunshine Ordinance can be obtained from the Interim Administrator of the Sunshine Task Force, the San Francisco Public Library and on the City’s website at www.sfgov.org.
DISABILITY ACCESS
City Hall is between Grove and McAllister Streets and is wheelchair accessible. The closest BART and MUNI Metro Station is Civic Center, about three blocks away. Accessible MUNI lines nearest City Hall are: 42 Downtown Loop, 49 Van Ness-Mission and F-Market & MUNI Metro (Civic Center Station).
For more information about MUNI accessible services, call (415) 923-6142. There is accessible parking available in the vicinity of City Hall.
For assistance with special needs (large print agendas, sign language interpreters, etc.), call Jill Lerner at 554-6075.
In order to assist the City’s efforts to accommodate persons with severe allergies, environmental illnesses, multiple chemical sensitivity or related disabilities, attendees at public meetings are reminded that others may be sensitive to various chemical based products. Please help the City accommodate these individuals.
LOBBYIST ORDINANCE
Individuals and entities that influence or attempt to influence local legislative or administrative action may be required by the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance (Administrative Code Section 16.520-534) to register and report lobbying activity.
For more information about the Lobbyist Ordinance, contact the Ethics Commission at 1390 Market Street, Suite 701, San Francisco, CA 94102, (415) 554-9510, FAX (415) 703-1021, or visit its website at http://www.sfgov.org/ethics.
Historic Preservation Fund Committee
Historic Preservation Fund Committee >> Meeting Information
* LISTEN
* TEXT ONLY
* A
* A
* A
December 12, 2007
HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND COMMITTEE
NOTICE OF MEETING
and
AGENDA
December 12, 2007 9:30 a.m.—12:00 noon
City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton Goodlett Place, Rm. 421
1. Roll call
Dennis Antenore (SFPP)
Alan Martinez (LPAB)
Bruce Bonacker (Mayor)
Mrs. G. Bland Platt (BOS)
Charles Chase (SF Heritage)
Mark Ryser (SF Beautiful)
Kelley Kahn (SFRA)
2. Announcements
3. Citywide Survey Program [Discussion Item and Possible Action Item]
a. Update on Planning Department’s Citywide Survey Program and Funding
• Work program for FY 07-08 budget ($300,000)
• Work program for FY 07-08 addback ($250,000)
b. Public comment
4. Notice of Funding Availability Update [Discussion Item and Possible Action Item]
a. Report from Tenderloin Housing Clinic on Uptown Tenderloin Historic District nomination
b. Public comment
5. Staff Report [Discussion Item and Possible Action Item]
a. Update on TDR study
b. Update on Survey Consultant RFP
c. Update on Redevelopment Agency Surveys
d. Public comment
6. Establish next meeting agenda [Discussion Item]
a. Public comment
7. Public Comment
8. Adjournment
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE SUNSHINE ORDINANCE
Government’s duty is to serve the public, reaching its decisions in full view of the public. Commissions, boards, councils and other agencies of the City and County exist to conduct the people’s business. This ordinance assures that deliberations are conducted before the people and that City operations are open to the people’s review.
For information on your rights under the Sunshine Ordinance (Chapters 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code) or to report a violation of the ordinance, please contact:
Frank Darby, Administrator
Sunshine Ordinance Task Force
415-554-7724
Copies of the Sunshine Ordinance can be obtained from the Interim Administrator of the Sunshine Task Force, the San Francisco Public Library and on the City’s website at www.sfgov.org.
DISABILITY ACCESS
City Hall is between Grove and McAllister Streets and is wheelchair accessible. The closest BART and MUNI Metro Station is Civic Center, about three blocks away. Accessible MUNI lines nearest City Hall are: 42 Downtown Loop, 49 Van Ness-Mission and F-Market & MUNI Metro (Civic Center Station).
For more information about MUNI accessible services, call (415) 923-6142. There is accessible parking available in the vicinity of City Hall.
For assistance with special needs (large print agendas, sign language interpreters, etc.), call Jill Lerner at 554-6075.
In order to assist the City’s efforts to accommodate persons with severe allergies, environmental illnesses, multiple chemical sensitivity or related disabilities, attendees at public meetings are reminded that others may be sensitive to various chemical based products. Please help the City accommodate these individuals.
LOBBYIST ORDINANCE
Individuals and entities that influence or attempt to influence local legislative or administrative action may be required by the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance (Administrative Code Section 16.520-534) to register and report lobbying activity.
For more information about the Lobbyist Ordinance, contact the Ethics Commission at 1390 Market Street, Suite 701, San Francisco, CA 94102, (415) 554-9510, FAX (415) 703-1021, or visit its website at http://www.sfgov.org/ethics.
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