Compton’s Cafeteria

 Posted by on June 27, 2015
Jun 272015
 

Corner of Turk and Taylor
Tenderloin

Compton's Cafeteria Riot

Funny how a plaque can stop you and educate you about something you may have known nothing about, and at the exact same time leave out so very very much of the story.

If you were to hear about this event during those times you would have been told that in Gene Compton’s Cafeteria at the corner of Taylor and Turk Streets, in August 1966*, a person, described as a “queen” threw a cup of coffee in a police officers face.  The police began arresting “queens” and a riot broke out.  The riot included around 50 to 60 patrons, and an unnumbered amount of police.

*The exact date of the riot is unknown because 1960 police records no longer exist and the riot was not covered by newspapers.

Photo Courtesy of Shaping San Francisco and FoundSF

Photo Courtesy of Shaping San Francisco and FoundSF

While hard to believe in our more progressive times that it was unlawful to crossdress or impersonate a female in San Francisco in 1966. The harassment of “effeminate” gay males was prolific and since discrimination was so prevalent, often the only type of employment open to the transexual, drag performing and “gay” population was prostitution.   The one thing that has not changed was that the tenderloin was a place to ply your trade.

Another thing that has not changed is Glide Memorial’s open heart and helping hand to the situation.  Glide began a program titled Vanguard to help trans and gay youth improve their living situations. Vanguard had been holding their meetings at Gene Compton’s Cafeteria.

To continue the story in the words of Susan Stryker, author of Screaming Queen:

“Late one August night in San Francisco in 1966, Compton’s Cafeteria was hopping with its usual assortment of transgender people, young street hustlers, and other down-and-out regulars who found refuge there from the mean streets of the seedy Tenderloin neighborhood. The restaurant’s management, annoyed by a noisy crowd at one table that seemed be spending a lot of time without spending a lot of money, called the police—as they had been doing with increasing frequency throughout the summer. A surly cop, accustomed to manhandling Compton’s clientele, grabbed the arm of one of the queens.

She responded unexpectedly and threw her coffee in his face. Mayhem erupted: plates, trays, cups, and silverware flew threw the air at the police, who ran outside and called for backup. Tables were turned over, windows were smashed, and Compton’s queer customers poured out of the restaurant and into the night. The paddy wagons pulled up, and street fighting broke out in Compton’s vicinity, all around the corner of Turk and Taylor. Drag queens beat the police with their heavy purses, and kicked them with their high-heeled shoes. A police car was vandalized, a newspaper stand was burned to the ground, and—in the words of the best available source on what happened that night—“general havoc was raised in the Tenderloin.”

According to Strykers’s Screaming Queens the next night, more transgender people, hustlers, Tenderloin street people, and other members of the LGBT community joined in a picket of the cafeteria, which would not allow transgender people back in. The demonstration ended with the newly installed plate-glass windows being smashed again.

All of this was three years before Stonewall.

If you would like to explore further, Susan Stryker’s documentary is titled Screaming Queens .  The fascinating story, by the author and filmmaker, about how the movie came about, can be read here. 

The building today 2015

The building today 2015

The building itself has a wonderful history as well.  It was designed by architect Abraham M. Edelman and built in 1907.  At that time it was the 115 room with 50 baths Hotel Hyland.  It became the Hotel Young in 1908, The Hotel Empire in 1911 the Chapin Hotel in 1920, the Hotel Raford in 1923 the Tyland Hotel and then the Warfield Hotel in 1982 it is now the Taylor Street Apartments.

Abraham (or Abram) M. Edleman (August 19, 1863) was the son of a Polish-born American rabbi living in Los Angeles.  While most prolific in Los Angeles, with many buildings on the National Historic Register, he often worked in partnership with firms in San Francisco.

Edelman began his own practice in Los Angeles in the 1880s; he became a member of the Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1902 and remained a member until 1941.

Edelman’s education came from having worked as an apprentice for various architects in San Francisco, which most likely is how his name became attached to this particular building.

 

 

 

Playground Mosaics

 Posted by on June 23, 2015
Jun 232015
 
Playground Mosaics

Father Boeddeker Park 295 Eddy The Tenderloin These little eggs sit in the playground area of the newly revitalized Father Boeddeker Park.  They were created by Laurel True of True Mosaics. Laurel has a degree from School of the Art Institute in Chicago and Parson’s School of Design of New York.  She presently is balancing her time between Oakland, California and New Orleans, however, she travels all over the world teaching the art of mosaic. Laura is also responsible for the Sun Spheres on Ocean Avenue. *

Bruce Hasson’s Ark

 Posted by on June 15, 2015
Jun 152015
 
Bruce Hasson's Ark

Father Boeddeker Park 295 Eddy Street The Tenderloin The Ark – 1985 – Bronze This piece, by Bruce Hasson, sits in Father Boeddeker Park.  The statue, as well as the park have essentially been inaccessible to everyone until the parks 2014 renovation. According to the plaque that sits with the statue “Following a 1983 trek in the Peruvian Andes, Hasson was inspired by the mysteries of Inca stone work.  The Ark resembles a large geological artifact.  It is symbolic of a sanctuary that protects life and a reminder of the importance of preserving endangered animals and their natural habitat.” Hasson lives Continue Reading

Redding School Self Portrait

 Posted by on June 8, 2015
Jun 082015
 
Redding School Self Portrait

Boeddeker Park 295 Eddy Street The Tenderloin Redding School Self Portrait by Ruth Asawa and Children of the School The Asawa piece is a tribute to Father Alfred Boeddeker.  Boeddeker was the Franciscan priest who founded St. Anthony’s Dining Room and he is the park’s namesake. The 4- by 16.5-foot bas relief wall mural is a portrait of Boeddeker surrounded by children.  Asawa was assisted by 100 schoolchildren from Redding Elementary School. The childrens’ images were initially created out of pastry dough, then coordinated into an overall design by Asawa. The piece was originally installed in 1985 and is made of glass Continue Reading

Grasses and Wildflowers in the Tenderloin

 Posted by on May 18, 2015
May 182015
 
Grasses and Wildflowers in the Tenderloin

Father Boeddeker Park 259 Eddy Street The Tenderloin Father Boedekker Park has gone through a much needed and highly anticipated refurbishment.  The $9.3 million face-lift to the Tenderloins only multi-use park was long over due.  The $9.3 million renovation was made possible with a $4.93 million grant  from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, more than $3.3 million of private contribution from corporate business donors, and funds from The Trust of Public Land, as well as more than $1.7 million of City’s general fund, open space fund, and Parks Bond. There was already some public art in the park that Continue Reading

Os Gemeos, Bode and The Warfield

 Posted by on January 27, 2014
Jan 272014
 
Os Gemeos, Bode and The Warfield

Taylor and Turk The Tenderloin This fun mural was finished in September of 2013.  It is a collaboration between Os Gemeos and Mark Bode, both whom have been in this site before. This whimsical piece sits on the back of the Warfield Theater on Market street.  The two cousins from Brazil and San Francisco artist Mark Bode  painted this mural which includes one of Os Gemeos’ characters and the iconic comic character “Cheech Wizard” created by Mark’s father Vaughn Bodé in 1957. Cheech Wizard The wall was organized by the Luggage Store Gallery and Wallspace SF.

Cosmo Cocktails

 Posted by on January 21, 2014
Jan 212014
 
Cosmo Cocktails

20 Cosmo Place Lower Nob Hill/Tenderloin   This unassuming building has been providing fine drinks, food and happiness to San Francisco’s since 1951. Trader Vic’s opened in Cosmo Alley in 1951.  The restaurant was built from an old corrugated parking garage.  Passing along the narrow walk way through a tropical garden, customers entered the rustic shed. This photograph, from the archives of the San Francisco Chronicle (with no caption or story) must show the very beginnings of the place, if not the construction for its opening. While I spent fond nights there eating Pu pu Platters and downing Trader Vic’s Continue Reading

Wally Heider Recording Studio

 Posted by on November 8, 2013
Nov 082013
 
Wally Heider Recording Studio

245 Hyde Street The Tenderloin The blue building hidden behind this tree (the fourth film vault) has a prominent place in San Francisco Music history as well. In early 1969, Wally Heider opened the San Francisco Wally Heider’s Studio at 245 Hyde Street.  Heider had reportedly apprenticed as an assistant and mixer at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, CA, with Bill Putnam, “The Father of Modern Recording”, and he already owned and ran an independent recording studio and remote recording setup called Studio 3, in Hollywood, California. In 1967, Heider had been involved in live recording at the Monterey Pop Festival. Artists like Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and The Grateful Dead had been recording Continue Reading

Film Vaults of the Tenderloin

 Posted by on November 7, 2013
Nov 072013
 
Film Vaults of the Tenderloin

245-259 Hyde Street The Tenderloin   I have driven by this area with these stunning Art Deco/Art Moderne buildings all in a row, and never pursued the history.  An evening of beers at the Brown Jug with Mark Ellinger and my eyes were opened. Originally theaters purchased the films they showed their patrons. Then Harry, Herbert and Earle C. Miles, San Francisco brothers, realized there was a business in buying films in bulk and renting them to movie houses. Their original distribution centers were on Market Street/Golden Gate Avenue. Inside these four buildings were film vaults with thick concrete walls Continue Reading

The Royal Theater – Another Lost Gem

 Posted by on November 5, 2013
Nov 052013
 
The Royal Theater - Another Lost Gem

1529 Polk Street Nob Hill The Royal Theatre was built in 1916 and began its life as a Nickelodeon. Originally designed by the Reid Brothers for the same family that owned two other theaters in San Francisco, the Castro and the Alhambra. It was completely remodeled by Timothy Pflueger during the mid-1930’s for the Nasser Brothers chain which operated it at the time. The theater contained 1515 seats when it opened. As time passed Polk Street became run-down, but still the theater’s vertical sign was a local landmark. The same decorative motif found on the front also gracefully decorated the Continue Reading

Farm Girl by Aryz

 Posted by on July 22, 2013
Jul 222013
 
Farm Girl by Aryz

Polk and Eddy The Tenderloin This five-story farm girl — and her bushel of apples looks over the corner of Eddy and Polk. Aryz deliberately used muted colors, especially flesh tones, to paint the lady onto this beige building. *** “I feel it’s really aggressive when you paint in a public space, so I don’t really want to play with bright colors. It would be too much,” Aryz says. “I’d prefer that people who are observing [the scene] find the work by themselves. The last few walls I’ve done like this.” Of the world’s top street artists, Aryz sits alongside Continue Reading

Tromp l’oeil by John Wullbrandt is gone

 Posted by on July 8, 2013
Jul 082013
 
Tromp l'oeil by John Wullbrandt is gone

Turk and Hyde The Tenderloin This tromp l’oeil was done by John Wullbrandt  in 1983.  John is a Carpenteria, California – Hawaii based painter responsible for creating much of the artwork on the Island of Lana’i, Hawaii. He founded the Lana’i Art Program in 1989, where he engaged local talent to embellish the award-winning Lodge at Koele and Manele Bay Hotel. Before John’s work the wall looked like this. In February of this year (2013) Wullbrandt’s mural was painted over by How and Nosm in conjunction with Rogue Projects and White Walls, This was a shock to the artist, as to those of us Continue Reading

Spring Valley Water Company

 Posted by on June 26, 2013
Jun 262013
 
Spring Valley Water Company

425 Mason Street Lower Nob Hill/Tenderloin This unassuming and yet intriguing little building has been sitting in my computer waiting to be written about since March of 2012.  My late husband, the architectural sculptor Michael H. Casey had driven me by to show me the wonderful detailed sculpture that covered the first floor.  I was unable to find out anything about it and so the post was left unwritten. In the past few months I had the privilege of hearing Gray Brechin, UC Berkeley lecturer and author, speak on the architecture of the UC campus.  I purchased his highly detailed Continue Reading

Jo Mora’s California Bears

 Posted by on June 22, 2013
Jun 222013
 
Jo Mora's California Bears

1000 Van Ness Tenderloin Flanking the doorway of the Cadillac building are two spirally-fluted columns with Ionic capitals, each topped by a bear seated on its haunches.  According to the Smithsonian, these were also done by Jo Mora. I have been unable to find any other attribution, and while they are in terra cotta, they have always felt to me as though they were an after thought to the building. * However, I was able to find this photo at the San Francisco Public Library that was taken in 1928 that clearly shows the bears, and as the building was Continue Reading

Jo Mora and the Don Lee Cadillac Building

 Posted by on June 21, 2013
Jun 212013
 
Jo Mora and the Don Lee Cadillac Building

1000 Van Ness Tenderloin This sculpture sits over the entryway to the Don Lee Cadillac Showroom.    The sculpture is the creation of Jo Mora, who has been in this website before.  This doorway pediment consists of a central shield bearing the Cadillac insignia framed by an ornately carved, stylized border with a lion’s face at the bottom. Symmetrically seated on either side of the shield is a partially draped seated male figure. The male figure on the left rests his outstretched proper right arm on an 8-spoke Cadillac wheel, beyond which is an anvil. He holds a sledgehammer in Continue Reading

The Don Lee Building

 Posted by on June 20, 2013
Jun 202013
 
The Don Lee Building

1000 Van Ness Avenue Tenderloin This magnificent building was built in 1921. Designed by Weeks and Day it is the largest and one of San Francisco’s most architecturally significant auto showrooms. As the private automobile became a standard commodity of middle-class American life, hundreds of manufacturers rose to meet the demand. Within this increasingly competitive field, manufacturers quickly learned the value of the showroom in marketing their products to consumers. They understood that the architecture of the showroom was at least as important as its primary functional role: as a place to display, store and repair automobiles. In an era Continue Reading

A Peacock Awes the Tenderloin

 Posted by on May 20, 2013
May 202013
 
A Peacock Awes the Tenderloin

Geary and Leavenworth The Tenderloin This phenomenal peacock is by Satyr-1, who has been in this website many times. Satyr-1 is a professional artist who has long since left the ideas of “tagging” behind for commissioned projects in defined spaces with the support of building owners.  His work made a difficult transition, but it mirrors the challenges faced by many other artists in todays street art culture. *

Sand One comes to San Francisco

 Posted by on April 29, 2013
Apr 292013
 
Sand One comes to San Francisco

Leavenworth and Turk The Tenderloin This mural is titled Any Man’s Land and is by Sand One.  The name seems especially appropriate to me as there was a crack deal going on as I was taking this photo.  The street corner really is Any man’s land. According to Sand One’s Facebook page, she is a Street artist based out of Los Angeles California,influenced by the L.A chicano culture Sand characters come with lots of attitude flavor and funk! This is straight from a great interview she did with the LAist: At 19 years old, Sand One has put her art Continue Reading

Strong Roots, Healthy Tree

 Posted by on January 25, 2013
Jan 252013
 
Strong Roots, Healthy Tree

Olive and Polk The Tenderloin This mural was done in 1989.  It is titled Strong Roots, Healthy Tree and is by Johanna Poethig who intertwined images from Laotian, Vietnamese, and Cambodian cultures.  Johanna is responsible for numerous pieces of public art around San Francisco * * Since the 1970s, a growing number of Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian immigrants have settled in the Tenderloin. The first large migration of Vietnamese into the United States came in the 1970s with elites who fled their home country after the fall of Saigon in 1975. The second wave of immigrants to enter the city in Continue Reading

Old Time Fun

 Posted by on January 24, 2013
Jan 242013
 
Old Time Fun

Frank Norris Street (aka as Austin) and Polk The Tenderloin Mike Shine is an artist who lives and paints in Bolinas, California. With no formal art school training, his background instead includes fine woodworking, furniture and cabinet making: skills that often appear in his artwork. He typically creates using driftwood and found objects, and many of his works invite (and even require) the observer to handle and operate them, something he considers contrary to the sterile “please donʼt touch” world of museums and galleries. For the last few years Mike has used painting to explore the metaphor of a childhood Continue Reading

Taking Life Lying Down

 Posted by on January 23, 2013
Jan 232013
 
Taking Life Lying Down

100 Block of Hemlock The Tenderloin This Native American is by Spencer Keeton Cuningham. Cunningham is responsible for another  Native American mural in the tenderloin. Cunningham is a member of the Indigenous Arts Coalition, a Bay Area organization started in 2008 that advocates for Native American artists. Spencer Keeton Cunningham (Nez Perce) is originally from Portland, Oregon and along with drawing and painting, he shoots experimental and documentary films. He graduated from SFAI with a BFA in Printmaking in May 2010. Spencer currently works at White Walls Gallery in Central San Francisco. Since 2010, Spencer has shown his prints and drawings Continue Reading

Wes Wong and the Phoenix Hotel

 Posted by on December 31, 2012
Dec 312012
 
Wes Wong and the Phoenix Hotel

601 Eddy The Tenderloin This long series is part of the San Francisco StreetSmARTS program.  The artist is Wes Wong, he is part of the Fresh Paint Crew. Fresh Paint, a San Francisco Mural painting crew aims to defy assumptions of what is possible with a spray can. The group is comprised of and collaborates with some of the best aerosol painters from the Bay Area and beyond, creating innovative murals in San Francisco. Concepts vary in aesthetic tone from photorealistic to illustrative, utilizing the large pool of artistic backgrounds within the crew. They produce murals that fit with their Continue Reading

Dec 102012
 
Meagan Spendlove collaborates with Cavalier Design Studio

1035 Post Street Back of the Building on Cedar This mural sits on Cedar Street.  It was commissioned by Cavalier Design Studio which resides at 135 Post Street in San Francisco.  The artist is Meagan Spendlove, whose work can be found all around San Francisco. Meagan Spendlove, often artistically entitled as “Siloette”currently works in San Francisco, California as a conceptual artist and project coordinator. Her current endeavors include yet are not limited to achieving an MA in Integral Arts Therapy and teaching public artwork within the Bay Area. For the last decade Spendlove has painted or promoted at multicultural events in Continue Reading

Leaping Lizards

 Posted by on November 16, 2012
Nov 162012
 
Leaping Lizards

Myrtle and Larkin The Tenderloin  This piece is by Satyr.  Satyr has some other murals in the Haight. Satyr is known for his quality murals in San Francisco. He was brought up by The Master Piece Creators, one of the original aerosol art crews to bring concept walls to the city. Years into his graffiti career, Satyr became formally trained in illustration.

Honoring San Francisco Vets

 Posted by on November 11, 2012
Nov 112012
 
Honoring San Francisco Vets

Tenderloin Shannon Alley between Geary and O’Farrell These murals were done in 2011 around Veterans Day.  They are part of the SF Vets Mural Project.  According to their website: The alley will contain murals painted by veterans which will tell their story.  The significance of this alley is that the art regarding veterans is very often done by artists that are not veterans.  This alley will give veterans a permanent voice and presence within the community.  The SF veterans alley will work with all veterans regardless of discharge status, gender, sexual orientation, theater of conflict or time period served.  Any Continue Reading

The Great White Way

 Posted by on November 9, 2012
Nov 092012
 
The Great White Way

My interest in the revitalization of Market Street came about when I wrote this piece for Untapped Cities about the Hibernia Bank Building. A friend who has a wonderful website about the architecture of  Mid Market and other areas of San Francisco, titled Up From The Deep, introduced me to this project, and I feel so passionately about it and its success that I would like everyone to take the time to view the video, go to the website, and please, if you can, donate to the cause.   This is the purpose of the project “In San Francisco, an unusual Continue Reading

The Beautiful Women of the Tenderloin

 Posted by on November 4, 2012
Nov 042012
 
The Beautiful Women of the Tenderloin

Olive and Larkin and Geary The Tenderloin This beauty (though sadly tagged) is by Melbourne-based artist & Everfresh member, RONE.  Made possible by Rogue Projects, the wall spans more than two car lengths and is located just off Larkin and Olive. Just at the end of the Olive on Larkin is this other lovely creature by RONE. This is at Larkin and Geary. RONE  has this to say on his website: Rone’s posters are some of the most iconic in Australia, hiding under overpasses throughout Melbourne. He is renowned for the stylised images of ‘girls’ faces – it wouldn’t be a stretch to say Continue Reading

Thank You Tenderloin

 Posted by on November 2, 2012
Nov 022012
 
Thank You Tenderloin

Market and Turk Streets The Tenderloin Turk Street Side of the Building This mural, titled “Thank You Tenderloin” is a collaboration between Ricardo Richey also known as the Apexer, Neonski and Chez. Raina “Scar” Feger – a member of Living Miracle Productions * A major name in the Bay Area graffiti scene, Neonski became a member of the legendary BA (Burning America) Crew in the early 90s and in 1994, became the North American distributor of Barcelona-based Montana (MTN) Colors, a graffiti-writer owned, private company, and the first spray paint brand made by-and-for writers. MTN Colors has become a staple for Continue Reading

Meggs in The Tenderloin

 Posted by on October 31, 2012
Oct 312012
 
Meggs in The Tenderloin

Myrtle Alley The Tenderloin   This piece is by Meggs. Growing up in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, David ‘Meggs’ Hooke, immersed himself in the worlds of drawing, cartoons, sci-fi films and skateboarding. In 2000, Meggs graduated from University with a Bachelor of Design and soon after became recognized for stencils and poster art on the streets of Melbourne. In 2004, Meggs became a founding member of the renowned Everfresh Studio a respected and unique collective of street artists known for large amounts of collaborative street work and aerosol murals.

Oct 262012
 
A beautiful fairy on the side of Harrington's Pub

Harry Harrington’s Pub The Tenderloin 460 Larkin Street * * This mural on Harry Harrington’s pub is a collaboration Max Ehrman who goes by the name EON75, and English artists Faunagraphic and Rocket01. Faunagraphic currently lives and works in Sheffield, South Yorkshire England, She grew up in Yorkshire, surrounded by rolling countryside in a small town called Todmorden; it is clear where her inspiration came from. Her beautiful and delicate paintings feature birds organic shapes, animals, nature and character with an element of fantasy.  Rocket01 grew up in the countryside on the edge of Sheffield, where there was no murals or Continue Reading

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