The design team partnered with The Tenderloin Housing Clinic to create the Tenderloin Museum—the first museum to tell the story of this historic San Francisco neighborhood. The pro bono project celebrates the neighborhood, showcases the historic architectural features of the Cadillac SRO, and creates an inviting, contemporary community space.
The museum uncovers the hidden history of the neighborhood while providing a place for today’s local artists, poets, and activists to share their work with the diverse Tenderloin community. This new community hub stirs a sense of “pride of place” for people living and working in the Tenderloin today. The museum attracts visitors as well as locals to the Tenderloin, bringing vital foot traffic into the area which helps integrate the neighborhood into the city’s fabric and boosts struggling local businesses.
The museum collection is focused on the Tenderloin’s gritty and glamourous past including independent working women, jazz legends, LGBT activists, and waves of immigrants from all over the world. By uncovering these stories, the museum contributes to human rights and equality.
The design has amplified community engagement in the Tenderloin; visitors from all over world have experienced the museum and neighborhood walking tours since July 2015. The museum is committed to the Tenderloin, and is free to area residents every Wednesday. In addition to hosting nearly 40 events in the first six months, the museum has partnered with local organizations including Larkin Street Youth Services, Glide, 826 Valencia, and Roxie Theater to bring programming to a wider audience.
Photography: Emily Hagopian
Tenderloin Museum
Category
Serve
Description
Location: San Francisco, CA
Design Team: Perkins+Will
Webcor Builders
n/a
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Auerbach Glasow French