“It’s the most sexually, intellectually, and culturally stimulating hotel in San Francisco.” -Anthony Kiedis (lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Join us for a special guest lecture on December 2nd, celebrating our much loved neighbor, the Phoenix Hotel. Chip Conley opened the Phoenix Hotel in 1987, buying the decrepit building for $1 million. Chip targeted traveling rock bands, musicians, and filmmakers, even offering tour managers free massages to lure them to the fledgling Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel. While at the time it was essentially a low-budget 50s motel- it soon gained international attention and was frequented by the likes of David Bowie, Faye Dunaway, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Depp, and Kurt Cobain. With the help of investors Chip expanded his vision into Joie de Vivre hospitality; he bought a series of moderately sized, often run-down buildings, and turned them into boutique hotels, creating a different "psychographic" concept for each one such as new age wellness, men's health, romance novels, The New Yorker Magazine, or luxury camping.

Chip also created the annual Celebrity Pool Toss (a benefit for TNDC’s Afterschool Program) and was on the Glide Memorial Church Board for a decade. Join Randy Shaw, author of The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco and founder of the Tenderloin Museum, and Chip Conley for a discussion of the colorful and rich history of the San Francisco’s landmark Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel and it’s strong ties to the Tenderloin.

Event Details:
Tenderloin Museum
398 Eddy Street (@ Leavenworth)
Wednesday December 2nd
Reception at 6:30pm, Program at 7pm
$10