Join us in-person at the Tenderloin Museum to celebrate the closing of long time artist in residence at the Tenderloin Museum Deirdre Weinberg's showcase Hear Me Out.

About this Event

RSVP via Eventbrite here.

Join us for an in-person closing reception for Hear Me Out: Deirdre Weinberg Residency Showcase on September 30th from 5:30 - 7:30 pm to celebrate the publication of the Hear Me Out zine as well as to hear selections from the audio profiles of portrait subjects. As her exhibition comes to a close, Weinberg will reflect on her many-faceted portrait project and the moving stories of our Tenderloin neighbors in a casual gallery setting. This closing reception is free and open to the public. To ensure that we gather responsibly and maintain the safety of all visitors and staff, we ask that you register ahead of time as capacity will be limited. Mask wearing will be required.

A partnership with SF Neon and Tenderloin Museum

Join Jim Van Buskirk, TLM, and SF Neon for a discussion of neon glow in cinematic history.

About this Event

Neon is the lens for this illustrated talk that glows with film clips of cinematic San Francisco. The City’s significant cinematic history meets neon’s luminous past in this collaborative program of excerpts from such famous films as Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (pictured) as well as more obscure noir films like Dark Passage (Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall). Hosted by Jim Van Buskirk with co-hosts Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan of SF Neon.

*Free online event, register via San Francisco Public Library*

Join us for a virtual deep dive into the world of unique letterforms and matchbook designs associated with San Francisco’s legacy businesses and neon signs.

About this Event

*Free online event, register via San Francisco Public Library*

An exploration of matchbooks and neon sign design and typography that is a time-travel journey to the mid-century nightlife of San Francisco. Vintage matchbook covers and historic neon signs are a fascinating synecdoche of the small businesses they represent, and a window to the past explored through material culture. This illustrated presentation will be hosted by Stephen Coles/Letterform Archive, Katie Conry/Tenderloin Museum, and Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan/SF Neon. Get ready for a deep dive into the world of unique letterforms and design of matchbooks associated with legacy businesses and neon signs

Learn more about SF Neon.

RSVP on Facebook and register for the event here.

Join us Saturday, July 17 at 1pm for a walking tour to explore the ever-changing landscape of murals in the Tenderloin.

Co-Presented by Tenderloin Museum & CounterPulse

*Featuring artist talks by muralists and dance performances by CounterPulse*

*Departs from CounterPulse at 80 Turk St.*

About this event

Limited tickets! Get tickets via Eventbrite here.

A pantheon of community leaders realized in a precise hand with a comic fan’s flair emerges from a noisy backdrop of bright graffiti neons. A towering, kaleidoscopic, black-and white eddy churns out a 3D glinting prism in a jaw-dropping optical illusion. Cheerful trees and other friendly flora and fauna snake up the walls of SROs and around public park, situating the Tenderloin’s dense built environment as a living, vibrant, organic eco-system. Wherever you stand in the Tenderloin, there’s likely a mural in-sight; the neighborhood has always been a rich enclave of murals and public art, and throughout the pandemic and immediate years prior, the TL has exploded with dazzling new works. Whether community efforts organized by TLCBD, CounterPulse, and DISH, large-scale masterpieces by fine-artists with roots in the TL organized by Luggage Store Gallery, or the more fleeting street-level neighborhood tributes organized by Paint the Void, the Tenderloin is having a moment for murals that warrants a dedicated stroll with fresh eyes keen to notice the TL’s rich, dynamic visual culture.  

Explore the ever-changing landscape of murals in the Tenderloin by taking the Murals of the Tenderloin Walking Tour, co-presented by the Tenderloin Museum & CounterPulse. The walk will weave through the heart of the neighborhood, surveying a range of new works and highlighting some of the TL’s historic legacy murals. CounterPulse has organized several site-specific dances to be performed in front of specific murals; CP will also be premiering a multi-panel mobile mural tribute to the Night Hawk Jazz Club. The Tenderloin’s most prolific muralist Sylvester “Slick” Guard Jr. will be present to feature his work at CounterPulse, GLIDE, and the future home of Yemen Kitchen. Other highlights include visits to several of the iconic Luggage Store murals made by Alicia McCarthy, Tauba Auerbach, Chad Hasegawa et. al. as well as newer work by Harumo Sato, Spencer Keaton Cunningham, and the recently completed tribute to beloved artist and SFAI professor Carlos Villa by Mario Ayala. 

Neon: A Light History, unearths neon’s vibrant legacy of scandal, murder, fascists and forgotten inventors. Audiences across the globe have the opportunity to celebrate this indispensable neon “bible.” Hosted by Barna and Randall Ann Homa of SF Neon, this program includes a panel discussion with authors Dydia DeLyser and Paul Greenstein plus special guests.

Zoom: http://bit.ly/Summer6-23-21

YouTube Live: https://youtu.be/v5h3tPWMmig

Connect with San Francisco Neon: https://sfneon.org/

Join us for a discussion on how we can work together to support and strengthen the AAPI community in the TL and throughout SF.

About this event

Get tickets via Eventbrite here.

How do we keep our AAPI community safe in the Tenderloin? On June 22, gather virtually with the Tenderloin Museum and community leaders and organizers from the Tenderloin AAPI community for a town hall style meeting to share stories, learn about ongoing efforts and resources, and discuss how we can better work together to support and strengthen the AAPI community in the TL and throughout the City.

This spring in San Francisco was marked by several disturbing, violent, and sometimes deadly violent attacks on AAPI elders at Civic Center, SOMA, and elsewhere, as well as a worldwide movement to examine and unravel the systemic nature of racism against Asians and to #stopasianhate. Beyond the hashtag and here in the TL, there is a deep network of AAPI activists who organize and serve the community through direct action, as well as many AAPI community leaders who work in the Tenderloin's bedrock social service organizations.

The TL AAPI Virtual Town Hall brings together longtime Tenderloin residents, parents, teachers, program directors, and community organizers to share their experiences living and working in the neighborhood and to discuss their organizations' efforts to build and support the AAPI community in the TL. Featured panelists include:

Siu Han Cheung, co-founder of Tenderloin Chinese Rights Association (TCRA) & Community Outreach Service Coordinator at Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC)

Lillian Mark, Senior Director of Programs at GLIDE Memorial Church

Justin Hu-Ngyun, Director of Development and Communications at the Southeast Asian Development Center (SEADC)

Winnie Phan, HS Services Coordinator at Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco

Sarah Ching-Ting Wan, Executive Director of Community Youth Center, San Francisco

Lena Miller, Founder & CEO of Urban Alchemy, and Ian Clark-Johnson, Director for Urban Alchemy overseeing Civic Center, UN Plaza, Safe Sleeping Villages, and the Main Library, who will discuss Urban Alchemy's public space safety and service programs and how UA's extensive presence throughout the Tenderloin and how those "eyes on the street" can be used to support the AAPI community and public safety."

Michael Vuong, Clubhouse Director at Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco at the Tenderloin Clubhouse, will moderate the TL AAPI Virtual Town Hall and serve as a panelist.

Celebrate the life and legacy of Margo St. James with TLM, St. James Infirmary, Carol Leigh and Carol Queen.

On Thursday, June 17 at 6pm, join the Tenderloin Museum, St. James Infirmary, and sex worker rights advocates Carol Leigh and Carol Queen to celebrate the life of legendary sex worker rights advocate Margo St. James and to discuss how her legacy lives on in the Tenderloin and through the current movement to decriminalize sex work.

Founder of the prostitute's rights organization COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) and St. James Infirmary, the first peer-based occupational health and safety clinic in the U.S. right here in the TL, Margo St. James left this world on January 11, 2021 and her passing marks the loss of a foundational force in both sex worker rights advocacy and in San Francisco's culture and politics. She navigated the city's Bohemian beatnik and free-love hippie eras with a savvy, feminist critique that laid-bare the hypocrisy and inequity in prevailing views and city policy on prostitution. She was a brilliant organizer who fomented solidarity for sex workers across the globe, and by the 1970s, her annual Hooker's Ball fundraisers at the Cow Palace attracted tens of thousands of attendees; at the 1978 Ball, she made a most sensational entrance on the back of an elephant!

While her talent for spectacle raised awareness of sex workers and her decades of indefatigable efforts ultimately shifted conversations about sex work both locally and globally, one of the most important aspects of St. James’ legacy are the vital, on-the-ground resources for sex workers through St. James Infirmary, located right in the heart of San Francisco and a historical locus of the city's sex trade: on Polk Street in the Tenderloin.

Today, St. James' legacy is vibrantly alive in the activities of St. James Infirmary as well as the efforts to decriminalize sex work. Join us on June 17 to learn about Margo's storied life and extensive legacy from two of her dear friends, collaborators, and life-long sex worker advocates Carol Leigh, who coined the term "sex work," and Carol Queen, a founder of SF's sex-positive space for education and experimentation the Center for Sex & Culture. Hear about the services and resources available through St. James Infirmary (and fellow sex worker resource org Rad Mission Neighbors) from Celestina Pearl, St. Jame's Infirmary's Outreach Director; activist Cesar Espinosa will share about the ongoing efforts to decriminalize sex work in California.

Additionally, we'll share some video tributes to Margo (organized through the Old Pro Project) and hear some love letters to Margo, read by the Carols and sex worker activist Felicity Azura. DJ Durt from St. James Infirmary will spin records during the preshow to set the mood for remembering Margo.

Join artist Rik Lee Leipold for an on-the-street resin casting demonstration for their gallery show, Trolls & Potholes.

About this event

Get tickets via Eventbrite here.

On June 12 at 2:30pm, Rik Lee Leipold will welcome visitors to the Tenderloin Museum for a presentation on their pothole pieces and the stories behind the individual artworks and the Tenderloin queer spaces they commemorate. Leipold’s artist talk will culminate with an on-the-street demonstration of how they work with resin and cast the found objects and mementos directly into the sidewalk.

To maintain a comfortable environment that respects COVID health and safety best practice as well as the generally small, intimate nature of these artworks, registration (via Eventbrite) is required to attend; sign up today and plan some time adjacent to the event to take a Trolls & Potholes postcard, stroll the neighborhood, and find each of Rik’s pieces out on the Tenderloin streets.

Join the Tenderloin Museum and San Francisco’s Public Defender Office to explore the work and legacy of Jeff Adachi.

Join the Tenderloin Museum and San Francisco’s Public Defender Office to explore the work and legacy of the late Public Defender, writer, educator, and documentary filmmaker Jeff Adachi in celebration of the publication of Adachi’s latest book, The Case of San Francisco Public Defender Frank Egan - Murder and Scandal in the 1930s (Grizzly Peak Press, 2021), and the SF Public Defender Office’s 100-year anniversary. On June 2, 2021 at 6pm, TLM welcomes two of Adachi’s longtime friends and colleagues at the SF Public Defender’s Office--Chief Attorney Matt Gonzalez and Growth & Development Training Director Jacque Wilson, who will introduce the Frank Egan story and reflect on Jeff Adachi’s lasting impact on the Office and how it was informed by his writing and filmmaking practice--as well as Mutsuko Adachi who will share a few words about her husband Jeff and share his short documentary film “The Ride.”

A tireless worker and true Renaissance man, Jeff Adachi cultivated a keen and complex understanding of the power of narrative. In Adachi’s Frank Egan book, he reconstructs the sensational trial of San Francisco’s first Public Defender for the murder of 57-year-old Jessie Hughes with expert strategic storycraft and a painstaking grain of detail.

The story itself is enthralling, full of twists and turns that match the most hardboiled of true crime noir; indeed, as the events were unfolding in 1932, the media clamored for the next scoop, and daily Egan trial stories were incessantly streaked across the headlines. Since there were no known public records or transcripts of the trial, Adachi utilized the proliferate accounts of the trial in the Examiner, the Call-Bulletin, the Chronicle, and the San Francisco News to construct a study of this singular trial with the singular perspective of Adachi’s own experience as a seasoned trial lawyer and as the occupant of the office of the accused. The Case of San Francisco Public Defender Frank Egan is both a gripping and meta journey into the tumultuous beginnings of an Office that is a vital community resource and one that Adachi imbued with a culture of social justice, visionary thinking, and critical reflection.

Jacque Wilson will kick off the evening with an overview of The Case of San Francisco Public Defender Frank Egan, and Matt Gonzalez will present on Adachi’s legacy at the SF Public Defender’s Office. We will screen Adachi’s short documentary “The Ride,” then host a conversation and Q&A with Jacque and Matt to discuss the Egan case, the history of the Office, and the role of storytelling on the pathway to justice.

Support the Tenderloin Museum by purchasing a copy of The Case of San Francisco Public Defender Frank Egan - Murder and Scandal in the 1930s from our online store.

Neon is the lens for this illustrated talk that glows with film clips of cinematic San Francisco. This is part two of a two-part series.

About this Event

Get tickets via Eventbrite here.

San Francisco’s significant cinematic history meets neon’s luminous past in this collaborative program of excerpts from such famous films as the neon dancing leg in Pal Joey (pictured) to classic North Beach neon signs in Tim Burton's Big Eyes. Hosted by Jim Van Buskirk with co-hosts Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan of SF Neon

Free | Suggested donation of $10.

Those who register will get links watch the tour live on Zoom or as a recorded video available on YouTube for one week after the event.

It's not too late to register for part one of this series: Cinematic SF Neon: Dark Passage to Vertigo.

In proud partnership with the Tenderloin Museum's "Seasons of Neon" event series.

Jim Van Buskirk, co-author of Celluloid San Francisco: The Film Lover's Guide to Bay Area Movie Locations (and former SFPL librarian), uses film stills and clips to demonstrate the Bay Area's rich cinematic history.

Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan are the authors of Saving Neon, and San Francisco Neon: Survivors and Lost Icons.

Can't make it that night? Be sure to tune in to SF Neon's YouTube channel to view the recorded Zoom webinar. Videos will be available for viewing for up to one week.

Get acquainted with the Tenderloin’s vibrant art scene with a visit to the May 15th Tenderloin Art Fair, produced by Tenderloin Museum and Tenderloin Merchants’ Association and featuring Art with Elders, Book & Job Gallery, CounterPulse, EngAge x DISH, Fleetwood, Hospitality House, SWIM Gallery, and Tenderloin Museum. This cross section of neighborhood art galleries, institutions, and programs will be sharing artwork, activities, performances, as well as information on how to get involved and participate.

Planned to coincide with VACATION’s bi-weekly flea market on the Larkin Street “Slow Street” area between O’Farrell and Eddy (and aided by the generous effort of Tenderloin Merchants Association and SF’s Shared Spaces program), the May 15 Tenderloin Art Fair is a great opportunity for to connect with the neighborhood’s artistically inclined and to discover work by Tenderloin resident artists.

Read on for more info on each of the participating organizations:

Art with Elders
Art With Elders uses the power of art, creativity, and community to enrich the journey of aging. Founded in 1991, AWE provides online and in-person art classes for older adults. Art created in classes is exhibited online and in a variety of venues around the San Francisco Bay Area. The Art With Elders booth will be providing information about the program and will have framed art, cards, and prints on display and available for sale.

Book & Job Gallery
Established in the summer of 2012, Book & Job Gallery is a space fully committed to the advancement of all forms of contemporary art, with a focus on providing quality local artists access to a wide range of promotional tools and means of exposure. Located in the eclectic Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, Book & Job seeks to connect artists of all different styles and mediums more directly to their patrons and visitors, both locally and abroad. The Book & Job booth will feature info on the gallery as well as a survey of Find Rangers Camera Club, Book & Job’s quarterly(ish) submission based film photo zine.

Counterpulse
CounterPulse is a celebrated Tenderloin arts non-profit that is committed to incubating and presenting risk-taking art that shatters assumptions and builds community. The CounterPulse booth will offer a family-friendly art making activity, drumming, and dance performances by Andreina M. from CounterPulse’s TenderArts DANCE! series.

EngAGE x DISH
EngAGE changes lives by transforming affordable senior and multigenerational apartment communities into vibrant centers of learning, wellness and creativity. In San Francisco, we currently provide health, wellness, and creative arts programming for three Tenderloin SRO sites operated by Delivering Innovation in Supportive Housing (DISH). At its booth, EngAGE will share program information, feature resident artists at work, and exhibit the Hope Quilt featured the recent EngAGE group show at SWIM Gallery, “Yours Truly,” and made by DISH residents and staff, members of the City of San Francisco’s social work teams who support DISH sites.

Fleetwood
FleetWood is a print shop, art gallery, and retail space that trades in locally made goods.
From custom printing jobs to art shows, FleetWood is committed to supporting local art and business. Fleetwood will showcase their line of goods, many of which are screen printed in-house.

Hospitality House
Founded in 1969, Hospitality House’s Community Arts Program, the City's only free fine arts studio for low-income artists, is an award-winning creative community and unique social enterprise. Artists refine their creative talents through skills-building workshops, reach broader audiences and exposure through exhibitions and thematic art shows, and keep 100% of the proceeds from their art sales, promoting the arts – and artists - as economic assets for the greater community. The Community Arts Program offers an outlet for creative self-expression and cultural connectivity that would otherwise be unattainable by offering neighborhood artist resources and materials to create, exhibit and sell their artwork.

SWIM Gallery
SWIM Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located at 509 Ellis St. in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. The mission of SWIM Gallery is to provide a space for emerging and established artists to showcase their work in a way that will foster the growth of their artistic careers. SWIM was founded in 2013 by Yarrow Slaps and Auguste Somers as a curated blog/traveling exhibition combining art, fashion, and music. In 2018, SWIM materialized into a physical space that continues to operate to this day.

Tenderloin Museum
Tenderloin Museum celebrates the pioneering activism and fierce resistance woven deeply into the story of our 31-square-block neighborhood through history exhibitions, resident-led walking tours, community programs, and the presentation of original artwork. The Tenderloin Museum booth will feature work from artists featured in TLM’s Shelter In Place art shows organized during quarantine.

Neon is the lens for this illustrated talk that glows with film clips of cinematic San Francisco.

About this Event

Get tickets via Eventbrite here.

Hosted by Jim Van Buskirk with co-hosts Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan of SF Neon,  "Cinematic SF Neon" explores how  San Francisco’s significant cinematic history intersects neon’s luminous past featuring excerpts from such famous films as Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (pictured) as well as more obscure clips including Lucille Ball & Henry Fonda’s first date in Yours, Mine and Ours). 

Jim Van Buskirk, co-author of Celluloid San Francisco: The Film Lover's Guide to Bay Area Movie Locations (and former SFPL librarian), uses film stills and clips to demonstrate the Bay Area's rich cinematic history. Among the many familiar (or not-so-familiar scenes) are The Conversation, Pal Joey, and Thieves’ Highway. Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan are the authors of several neon titles: Saving Neon, SF Neon Icons, and San Francisco Neon: Survivors and Lost Icons. One of their favorite neon-filled movie scenes is from Vertigo, in which the Hotel Empire neon sign floods a hotel room scene with an unforgettable eerie green glow.

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This event is part of Seasons of Neon, an ongoing series of illuminating talks and tours presented by the Tenderloin Museum and SF Neon that celebrate the recent publication of Neon: A Light History (Giant Orange Press, 2021) and explore San Francisco history through the city’s rich legacy of iconic glowing signs.

Existing at the intersection of material culture and built environment, neon signs are emblematic of the many small businesses that comprise a vital thread in the dynamic tapestry of the urban ecosystem. The Tenderloin and Mid-Market sport the densest concentration of extant neon in the Bay Area, which makes the Tenderloin Museum an ideal forum to consider neon and its powerful, often overlooked ability to chronicle a city and its people.

Can't make it that night? Be sure to tune in to SF Neon's YouTube channel to view the recorded Zoom webinar. Videos will be available for viewing for up to one week.

Join TLM for a virtual celebration of The Blue Lamp, a long-gone but beloved working class bar and local music venue, ft Rachel Kushner.

On May 6th, the Tenderloin Museum premieres a virtual celebration of The Blue Lamp, a long gone but beloved working class bar and storied local music venue on the northern border of the Tenderloin, featuring interviews with celebrated author and former Blue Lamp bartender Rachel Kushner as well as several of her Blue Lamp contemporaries including Bottom of the Hill co-founders Ramona Downey and Kathleen Owen, Punk Globe publisher and ringleader of the White Trash Debutantes Ginger Coyote, San Francisco jazz legends Lavay Smith and Chris Seibert, and many others.

Inspired by the recent publication of “The Hard Crowd”--Kushner’s evocative essay that remembers the Blue Lamp and its denizens--Tenderloin Museum has gathered interviews, archival photos, and ephemera in an attempt to memorialize the history of an overlooked Tenderloin institution, a refuge for both Tenderloin locals and a wide range of musicians who made their homes in the tough but ultimately accepting glow of The Blue Lamp. 

Part of what Kushner describes as the “informal Tenderloin circuit,” The Blue Lamp epitomized the neighborhood watering hole, replete with a stranger than fiction cast of regulars who practiced an unspoken code of conduct unique to their home bar. In the early 1990s, The Blue Lamp played host to a distinctly San Francisco confluence of edgy second wave punk rock, smoldering blues jams, and glamorous jazz cabaret that transported listeners to a bygone era.

Members of these music scenes mingled with The Blue Lamp’s local patrons, and their varied perspectives and memories combine to depict a bar that reflects the Tenderloin’s multitudinous nature and provides a glimpse of San Francisco betwixt its pre-tech dog days and its irrevocably transformative first tech boom. Join us for this exercise in collective memory.

“The Hard Crowd” is included in The Hard Crowd: Essays 2000 to 2020 by Rachel Kushner, published by Scribner on April 6, 2021. Purchase a copy from our friends at City Lights Books here. 

Photo by Dave Glass.

SF Neon and Stephen Coles will discuss the unique typography in The Match Book: Vintage Matchbooks from San Francisco’s Tenderloin.

About this Event

An exploration of mid-century design and material culture, Randall Homan and Al Barna from San Francisco Neon and Oakland-based typographer Stephen Coles will discuss the unique matchbook typography from their own collections and matchbooks featured in The Match Book: Vintage Matchbooks from San Francisco’s Tenderloin.

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This event is part of Seasons of Neon, an ongoing series of illuminating talks and tours presented by the Tenderloin Museum and SF Neon that celebrate the recent publication of Neon: A Light History (Giant Orange Press, 2021) and explore San Francisco history through the city’s rich legacy of iconic glowing signs.

Existing at the intersection of material culture and built environment, neon signs are emblematic of the many small businesses that comprise a vital thread in the dynamic tapestry of the urban ecosystem. The Tenderloin and Mid-Market sport the densest concentration of extant neon in the Bay Area, which makes the Tenderloin Museum an ideal forum to consider neon and its powerful, often overlooked ability to chronicle a city and its people.

Can't make it that night? Be sure to tune in to SF Neon's YouTube channel to view the recorded Zoom webinar. Videos will be available for viewing for up to one week.

Mix a chartreuse cocktail and join us for a Zoom celebration of Neon: A Light History

About this Event

Mix a chartreuse cocktail and join us for a Zoom celebration of Neon: A Light History, SF Neon’s latest publication that unearths neon’s tumultuous history. Described as a “full-color, lavishly illustrated electrical bodice ripper,” neon aficionados will consider this a “bible” to the luminous history of art and commerce. Hosted by SF Neon, this program will include a panel discussion with authors Dydia DeLyser and Paul Greenstein plus special guests from the Museum of Neon Art.

*****************************************

This event is part of Seasons of Neon, an ongoing series of illuminating talks and tours presented by the Tenderloin Museum and SF Neon that celebrate the recent publication of Neon: A Light History (Giant Orange Press, 2021) and explore San Francisco history through the city’s rich legacy of iconic glowing signs.

Existing at the intersection of material culture and built environment, neon signs are emblematic of the many small businesses that comprise a vital thread in the dynamic tapestry of the urban ecosystem. The Tenderloin and Mid-Market sport the densest concentration of extant neon in the Bay Area, which makes the Tenderloin Museum an ideal forum to consider neon and its powerful, often overlooked ability to chronicle a city and its people.

Can't make it that night? Be sure to tune in to SF Neon's YouTube channel to view the recorded Zoom webinar. Videos will be available for viewing for up to one week.

East Coast and European audiences are invited to celebrate the book launch of Neon: A Light History

About this Event

Join us for the virtual book launch of Neon: A Light History, which unearths neon’s vibrant legacy of scandal, murder, fascists, and forgotten inventors. For this special morning program, audiences across the globe will have the opportunity to celebrate this indispensable neon “bible.” Hosted by SF Neon, this program will include a panel discussion with authors Dydia DeLyser and Paul Greenstein plus special guests including Tom Rinaldi, author of New York Neon.

*****************************************

This event is part of Seasons of Neon, an ongoing series of illuminating talks and tours presented by the Tenderloin Museum and SF Neon that celebrate the recent publication of Neon: A Light History (Giant Orange Press, 2021) and explore San Francisco history through the city’s rich legacy of iconic glowing signs.

Existing at the intersection of material culture and built environment, neon signs are emblematic of the many small businesses that comprise a vital thread in the dynamic tapestry of the urban ecosystem. The Tenderloin and Mid-Market sport the densest concentration of extant neon in the Bay Area, which makes the Tenderloin Museum an ideal forum to consider neon and its powerful, often overlooked ability to chronicle a city and its people.

Can't make it that night? Be sure to tune in to SF Neon's YouTube channel to view the recorded Zoom webinar. Videos will be available for viewing for up to one week.

Join Tenderloin Museum and SF Heritage for a special presentation on the history of the Cadillac Hotel, a landmarked building in the heart of the Tenderloin that pioneered a model for non-profit supportive Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing in San Francisco, the first of its kind west of the Mississippi. Today, the Cadillac is home to approximately 160 residents as well as a handful of small neighborhood businesses and institutions, including the Tenderloin Museum. Discover the story of the Cadillac Hotel and learn about its impact on the Tenderloin and beyond.

Built in 1907, the Cadillac Hotel opened as a stately accommodation for wealthy visitors to a thriving Tenderloin district. However, in its over century long tenure, the building has lived many lives, and when the Tenderloin fell on hard times in the 60s, the Cadillac became a refuge for the impoverished and has remained a bastion of affordable housing into the 21st century.  

Kerri Young, Communications and Programs Manager for SF Heritage, will give an overview of the history and architecture of the Cadillac, the storied “Newman’s” boxing gym, and the imaginative preservation work of Leroy and Kathy Looper that transformed the Cadillac into a neighborhood anchor, “The House of Welcome.” Then, Kathy Looper, the Cadillac Hotel co-founder and TLM board president, will be joined by Arnie Lerner, SF Heritage’s former staff architect who worked on the Cadillac’s 1977 restoration, to discuss their experience with the Cadillac’s restoration as well as its role in the neighborhood today.

Join us for a virtual summit exploring what it means to make art in the Tenderloin and view new work created during the pandemic.

About this Event

On Thursday, March 11th, the Tenderloin Museum, in collaboration with CounterPulse, Skywatchers, and Larkin Street Youth Services, invites you to "Tenderfest," a virtual summit that explores what it means to make art in the Tenderloin and showcases new work created during the pandemic. Born out of a long-term dialogue amongst these four anchor organizations of community art-making in the Tenderloin, "Tenderfest" celebrates the musicians, actors, poets, painters, and makers of all stripes who enliven and uplift the neighborhood with their creative vision.

How does a sense of place and community affect art-making in the Tenderloin? Is there an aesthetic that unifies art, artists, and their practices? How have artists sustained their practices despite the challenges posed by the pandemic? Join creatives and staff from each of the participating organizations to discuss these questions as well as to experience some of the work being made through these organizations’ studios, workshops, and gallery spaces. This is a great opportunity to become acquainted with the creative community rooted in the Tenderloin and to learn about the incredible resources available to create work of your own!

"Tenderfest" will be hosted via Zoom, close-captioned, and free to all. Register today.

*Tenderfest will conclude with a virtual drum circle led by CounterPulse artists! Have a drum or some percussion instrument on hand to join, and at the end of the event, the moderators will allow audience members to turn on their camera and join in a drum circle to celebrate the Tenderloin and the vibrancy of its arts community!*

Revisit mid-century San Francisco through photos and videos of vintage matchbooks and neon signs .

About this Event

Revisit mid-century San Francisco through photos and videos of vintage matchbooks and neon signs from the nightclubs, hotels, and late-night greasy spoons that shaped Tenderloin nightlife. Back by popular demand, this one-hour virtual tour features imagery and stories researched by hosts Katie Conry from the Tenderloin Museum with Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan of SF Neon.

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This event is part of Seasons of Neon, an ongoing series of illuminating talks and tours presented by the Tenderloin Museum and SF Neon that celebrate the recent publication of Neon: A Light History (Giant Orange Press, 2021) and explore San Francisco history through the city’s rich legacy of iconic glowing signs.

Existing at the intersection of material culture and built environment, neon signs are emblematic of the many small businesses that comprise a vital thread in the dynamic tapestry of the urban ecosystem. The Tenderloin and Mid-Market sport the densest concentration of extant neon in the Bay Area, which makes the Tenderloin Museum an ideal forum to consider neon and its powerful, often overlooked ability to chronicle a city and its people.

Can't make it that night? Be sure to tune in to SF Neon's YouTube channel to view the recorded Zoom webinar. Videos will be available for viewing for up to one week.

The Lunar New Year and Chinatown history shine in this online tour about neon signs and how they illuminate the alleys of Grant Avenue.

This is a special presentation of the Chinatown Neon Tour Part 2 with an introduction provided by the Chinese Historical Society of America with history highlights about Chinese New Year in San Francisco. Following this intro will be a presentation on Lunar New Years celebrations in Little Saigon by Hang To, the Executive Director of the Au Co Vietnamese Cultural Center. Afterwards, we'll dive in to Part 2 of SF Neon's popular Chinatown neon tour. There is a wealth of vintage neon signs and history in the streets and alleys of Chinatown.

This tour features legacy neighborhood businesses with neon signs that have became neighborhood landmarks. Suggestion: support your local Chinese restaurant and order takeout (socially distanced) to enjoy while you watch this tour. This is the second tour of a two-part series. It's not too late to register for Part 1.

Free | Suggested donation of $10.

Those who register will get links watch the tour three different ways: Live on Zoom, streaming on Facebook, or as a recorded video.

This 90-minute virtual tour features vintage neon signs and a rich collection of photographs, video clips, maps, and historic research compiled by hosts Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan, authors of Saving Neon and San Francisco Neon: Survivors and Lost Icons. In proud partnership with the Chinese Historical Society of America and the Tenderloin Museum.

Photos by sfneon.org postcard collection and OpenSFHistory.org

The Lunar New Year and Chinatown history shine in this online tour about neon signs and how they illuminate the alleys of Grant Avenue.

Part 1 of this special presentation of the Chinatown Neon Tour has an introduction provided by the Chinese Historical Society of America with a focus on traditions for Chinese New Year in San Francisco. This intro will be followed by SF Neon's popular Chinatown neon tour, which illuminates the wealth of vintage neon signs and history in the streets and alleys of Chinatown.

This tour features legacy neighborhood businesses with neon signs that have became neighborhood landmarks. Suggestion: support your local Chinese restaurant and order takeout (socially distanced) to enjoy while you watch this tour. This is the first tour of a two-part series. It's not to late to register for Part 2.

Free | Suggested donation of $10.

Those who register will get links watch the tour three different ways: Live on Zoom, streaming on Facebook, or as a recorded video.

This 90-minute virtual tour features vintage neon signs and a rich collection of photographs, video clips, maps, and historic research compiled by hosts Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan, authors of Saving Neon and San Francisco Neon: Survivors and Lost Icons. In proud partnership with the Chinese Historical Society of America and the Tenderloin Museum.

Photos by sfneon.org postcard collection and OpenSFHistory.org