WEEKLY
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
There’s no better way to get to know the Tenderloin than by walking its streets! Traverse the neighborhood with our passionate, knowledgeable resident tour guides, visit key sites from the Tenderloin’s history, and connect these notable places to what’s going on in the neighborhood today.
Purchase tickets here
On this walking tour, you’ll learn about the Tenderloin’s characteristic residential hotels, its colorful cultural history, and the many social movements that fomented here. With 400 buildings in the National Register of Historic places, the Tenderloin comprises a complex and sometimes contradictory tapestry of labor history, LGBTQ history, tenant activism, social services, immigration stories, urban resilience, as well as the vice that earned the neighborhood its suggestive name. Stops include:
The site of the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, the 1966 trans-led uprising against police brutality that has become known as a seminal act of queer resistance.
The Cadillac Hotel, the first single room occupancy (SRO) to practice supportive housing that once was home to a legendary boxing gym where Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Sugar Ray Robinson sparred.
GLIDE Memorial, the radical church that since the 1960s has been active in the Civil Rights & LGBTQ movements and the fight against poverty and today is one of the largest providers of social services in the Tenderloin.
The site of the Blackhawk, the Tenderloin’s iconic jazz club where Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, Mongo Santamaria, Cal Tjader recorded live albums.
Boeddeker Park, today a beloved community green space that was once the grand Arcadia Dancing Pavilion, emblematic of the TL’s “roaring” nightlife of the early 1900s.
And many more! Tours are regularly scheduled for Saturdays at 1pm, however space is limited and we encourage you to purchase a ticket at least 24 hours in advance to secure a spot! Ticket prices are as follows:
$15 - Tour + Museum Admission
$10 - Tour Admission Only
$5 - Tour Admission Only for patrons who visited TLM in the past 7 days
Walk-ups are welcome to purchase tickets day-of, so long as other advance tickets have been sold and there is space available in the tour.
Questions? Email info@tenderloinmuseum.org or call 415-351-1912!
NEW! Monthly LGBTIA+ History Walking Tour
“Unspeakable Vice: Valley of the Queens”
Tenderloin Museum is thrilled to partner with Unspeakable Vice, “a volunteer history initiative making queer belonging accessible to everyone,” to offer a new walking tour focused on the LGBTQIA+ history in the Tenderloin and Polk Street neighborhoods. Created by downtown San Francisco resident and professor at California College of the Arts Shawn Sprockett, Unspeakable Vice began as a close look at the queer origins of San Francisco, traversing the city’s North Beach and Barbary Coast areas to trace the history through from 1770-1960. This new tour extends Sprockett’s richly detailed and craftily delivered approach to the TL and Polk Street to offer a deep dive into the emergence of LGBTQIA+ icons and movements that shaped the area from the 1960s to the 1990s.
The “Valley of the Queens” tour highlights key events such as the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, a landmark action of trans resistance that predates the Stonewall Riots, and the site of San Francisco’s first Pride parade. The tour also uncovers lesser-known yet significant histories, including a drag ball raided by the San Francisco Police Department that was defended by local Christian ministers—showing how a diverse coalition of activists, sex workers, and religious leaders helped shape the foundations of queer San Francisco.
“The Tenderloin and Polk Street areas are filled with stories of courage and defiance,” says tour creator Shawn Sprockett. “These are stories not just of struggle but of triumph, community, and the formation of an identity that has influenced the broader queer movement nationwide.”
“Valley of the Queens” occurs monthly starting on November 23rd and meets at the Tenderloin Museum. The cost is $35 and includes museum admission. Book your ticket through the Tenderloin Museum to support the organization and keep queer community history thriving in the TL.