“Unspeakable Vice: Valley of the Queens”
New LGBTQIA+ Walking Tour Member Preview
Saturday, October 19th, 2024 | 2-4pm
Meet at Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St.
Free for Tenderloin Museum members! Become one to join!
Email info@tendelroinmuseum.org to reserve your spot
Tenderloin Museum partners with Unspeakable Vice to offer a new walking tour on queer history in San Francisco’s Tenderloin and Polk Street neighborhoods, focusing on the 1960s-1990s. TLM members have the opportunity to experience it first–space is limited, register today!
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” (open to all) will happen monthly starting on October 26th. Learn more about the tour–and the Unspeakable Vice North Beach tour–at unspeakablevice.tours. For the upcoming monthly “Valley of the Queens” tour, book your ticket through the Tenderloin Museum to support the organization and keep queer community history thriving in the TL.
About Shawn Sprockett
Shawn Sprockett is a queer San Francisco resident and professor at California College of the Arts. Having come out in Florida where "Don't Say Gay Bills" now restrict support for gay youth, Shawn committed himself to making queer history more accessible. Through Unspeakable Vice, Sprockett seeks to uncover and celebrate the lesser-known but critical aspects of queer history that shaped not only San Francisco but the entire LGBTQIA+ movement.