History loves the 'Loin
The Chronicle
The Tenderloin, unlike many San Francisco neighborhoods, is not noted for its scenery. But despite its reputation as the city's skid row, the area recently got some positive attention for its ambience. Well, at least its for its historical significance.
The National Park Service has announced that the "Uptown Tenderloin Historic District" is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
The district consists of all or part of 33 blocks starting with Mason Street to the east and ending just before Polk Street on the west. It is roughly bounded by McAllister and Market Streets on the south and Geary Boulevard to the north.
The designation celebrates the 'hood's stately structures -- including the Hibernia Bank, the Alcazar Theater, the McAllister Tower and the art deco Hamilton building.
"Most people look down when they walk through the Tenderloin," said Randy Shaw, the executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. "We want to encourage people to look up."
Shaw's organization, which provides housing for single homeless adults, pushed for the historic district and has plans to create a Tenderloin historic tour and history museum.
Most of the area's buildings burned down in the 1906 earthquake, but the development that followed lasted through the 1930s and provides a wider range of architectural styles than many San Francisco neighborhoods, Shaw said.
A "downtown" Tenderloin has been identified in previous maps as an area east of Mason Street, and around Powell Street, but it is not considered an historic district.
| February 17 2009 at 02:56 PM
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