What's Happening in San Francisco's Uptown Tenderloin

History Comes Alive at Tenderloin “Lost Landmarks”

Sarah Wilson‚ BeyondChron, Apr. 26‚ 2011

What do Jerry Garcia, Miles Davis, Anton Refregier and Sally Rand all have in common? All directly impacted the dynamic, diverse, largely forgotten history of San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, now remembered on nine new sidewalk plaques dotting the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District. Key figures associated with Tenderloin history shared past stories about the lost landmarks at Hyde Street Studios, 245 Hyde St. (formerly Wally Heider Recording, site of legendary rock recordings from late 1960’s-70s) on April 25. Attendees included those who played with Thelonious Monk at the neighborhood’s famed Blackhawk Jazz Club, and the engineer for legendary recordings by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Grateful Dead and other rock legends.

Vintage Ads Get New Life in Tenderloin

Joe Rosato Jr.‚ NBCBayArea, Aug. 24‚ 2011

If you look beyond the grittiness of San Francisco’s Tenderloin, you’ll find ample evidence of its glory days.

Its streets are lined with apartment buildings and hotels dating back as far as 1907. It seems the neighborhood’s rough reputation scared off progress and developers, leaving an architectural gem in an urban time capsule.

Tucked into many of the neighborhood’s alleys, are crumbling brick walls bearing an assortment of vintage advertising murals. They peddle everything from 7-UP, to the services of a watchmaker, to a long-extinct beer. A $41,000 city grant is helping bring those old advertisements back to life. For the last few months, artists with Precita Eyes Muralists have been delicately restoring the murals to their past glory.

PianoFight Plans Theaters, Restaurant, Bar in former Original Joe’s in Tenderloin

Randy Shaw‚ BeyondChron, Aug. 09‚ 2011

While Original Joe’s is moving to North Beach from its historic Taylor Street location, it will soon be replaced by a dynamic combination of a theater, restaurant and bar run by the leaders of PianoFight. PianoFight LLC is a SF-based production and venue management company founded by Rob Ready and Dan Williams in the summer of 2007.

Activists Urge a Vegan Makeover

Jesse McKinley‚ NYTimes, Mar. 30‚ 2011

It may never make it on the political menu, but the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is urging city leaders in San Francisco to change the name of its legendarily gritty Tenderloin to something with decidedly less gristle.

In a letter to Mayor Edwin M. Lee sent Tuesday, Tracy Reiman, the group’s executive vice president, suggested that city officials rename the neighborhood the Tempeh District, a homage to a soy-based meat substitute.

New Uptown Tenderloin Historic District Geary O'Farrell Corridor Walking Map

Restaurant Review

Bar Bites: Jasper's Corner Tap & Kitchen, S.F.
401 Taylor St..
By John Bonne,
SF Gate

Jasper's Corner Tap & Kitchen, on its nondescript edge of the Tenderloin's lodging zone, seems on quick glance to be another by-numbers hotel effort. Yet here's a confluence of Bar Stars: Kevin Diedrich, whose work at the Burritt Room caught our attention last year, and Brian MacGregor, whose concoctions at Jardiniere earned him the honor in 2010. When I walked in on a recent night, both were working - a critical mass of cocktail talent.

Entertainment

There's Lots of Good, Cheap Comedy Shows in the Tenderloin
By Dana Sitar, SF Weekly

Surprisingly, San Francisco's least-hilarious neighborhood is the home to a good number of impressive comedy shows. Here's serious -- and funny -- reasons for you to venture out to the Tenderloin almost any night of the week for quality entertainment.