International Hotel (San Francisco)

The I-Hotel, originally established as a luxury location for travelers in 1854, relocated to Kearny Street in 1873 and was rebuilt in 1907 after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.

[3] Urban renewal projects have historically contributed to the ongoing process of gentrification, destabilization, and displacement of local communities from their place of origin.

[6] This "urban renewal" that occurred in response to the end of World War II had destroyed the heart of the Fillmore District, San Francisco, and hundreds of homes and thousands of residents were displaced due to the city's plans to expand the downtown business sector.

[3] On an economic level, urban renewal projects aimed to expand local development and increase profits, but led to the erasure of Filipino presence and history through the slow but steady removal of homes, businesses, and centers for organizing in the Chinatown area.

[1] This demolition would happen concurrently with the destruction of ten blocks of low-cost housing, restaurants, barber shops, markets, clubs and other Filipino community businesses.

[1] For years after the first eviction notices were served in 1968, many individuals were involved in the long fight that took place on the streets, in courtrooms, and in the everyday lives of the I-Hotel Manilatown residents.

[10] In the early morning of August 4, 1977, 400 San Francisco riot police began to physically remove tenants from homes despite the 3,000 protesters attempting to surround and barricade the I-Hotel.

Additionally, a new mural on the site of the new building by Johanna Poethig features Robles, Etta Moon, Bill Sorro, and other tenant activists, commemorating their struggle to preserve affordable housing in San Francisco.

Jim Jones in front of the l-Hotel in January 1977
Protestors in front of the I-Hotel on August 4, 1977
San Francisco Police Department entering the I-Hotel's by ladder