{"id":47557,"date":"2026-04-07T12:35:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T19:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=47557"},"modified":"2026-04-07T12:35:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T19:35:31","slug":"comptons-cafeterias-walls-are-landmarked-should-its-interior-be-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/04\/07\/comptons-cafeterias-walls-are-landmarked-should-its-interior-be-too\/","title":{"rendered":"Compton\u2019s Cafeteria&#8217;s walls are landmarked. Should its interior be, too?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/users\/profile\/Natalia%20Gurevich\">By Natalia Gurevich | Examiner staff writer<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Apr 6, 2026 (SFExaminer.com)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/sfexaminer.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/0\/c8\/0c8a016c-059f-40f5-b006-a9d80d11e351\/69d018f91c3b1.image.jpg?resize=400%2C267\" alt=\"111 Taylor Street Apartments in San Francisco\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">111 Taylor Street Apartments in San Francisco on Friday, April 3, 2026.&nbsp;Craig Lee\/The Examiner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Advocates are pushing to have the interior of Compton\u2019s Cafeteria on Taylor Street included in its historical landmark status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compton\u2019s Cafeteria is the site of a watershed 1966 riot that many consider to be the beginning of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, as it occurred three years before a famous riot at the Stonewall Inn in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The site was a common hangout for the neighborhood\u2019s LGBTQ+ residents, particularly transgender women. After dealing with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/archives\/sf-police-chief-apologizes-for-past-actions-against-transgender-community\/article_9be877ab-9925-51fa-a187-305fbf8ee9b8.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">repeated harassment from local police<\/a>&nbsp;at the cafeteria, a riot broke out between the customers and the police in August 1966.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The site at 101-121 Taylor Street is already on the California and the National Register of Historic Places. In 2022, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors designated the intersection of the two streets at the building, and the exterior walls of the building, as a historical landmark. But advocates have said that because the riot began inside, that space should be included in the landmark designation as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without such protections, proponents of the change argue the site&#8217;s interior could be vulnerable to demolition that leaves only the exterior walls untouched. Including the interior would be a step towards better protecting and preserving the entire building, they say.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The battle over the interior\u2019s historical recognition is playing out as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/missionlocal.org\/2025\/07\/sf-activists-oust-geo-group-comptons-cafeteria-riot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">activists hope to push out<\/a>&nbsp;the for-profit prison company that currently uses it as transitional housing for formerly incarcerated people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission voted last Wednesday against recommending the inclusion of the interior in the site&#8217;s landmark status without further investigation into what the building\u2019s interior currently looks like. One commissioner, however, noted that the decision did not &#8220;preclude further evaluation of interior features as part of a separate amendment process.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-19.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47563\" srcset=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-19.png 750w, http:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-19-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-19-150x100.png 150w, http:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-19-225x150.png 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"4\" height=\"3\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-15.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47559\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A plaque marks the Compton\u2019s Cafeteria Riot by transgender people against police in August 1966 at the former site of the diner at Turk and Taylor streets.&nbsp;Craig Lee\/The Examiner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposal voted on by the board was submitted by the&nbsp;Compton\u2019s x Coalition, a community organization dedicated to preserving the site &#8220;free from carceral control and corporate profiteering.&#8221;&nbsp;Chandra LaBorde, an activist with the group,&nbsp;told The Examiner that they would amend the proposal to include this language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The amendment would also expand the timeline of historical significance, as defined in the landmark designation, from only the year 1966 to a full decade between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The building is now operated as a reentry house, commonly referred to as a halfway house, by the for-profit prison company GEO Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A spokesperson for GEO Group, David Blackwell, said during the commission hearing that while GEO supports the building\u2019s landmark status, it disagrees with the inclusion of the interior because it would hinder its ability to operate. There aren\u2019t any physical characteristics in the interior to support the amendment, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis property has undergone so many changes since 1966; the ground floor is completely unrecognizable,\u201d Blackwell said. \u201cThere is no vestige of a cafeteria here. It&#8217;s just, it&#8217;s just nonsense to say that there is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blackwell alleged that this move is just another strategy by activists to push GEO out of the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey want to essentially drive our client out of business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-20-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47564\" srcset=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-20-1024x683.png 1024w, http:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-20-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-20-150x100.png 150w, http:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-20-768x512.png 768w, http:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-20-225x150.png 225w, http:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-20.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"4\" height=\"3\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-14.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47558\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">111 Taylor Street Apartments in San Francisco on Friday, April 3, 2026.&nbsp;Craig Lee\/The Examiner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the weeks since an initial January hearing on the matter, Compton\u2019s x Coalition commissioned a legal analysis and a review from an architectural historian of their proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ex \/\/ Top Stories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news\/politics\/upzoning-splits-district-2-candidates-brooke-and-sherrill\/article_aa901287-7a44-47c6-9e1f-1dd2f64e9544.html#tncms-source=top-stories-article\">District 2 supervisor, electoral rival differ starkly on upzone plan<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Incumbent Stephen Sherrill and opponent Lori Brooke diverge on mayor\u2019s signature policy, a map for denser housing that could swing June&#8217;s election<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news\/politics\/district-4-supervisor-election-could-shift-city-direction\/article_f467846a-5971-4730-8087-7324470e1be3.html#tncms-source=top-stories-article\">Stakes are high in contest for the Sunset&#8217;s supervisorial seat<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The June election in District 4 has already seen one group collect nearly $300,000 to protect a moderate majority \u2014 and a second race in the district will follow just \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news\/technology\/venture-industry-marked-by-extreme-concentration-in-q1\/article_358068f9-575f-4688-8d2f-cb8bd9834d99.html#tncms-source=top-stories-article\">Venture industry marked by \u2018extreme\u2019 concentration in Q1<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Gonzo numbers seen in the first three months of the year, but the lion\u2019s share of the money flowed to a handful of firms<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The group challenged the San Francisco Planning Department staff&#8217;s use of a city code that only includes interiors in landmark statuses for privately owned buildings when those areas have significant architectural value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The legal analysis, prepared by the office of local environmental attorney Thomas Lippe, argued that the historical significance of the interior building has not been lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cQueer sites don&#8217;t always necessarily maintain architectural integrity,\u201d LaBorde said in an interview with The Examiner. \u201cBut they need to be recognized for their social history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shayne Watson, an architecture historian and author, told the commission at the hearing that city law \u201cdoesn\u2019t adequately evaluate civil rights sites.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYes, there may have been alterations, but they\u2019re secondary,\u201d Watson said of the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Susan Stryker is a documentarian and historian whose 2005 film, \u201cScreaming Queens: The Riot at Compton&#8217;s Cafeteria,\u201d is credited by some for bringing the story back into the public narrative. Stryker said that it\u2019s become clear how important the building is as she\u2019s worked on documenting its history over the decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere is so much integrity to that location that I feel, if the purpose of historical landmarking is to preserve things of historical significance, that there is something that needs to be preserved there,\u201d Stryker said. \u201cBesides the mere shell of the building.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dan Sider, a Planning Department spokesperson, told The Examiner in a statement that the proposal put forward by the community has been \u201ccompelling.\u201d But landmark designations tend to focus on exterior building features, Sider said. Exceptions can be made for buildings with interior areas that have historically been open to the public and have extremely high architectural value, such as the Castro Theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBased on what\u2019s been presented so far, we\u2019re not yet comfortable additionally recommending landmarking the interior of the building,\u201d he said, noting that &#8220;identifying the specific, character-defining features of any city landmark is a critical piece of the review process.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wednesday\u2019s hearing was one of several opportunities the public will have to comment on the proposal, Sider noted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Supervisor Bilal Mahmood&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news\/the-city\/sf-resident-of-halfway-house-run-by-ice-contractor-dies\/article_99300ee1-8dc5-48e9-8774-5e56ca7bedcf.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called for an investigation<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kqed.org\/news\/12063220\/sf-supervisors-press-geo-group-halfway-house-operator-about-july-death-of-resident\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">held a hearing<\/a>&nbsp;last year&nbsp;after one of the reentry house&#8217;s residents died. He confirmed to The Examiner on Tuesday, however, that the decision to make the interior of the building a landmark is a separate matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mahmood, whose district includes the site, supports expanding the building\u2019s landmark status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is one of those appropriate next steps to ensure the community and their history is being recognized,\u201d Mahmood said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mahmood said his office is continuing to work with the community on how they want to best protect the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For LaBorde, although the Historic Preservation Commission\u2019s vote was disappointing, it won&#8217;t hamper the continued efforts to preserve the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt isn\u2019t over,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Advocates are pushing to have the interior of Compton\u2019s Cafeteria on Taylor Street included in its historical landmark status. Compton\u2019s Cafeteria is the site of a watershed 1966 riot that many consider to be the beginning of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, as it occurred three years before a famous&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/04\/07\/comptons-cafeterias-walls-are-landmarked-should-its-interior-be-too\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47557"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47557"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47565,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47557\/revisions\/47565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}