Day 155: International Hotel, San Francisco, California
📌APIA Every Day (155) - The International Hotel (I-Hotel), located in San Francisco's Manilatown, was a residence for elderly Filipino and Chinese immigrants. Originally covering over ten square blocks near San Francisco's Chinatown, Manilatown was home to many Filipino farmworkers, merchant marines, and service workers. In the 1960s, Financial District encroachment steadily pushed the residential Manilatown community towards "higher use" development, with the goal of demolishing the building to make way for a multi-level parking lot. On November 27, 1968, 150 elderly Filipino and Chinese tenants initiated a nine-year anti-eviction campaign in response to the plans. Represented by the United Filipino Association (UFA), tenants initially secured a lease agreement with Milton Meyer & Company on March 16, 1969. However, a suspicious arson occurred on that same day, killing three tenants and led the company to back out of the agreement, using the fire to justify demolishing the "unsafe" building. The conflict peaked on August 4, 1977, when over 400 riot police forcibly evicted the tenants during a pre-dawn raid, despite resistance from a 3,000-person human barricade. This eviction resulted in significant public outcry and the eventual demolition of the International Hotel in 1979.
The effort to preserve the I-Hotel site continued post-eviction, led by the International Hotel Citizens Advisory Committee (IHCAC), formed by Mayor Dianne Feinstein. The committee worked to ensure that the site would be used for low-income housing. Although the I-Hotel's owner initially intended to demolish the building for commercial use, community opposition and volunteer efforts delayed the eviction and led to temporary lease agreements. Despite ownership changes and legal battles, the IHCAC secured a zoning ordinance in 1982 that mandated housing on the site, preventing commercial redevelopment.
Between 1983 and 2004, various development negotiations occurred, culminating in the sale of the I-Hotel site to the Catholic Church in 1998. This sale enabled the construction of new low-income housing and the establishment of St. Mary's Chinese Schools and Catholic Center. The new I-Hotel, which opened on August 26, 2005, provides 104 units of affordable housing for elderly residents, continuing the legacy of community support. The Manilatown Heritage Foundation and associated organizations have maintained cultural and social services for the residents, reflecting a commitment to preserving the history and purpose of the original I-Hotel. In 1977, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
LEARN MORE:
The I-Hotel - San Francisco: History
Found SF: The Battle for the International Hotel
Berkeley: International Hotel’s FINAL VICTORY
SF Gate: I-Hotel, 30 years later - Manilatown legacy honored
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