Chapter 2
BUILDING TYPOLOGIES AND USES As alluded to in the previous section, the Tenderloin contains many of the city’s oldest buildings, which date back to the few years immediately following the 1906 earthquake and fire when redevelopment in the city progressed at a feverish pace. This rapid rebuild is a contributing factor to the visual cohesion of the neighborhood, given that many of the buildings were designed by the same limited collection of architects. The consistency in form and style of the neighborhood’s building stock also offers an immediate sense of arrival within the neighborhood. In 2009, 409 of the neighborhood’s remaining historic structures were designated as part of the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District—a federal registry of historic places that helps to further protect the buildings from any large-scale external alterations. Although the level of upkeep and restoration varies between these historic buildings, all generally exhibit architectural features and detailing that illustrates the importance and grandeur that this neighborhood once commanded. Intricate cornice work and crown moldings are further highlighted when contrasted with the few nonnative structures that infiltrated the neighborhood beginning in the 1950s. Overall, the purity of these older buildings’ forms is notable. Whereas in nearby Union Square many early 1900s buildings have been retrofitted with more modern, glitzy storefronts and signage, the Tenderloin’s ground floor commercial units generally lack bold architectural or stylistic fixings and offer a more neutral, cohesive tone for the entire neighborhood. There are of course exceptions
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to this rule. In recent years, new businesses catering to higher end clientele have opened in the neighborhood, bringing with them a design aesthetic that boldly differentiates itself from surrounding units in an attempt to beckon millennial patrons. At its heart, the Tenderloin is a residential neighborhood that celebrates the human scale, with streets lined with building entrances and windows sized and spaced perfectly for people watching. Its residential and commercial store fronts have just enough variation in their coloring and embellishments to create visual interest along the street, but not so much variation that they disrupt the natural rhythm of the street wall. Murals, historic plaques, and carefully preserved buildings dot the neighborhood, further impressing that this is a neighborhood which values the pedestrian experience and understands the importance of visual interest and vibrancy in cities. Most of its historic residential buildings are multi-unit structures containing either apartment dwellings (private bathroom and kitchen), or hotel rooms (no kitchen and sometimes no bathroom as well). These buildings are generally narrow (between 50 and 60 feet wide), and feature a mixture of large, half-floor lobbies, and smaller more compact entrances. Newer residential buildings in the neighborhood have much larger footprints, and are notable for their lack of an attempt to reference the architectural features of the historic structures. Their oversized and monotonous forms often result in distinct microclimates where their adjacent sidewalk segments are shrouded in shadows throughout the day.