© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 94102
Depressed
neighborhood that seems to be constantly changing. Meets housing needs of poor
and elderly. Bordered by shopping district and major hotels. Crime hot spot. www.mccormacks.com
By day,
full of business people, conventioneers, tourists and government workers (City
hall, federal courts). At night, along the western edge, frequented by people
going to opera or symphony. Large library opened in 1996 a nice plus
for San Francisco and neighborhood followed by the Asian Art Museum. Elementary
school opened in 1998.
Click for regional or detailed map
Boundaries
described as Market on the south, Post on the north, Van Ness on the west,
Powell on the east. Population about 24,000.
On many
blocks, old hotels and apartment buildings, housing for poor, immigrants,
families and elderly with modest means. Also several thousand children, a few
of whom are educated at no cost at a child-care center.
The low-cost
housing also attracts prostitutes, pimps, addicts, winos, the deranged and people
who drift in and out of homeless shelters.
Centrally
located, the Tenderloin has also attracted up market housing that sometimes
hides behind gates. www.mccormacks.com
A lot of
businesses try to run legit, keep up appearances and avoid trouble. The cops,
who patrol on foot, or authorities crack down on the places that have many
problems.
Community
and charitable groups have built or secured or will secure apartments for about
4,500 low-income residents. St. Boniface Church, recently renovated, offers
help to the homeless. The city operates a shelter for young adults, many of them
runaways or homeless.
It is easy
to find fault with the neighborhood but many people work and lead productive
lives. They just dont have a lot of money.
San
Franciscans have never sorted out their feelings about the homeless and the
city has found it difficult to come with a consistent program for housing and
caring for them. So the appearances of the Tenderloin wax and wane according to
the moods of the citizens. To be fair to city officials, it is hard to figure
out what works.
Several
years ago the city changed its financial assistance methods to discourage
drinking and voters passed a measure restricting panhandling. www.mccormacks.com
The Tenderloin
is also being influenced by what's happened south of Market and near Market
Street new hotels, more office buildings.
Within
walking distance of many downtown jobs. Buses and BART trains to other
destinations. Good place to save commuting costs. But take care.
Following several murders in early 2007, about 200 residents marched to city
hall and demanded more police protection.
In 2006,
two men argued, a gun was pulled, shots fired and stray bullet killed an
innocent man in a wheelchair.
