Tenderloin Museum
Source: https://www.tenderloinmuseum.org
Archived: 2026-04-23 15:35
Tenderloin Museum
Menu
Automobile accident in front of Hotel Shawmut at 516 O'Farrell Street, near Jones Street. March 19, 1941
San Francisco Police Department Records, San Francisco Public Library
TENDERLOIN
MUSEUM
398 Eddy Street
(@ Leavenworth)
San Francisco, CA 94102
info@tenderloinmuseum.org
(415) 351-1912
Hours
: Tuesday - Saturday
10:00AM - 5:00PM
ADMISSION
Adults
: $10
Students & Seniors
: $6
Youth
(Ages 13 to 21): $6
Children
(Ages 12 & under): FREE
Art Gallery
:
Free
TLM participates in
Museums for All
, offering FREE general admission (with a valid Snap/EBT card + ID)
Walking Tours
: We offer a variety of historical neighborhood walking tours. They’re usually scheduled on Saturdays at 2 PM and run approximately 90 minutes to two hours. Please check the
Upcoming Public Programs page
for more information and to purchase tickets.
CLOSED on HOLIDAYS:
New Year’s Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Thanksgiving / Day After Thanksgiving (Native American Heritage Day)
Christmas Eve / Christmas / Boxing Day (Day After Christmas)
New Year's Eve
Purchase TLM Founder Randy Shaw’s Tenderloin history book, updated to 2025!
The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime, and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco (2nd Edition) by Randy Shaw
$21.95
The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot
plays every Friday and Saturday at 7 PM at 835 Larkin St.
PURCHASE TICKETS
.
Get your official
Compton’s Cafeteria Riot
mug
and celebrate queer resistance every day.
ORDER NOW!
JOIN US
"Any city that doesn't have a Tenderloin isn't a city at all"
- Storied
San Francisco Chronicle
columnist Herb Caen
WHO WE ARE
The Tenderloin Museum celebrates the rich history of one of San Francisco's most misunderstood neighborhoods. The 31 blocks of the Tenderloin district are the beating heart of the city peopled by immigrants and iconoclasts, artists and activists, sinners and saints. Visit the Tenderloin Museum today and encounter a kaleidoscopic American city in all its grit and glory.
WE’RE EXPANDING!
Tenderloin Museum is on the brink of something extraordinary. In 2026, we’ll open a new 6,850-square-foot space that triples our size and lets us tell more Tenderloin stories than ever—but
only if we complete this final phase of fundraising
. Our goal is to
raise $50,000 by December 31
. Your donation isn’t abstract: it becomes the exhibit walls where histories are shared, the workshops where young people make art, the archives that preserve community memory, and the gathering spaces where neighbors feel seen and celebrated. This is a once-in-a-generation moment to expand the museum’s impact, and
it won’t happen without you
!
WHAT YOU’LL FIND HERE
Permanent collection
Neighborhood walking tours
Museum retail store
Local artist exhibition
Dynamic public programming
—here’s what’s happening next:
UPCOMING PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Apr 25, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
Apr 25, 2026
Apr 25, 2026
May 7, 2026
Rob Nilsson’s “CHALK” (1996) + Zhan Petrov's "HOW I SEE" (2025)
May 7, 2026
May 7, 2026
May
14
May 14, 2026
2nd Thursdays at Dodge: Sruti Sarathy
May 14, 2026
May 14, 2026
DISCOVER THE LOST HISTORY OF THE TENDERLOIN
The Tenderloin's raucous history has been routinely overlooked in historical accounts of San Francisco. We invite you to get to know the Tenderloin's real story by taking one of our renowned walking tours, visiting our interactive exhibition space, or attending a public program. You'll learn more about:
Legendary venue Blackhawk Jazz Club where greats like Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Dave Brubeck, and Thelonious Monk played and recorded.
Immigrant stories of struggle and success, as people from around the world have gotten their start on U.S. soil in the Tenderloin.
The Tenderloin's role as a center of LGBTQ activism, including the 1966 Compton's Cafeteria Riot, the first recorded militant uprising by the queer community against police harassment in US history.
Recording studio Wally Heider Studios where the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young crafted albums that changed music forever.
San Francisco's golden age of vice, with gambling dens, speakeasies, bordellos, and a historic sex worker protest of 1917.
Stories from a neighborhood that immigrants, office workers, retailers, bartenders, musicians, actors, dancers and prostitutes have all chosen to call home.
The Tenderloin's rich present-day community, reflected in live music and theatre performances, film screenings, lectures, local artist exhibitions, poetry nights and more!
GETTING HERE
We are wheel chair accessible, located at 398 Eddy Street, right at the corner of Leavenworth, within easy access via public transit, bicycle, or car.
Public Transit:
The Tenderloin Museum is a five minute walk from either Powell or Civic Center BART. We are also located near SFMTA bus lines 5, 8, 30, 31, 38, 47 and 49.
Bicycle:
Tenderloin Museum does not have racks for bikes, however the Civic Center BART station offers secured, indoor racks that are available for public use (even if you're not riding BART).
Car:
The closest parking garages are EZ Public Parking (333 Jones St) and Turk Street Garage (175 Turk St).
Google Maps Directions
SFMTA
Bart
What we're up to
:
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Menu
Automobile accident in front of Hotel Shawmut at 516 O'Farrell Street, near Jones Street. March 19, 1941
San Francisco Police Department Records, San Francisco Public Library
TENDERLOIN
MUSEUM
398 Eddy Street
(@ Leavenworth)
San Francisco, CA 94102
info@tenderloinmuseum.org
(415) 351-1912
Hours
: Tuesday - Saturday
10:00AM - 5:00PM
ADMISSION
Adults
: $10
Students & Seniors
: $6
Youth
(Ages 13 to 21): $6
Children
(Ages 12 & under): FREE
Art Gallery
:
Free
TLM participates in
Museums for All
, offering FREE general admission (with a valid Snap/EBT card + ID)
Walking Tours
: We offer a variety of historical neighborhood walking tours. They’re usually scheduled on Saturdays at 2 PM and run approximately 90 minutes to two hours. Please check the
Upcoming Public Programs page
for more information and to purchase tickets.
CLOSED on HOLIDAYS:
New Year’s Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Thanksgiving / Day After Thanksgiving (Native American Heritage Day)
Christmas Eve / Christmas / Boxing Day (Day After Christmas)
New Year's Eve
Purchase TLM Founder Randy Shaw’s Tenderloin history book, updated to 2025!
The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime, and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco (2nd Edition) by Randy Shaw
$21.95
The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot
plays every Friday and Saturday at 7 PM at 835 Larkin St.
PURCHASE TICKETS
.
Get your official
Compton’s Cafeteria Riot
mug
and celebrate queer resistance every day.
ORDER NOW!
JOIN US
"Any city that doesn't have a Tenderloin isn't a city at all"
- Storied
San Francisco Chronicle
columnist Herb Caen
WHO WE ARE
The Tenderloin Museum celebrates the rich history of one of San Francisco's most misunderstood neighborhoods. The 31 blocks of the Tenderloin district are the beating heart of the city peopled by immigrants and iconoclasts, artists and activists, sinners and saints. Visit the Tenderloin Museum today and encounter a kaleidoscopic American city in all its grit and glory.
WE’RE EXPANDING!
Tenderloin Museum is on the brink of something extraordinary. In 2026, we’ll open a new 6,850-square-foot space that triples our size and lets us tell more Tenderloin stories than ever—but
only if we complete this final phase of fundraising
. Our goal is to
raise $50,000 by December 31
. Your donation isn’t abstract: it becomes the exhibit walls where histories are shared, the workshops where young people make art, the archives that preserve community memory, and the gathering spaces where neighbors feel seen and celebrated. This is a once-in-a-generation moment to expand the museum’s impact, and
it won’t happen without you
!
WHAT YOU’LL FIND HERE
Permanent collection
Neighborhood walking tours
Museum retail store
Local artist exhibition
Dynamic public programming
—here’s what’s happening next:
UPCOMING PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Apr 25, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
Apr 25, 2026
Apr 25, 2026
May 7, 2026
Rob Nilsson’s “CHALK” (1996) + Zhan Petrov's "HOW I SEE" (2025)
May 7, 2026
May 7, 2026
May
14
May 14, 2026
2nd Thursdays at Dodge: Sruti Sarathy
May 14, 2026
May 14, 2026
DISCOVER THE LOST HISTORY OF THE TENDERLOIN
The Tenderloin's raucous history has been routinely overlooked in historical accounts of San Francisco. We invite you to get to know the Tenderloin's real story by taking one of our renowned walking tours, visiting our interactive exhibition space, or attending a public program. You'll learn more about:
Legendary venue Blackhawk Jazz Club where greats like Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Dave Brubeck, and Thelonious Monk played and recorded.
Immigrant stories of struggle and success, as people from around the world have gotten their start on U.S. soil in the Tenderloin.
The Tenderloin's role as a center of LGBTQ activism, including the 1966 Compton's Cafeteria Riot, the first recorded militant uprising by the queer community against police harassment in US history.
Recording studio Wally Heider Studios where the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young crafted albums that changed music forever.
San Francisco's golden age of vice, with gambling dens, speakeasies, bordellos, and a historic sex worker protest of 1917.
Stories from a neighborhood that immigrants, office workers, retailers, bartenders, musicians, actors, dancers and prostitutes have all chosen to call home.
The Tenderloin's rich present-day community, reflected in live music and theatre performances, film screenings, lectures, local artist exhibitions, poetry nights and more!
GETTING HERE
We are wheel chair accessible, located at 398 Eddy Street, right at the corner of Leavenworth, within easy access via public transit, bicycle, or car.
Public Transit:
The Tenderloin Museum is a five minute walk from either Powell or Civic Center BART. We are also located near SFMTA bus lines 5, 8, 30, 31, 38, 47 and 49.
Bicycle:
Tenderloin Museum does not have racks for bikes, however the Civic Center BART station offers secured, indoor racks that are available for public use (even if you're not riding BART).
Car:
The closest parking garages are EZ Public Parking (333 Jones St) and Turk Street Garage (175 Turk St).
Google Maps Directions
SFMTA
Bart
What we're up to
:
View fullsize
View fullsize
View fullsize
View fullsize
View fullsize
View fullsize
View fullsize
View fullsize
View fullsize
View fullsize
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