Committee recommends landmark designation for Compton’s Cafeteria site at Turk and Taylor

The San Francisco Land Use & Transportation Committee voted 3–0 on Nov. 14, 2022, to forward an ordinance designating the Turk and Taylor Streets intersection and portions of 101 Taylor Street — the site associated with the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria riot — as a landmark under Article 10 of the Planning Code.

Supervisor Preston, who introduced the ordinance, described the site as "a cornerstone of LGBTQ plus history" and urged the committee to move the item as a committee report to the full board in advance of the city’s Transgender Day of Remembrance. He thanked community advocates and the Planning Department for developing the ordinance.

Planning Department staff Moses Corett presented the historic significance, noted the site’s inclusion within the Transgender Cultural District and a pending National Register nomination, and described proposed boundaries that include the spatial relationships of the Turk and Taylor intersection and the lower 11 feet of the 101 Taylor Street building that housed the former Jean Compton’s Cafeteria. Corett said the Historic Preservation Commission recommended designation and suggested interpretive measures for future incorporation.

Multiple speakers from the Transgender Cultural District spoke in support during public comment. "This is a very important preservation for the transgender community, for the Tenderloin community, for Black trans lives," one commenter said. Planning staff noted owner consent was not required and that the current owners of 101 Taylor Street do not object to the designation.

The committee voted unanimously to forward the ordinance to the full board as a committee report. If the full board approves the designation, the landmark status would enable future interpretive work and formal recognition of the site’s role in San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ and transgender history.

What happens next: The item will proceed to the full Board of Supervisors for further consideration; the committee record and Planning Department materials will accompany the ordinance.