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Tenderloin Museum

398 Eddy Street
San Francisco, CA, 94102
415-351-1912
San Francisco California

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Tenderloin Museum

  • Welcome
  • Programs
    • Upcoming Public Programs
    • Public Programs Archive
    • Tenderloin History Walking Tours
    • Sounds of the Tenderloin
    • The Compton's Cafeteria Riot play
  • EXHIBITIONS
    • Permanent Collection
    • "Finding Our Way Home: Mary TallMountain in the TL"
    • TLM Past Gallery Shows
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Public Programs 2026

Public Programs 2026 2
2nd Thursdays at Dodge Alley: The Sampaguitas
Jul 9
July 9, 2026
2nd Thursdays at Dodge Alley: The Sampaguitas
July 9, 2026

Thursday July 9, 2026 | 5-8pm

At Dodge Alley (Turk & Larkin St.)

July’s 2nd Thursday at Dodge Alley features a Bay Area supergroup—The Sampaguitas play Filipino folk songs and inspired original music sung in glorious three-part harmony! Drawing influences from folk, blues, doo-wop girl groups, and the Filipinx-American diaspora, Jenevieve Francisco, Cristina Ibarra, and Aireene Espiritu share music from their roots and explore what it means to be in a “third culture” between worlds.

Free to attend | No registration required

$15 vouchers for food/drink at nearby businesses first come first serve

July 9, 2026
Future of Sex   *New Location 220 Montgomery*
Jul 8
July 8, 2026
Future of Sex *New Location 220 Montgomery*
July 8, 2026

Wednesday July 8, 2026 | 7-9pm

At the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

NEW LOCATION! Yes SF Headquarters | 220 Montgomery St., SF, CA 94104

​Your presence is requested at the San Francisco Commission on Sex in the year 2126. What is sex? Who has it? Who pays for it? What feels good? What is missing from the way we have sex now? What kind of sex do we want our descendants to have? How do our current laws, medical practices, and cultural norms affect the sex we have, or want to have?

“Future of Sex” gathers a speculative “San Francisco Commission on Sex”--set in the year 2126–to conjure a portrait of sex in the not-so-distant future imbued with radical and/or utopian visions we can see from the present. This “town-hall style” immersive, interactive collective imagining is presented as part of the inaugural Future of Us Festival and organized by Olivia Bratko, a regular actor in TLM’s Compton’s Cafeteria Riot. Join us on either July 7 & 8!

Click here for more info.

Sliding scale admission | Register via Future of Us Festival’s LUMA page

July 8, 2026
Future of Sex *New Location 220 Montgomery*
Jul 7
July 7, 2026
Future of Sex *New Location 220 Montgomery*
July 7, 2026

Tuesday July 7, 2026 | 7-9pm

At the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

NEW LOCATION! Yes SF Headquarters | 220 Montgomery St., SF, CA 94104

​Your presence is requested at the San Francisco Commission on Sex in the year 2126. What is sex? Who has it? Who pays for it? What feels good? What is missing from the way we have sex now? What kind of sex do we want our descendants to have? How do our current laws, medical practices, and cultural norms affect the sex we have, or want to have?

“Future of Sex” gathers a speculative “San Francisco Commission on Sex”--set in the year 2126–to conjure a portrait of sex in the not-so-distant future imbued with radical and/or utopian visions we can see from the present. This “town-hall style” immersive, interactive collective imagining is presented as part of the inaugural Future of Us Festival and organized by Olivia Bratko, a regular actor in TLM’s Compton’s Cafeteria Riot. Join us on either July 7 & 8!

Click here for more info.

Sliding scale admission | Register via Future of Us Festival’s LUMA page

July 7, 2026
*POSTPONED* Adrian Arias: "Indigenous Forever" Open Late for SF First Thursday Art Walk
Jul 2
July 2, 2026
*POSTPONED* Adrian Arias: "Indigenous Forever" Open Late for SF First Thursday Art Walk
July 2, 2026

Thursday July 2, 2026 | 5-8pm

at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

TLM presents Indigenous Forever, a new gallery show of paintings by Adrian Arias that honor the strength, wisdom, and continuity of Indigenous cultures. Join us on the evening of June 30th for a special preview reception with the artist. Opening during the 4th of July holiday and the United States’ milestone 250th year as a nation, Indigenous Forever reframes notions of place, belonging, and permanence in a poignant and timely conceptual gesture. The humble postage stamp, one of the most fundamental trappings of modern statehood and a basic currency for communication, is enlarged and remixed, memorializing the land, its Indigenous people and their culture. Medicinal plants, native flora and fauna, and sacred designs from several Indigenous cultures past and present comprise the visual vocabulary of Indigenous Forever, symbolizing solidarity amongst the land and its original inhabitants, and celebrating place and people without the overlay of divisive, extractive colonial states. Tenderloin regulars will recognize the imagery from this Indigenous Forever gallery show from an evocative mural of the same name on Larkin St. unveiled in the spring of 2025–many of the paintings in this show served as studies for the mural. Indigenous Forever is on view July 1 - October 3, 2026.

Free to attend | No Registration Required

July 2, 2026
*POSTPONED* Adrian Arias "Indigenous Forever" Preview Reception with the artist
Jun 30
June 30, 2026
*POSTPONED* Adrian Arias "Indigenous Forever" Preview Reception with the artist
June 30, 2026

Tuesday June 30, 2026 | 4-6pm

at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

TLM presents Indigenous Forever, a new gallery show of paintings by Adrian Arias that honor the strength, wisdom, and continuity of Indigenous cultures. Join us on the evening of June 30th for a special preview reception with the artist. Opening during the 4th of July holiday and the United States’ milestone 250th year as a nation, Indigenous Forever reframes notions of place, belonging, and permanence in a poignant and timely conceptual gesture. The humble postage stamp, one of the most fundamental trappings of modern statehood and a basic currency for communication, is enlarged and remixed, memorializing the land, its Indigenous people and their culture. Medicinal plants, native flora and fauna, and sacred designs from several Indigenous cultures past and present comprise the visual vocabulary of Indigenous Forever, symbolizing solidarity amongst the land and its original inhabitants, and celebrating place and people without the overlay of divisive, extractive colonial states. Tenderloin regulars will recognize the imagery from this Indigenous Forever gallery show from an evocative mural of the same name on Larkin St. unveiled in the spring of 2025–many of the paintings in this show served as studies for the mural. Indigenous Forever is on view July 1 - October 3, 2026.

Free to attend | No Registration Required

June 30, 2026
TRANSMARSH Performance
Jun 26
June 26, 2026
TRANSMARSH Performance
June 26, 2026

Friday June 26, 2026 | 8-9pm (timed to coincide with the conclusion of Trans March)

at 33 Turk St. (outside of the Timbri Hotel at the corner of Turk & Taylor Streets)

TRANSMARSH is a free outdoor vertical dance performance by trans people, for trans people — and all who love them. The show features B Dean/BODYSTORM, Pangaea, and tome performing on the Taylor Street facade of the Timbri Hotel, soaring over the intersection of Turk and Taylor Streets, the site of both the 1966 trans led Compton’s Cafeteria Riots and present-day for profit reentry housing for the incarcerated. TRANSMARSH kicks off Pride Weekend by rewilding the Transgender District with the trans history and ecology alive in the Tenderloin's soil.

8pm TRANSMARSH preview performance | Free; register via Eventbrite

June 26, 2026
TRANSMARSH Preview Performance + Trans History Walking Tour
Jun 25
June 25, 2026
TRANSMARSH Preview Performance + Trans History Walking Tour
June 25, 2026

Thursday June 25, 2026 | 7 - 9pm

at 33 Turk St. (outside of the Timbri Hotel)

TRANSMARSH is a free outdoor vertical dance performance by trans people, for trans people — and all who love them. The show features B Dean/BODYSTORM, Pangaea, and tome performing on the Taylor Street facade of the Timbri Hotel, soaring over the intersection of Turk and Taylor Streets, the site of both the 1966 trans led Compton’s Cafeteria Riots and present-day for profit reentry housing for the incarcerated. TRANSMARSH kicks off Pride Weekend by rewilding the Transgender District with the trans history and ecology alive in the Tenderloin's soil.


The Thursday evening “preview” performance is preceded by a trans history walking tour led by community historian and advocate Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer at 7pm–separate registration required (as space is limited). The night also features a performance by Skywatchers, GRAVITY Access Services, and Oaklash Block Party at the Timbri Hotel, with local drag performers and DJs.

7pm Trans History Walking Tour | Free; register via Humanitix; space is limited!

8pm TRANSMARSH preview performance | Free; register via Eventbrite

June 25, 2026
“Valley of the Queens:” Monthly LGBTQ+ History Walking Tour
Jun 20
June 20, 2026
“Valley of the Queens:” Monthly LGBTQ+ History Walking Tour
June 20, 2026

Saturday, June 20, 2026 | 2:00-4:00 PM

Meet at Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

Register to attend via Humanitix | Admission to the Tenderloin Museum included with ticket

Tenderloin Museum is thrilled to partner with Unspeakable Vice, “a volunteer history initiative making queer belonging accessible to everyone,” to offer a monthly walking tour focused on the LGBTQIA+ history in the Tenderloin and Polk Street neighborhoods.

June 20, 2026
Herman C. Baumann in the TL Architecture Walking Tour
Jun 13
June 13, 2026
Herman C. Baumann in the TL Architecture Walking Tour
June 13, 2026

Saturday June 13, 2026 | 2-3:30pm

Meet at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

$15 or $25 (with TLM admission) |  Register via Humanitix

Discover the work of Herman C. Baumann, who ushered modern multi-unit hotels and apartments into the Tenderloin with distinctive flourishes inspired by Spanish Colonial Revival and baroque styles. Seasoned walking tour guide, historian, and emeritus city planning professor Linda Day continues her spotlight series on notable architects whose post-quake buildings define the TL’s built environment. 

Attendees will visit the San Francisco city landmarked Gaylord Suites at 620 Jones street, originally a residential hotel. Inspired by the buildings of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in San Diego, it is embellished with a Spanish Colonial Revival building entry, facade, and lobby. The tour will also visit the Farrellworth at 601 O'Farrel, which is another stunning example of using this design vocabulary. Baumann often ornamented his buildings with terra cotta to express baroque details because it could be molded into intricate shapes and then fired with colorful glazes. A walk-by of Princess Apartments, 155 Hyde, shows his elaborate use of terracotta. In addition to this iconic trio, Day’s tour will highlight nine buildings that illustrate Baumann's artistry, equally divided between apartments and hotels.

June 13, 2026
2nd Thursdays at Dodge Alley: Changüí with Jose Andres "El Sinsonte" & friends
Jun 11
June 11, 2026
2nd Thursdays at Dodge Alley: Changüí with Jose Andres "El Sinsonte" & friends
June 11, 2026

Thursday June 11, 2026 | 5-8pm

At Dodge Alley (Turk & Larkin St.)

Free to attend | No registration required

$15 vouchers for food/drink at nearby businesses first come first serve

The Tenderloin Museum and TLCBD continue monthly “2nd Thursday at Dodge Alley” block parties featuring live music and presented as part of TLM’s ongoing “Sounds of the Tenderloin” program series. On June 11, TLM welcomes a master musician and special visitor from Cuba and some of the Bay’s most dedicated practitioners of Afro-Cuban music to share an evening of changüí, the folkloric Afro-Cuban party music from the country’s mountainous Eastern province.  The lineup will feature: 

Jose Andres aka “El Sinsonte” - lead vocals and auxiliary percussion

Jose Andres is the lead singer/songwriter of the Latin-Grammy nominated Changüí Guantanamo; and a living master of the 10-line Decima poetry. 

Einar Leliebre - lead percussion and second voice

Einar Leliebre (“Tito”) is rated “First Level” (the highest level for musicians in Cuba) both as a percussionist and vocalist, and has toured the world in Afro-Cuban folkloric troupes. He recently accompanied Omar Sosa on the Bata Drums at SFJAZZ's Miner Auditorium with the Stanford Big Band.

Ernesto Mazar - baby bass and backup vocals

Ernesto Mazar toured the world with Charanga Habanera for a decade. He is the bassist in Omar Sosa’s Quarteto Americano, and was offered the prime spot as the steady bassist for Los Van Van, Cuba's most world-renowned band.

Kai Lyons - “tres” Cuban guitar and backup vocals

Born and raised in San Francisco (Excelsior District), Kai Lyons graduated from Ruth Asawa School of the Arts with the Excellence in Guitar award. He currently teaches at SFState, CSU East Bay, and the Berkeley Jazzschool. He has studied music in Cuba 16 times.

Learn more

June 11, 2026
Stillness and Survival: Celebrating Sheena Rose’s New Memoir
Jun 4
June 4, 2026
Stillness and Survival: Celebrating Sheena Rose’s New Memoir
June 4, 2026

Thursday June 4, 2026 | 6:30-8pm

At the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

The Tenderloin knows and loves Sheena Rose as a fixture of the queen scene at Aunt Charlie’s Lounge. Earlier this year, Sheena–aka Jacob Anthony Rose–published a powerful debut memoir entitled Stillness and Survival: A Life Between Trauma, Glitter, and the Echo of My Own Voice. TLM kicks off Pride month by celebrating this essential TL artist’s story of survival, queerness, and becoming with a reading and drag show ft. Bliss, Kelly Rose, Olivia Hart, & Sophilya Leggz!

$10 Suggested Donation (+ tips for drag performers) | Register via Humanitix

June 4, 2026
Featured
Writing Our Way Home:  A workshop inspired by the poetry of Mary TallMountain
May 30
May 30, 2026
Writing Our Way Home: A workshop inspired by the poetry of Mary TallMountain
May 30, 2026

Saturday May 30, 2026 | 3:30-5pm

At the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Mary TallMountain's poems evoke a deep sense of home and homelessness, separation and belonging. Join TallMountain’s friends and fellow poets Kitty Costello and Kim Shuck for a writing workshop that uses her work to guide us toward these themes in our own lives, in our own words. Presented in conjunction with the exhibit Finding Our Way Home: Mary TallMountain in the Tenderloin.

$10 or $6 for TLM Members (includes admission) | Register via Humanitix

May 30, 2026
Patel Hotel History with Mahendra K. Doshi + "Patel Motel Story" screening
May 21
May 21, 2026
Patel Hotel History with Mahendra K. Doshi + "Patel Motel Story" screening
May 21, 2026

Thursday May 21, 2026 | 6:30-7:30pm

At the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Discover the little known history of Indian immigrants from Gujarat who established a flourishing hospitality empire through strong community, mutual aid, hard work, and sacrifice. Mahendra K. Doshi’s book Surat to San Francisco chronicled for the first time how Patel “trailblazers” laid the groundwork for a vast network of Indian-owned hotels in San Francisco’s central city. The author will share this inspiring American success story at TLM with a lecture and screening of the 2025 short documentary inspired by his work, Patel Motel Story.

$10 Suggested Donation | Register to attend via Humanitix

May 21, 2026
“Valley of the Queens:” Monthly LGBTQ+ History Walking Tour
May 16
May 16, 2026
“Valley of the Queens:” Monthly LGBTQ+ History Walking Tour
May 16, 2026

Saturday, May 16, 2026 | 2:00-4:00 PM

Meet at Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102 

Register to attend via Humanitix | Admission to the Tenderloin Museum included with ticket

Tenderloin Museum is thrilled to partner with Unspeakable Vice, “a volunteer history initiative making queer belonging accessible to everyone,” to offer a monthly walking tour focused on the LGBTQIA+ history in the Tenderloin and Polk Street neighborhoods.

May 16, 2026
2nd Thursdays at Dodge: Sruti Sarathy
May 14
May 14, 2026
2nd Thursdays at Dodge: Sruti Sarathy
May 14, 2026

Thursday May 14, 2026

At Dodge Alley (Turk & Larkin St.)

Free to attend | No registration required

Sruti Sarathy and Gopal Ravindram share an evening of traditional South Indian melodies on the Carnatic violin and the mridangam, spanning traditional raga, improvisation, and original songs. Live music and local businesses animate the Tenderloin’s Dodge Alley every 2nd Thursday of the month, with support from the TLCBD & SFOEWD.

Tenderloin Museum continues the 2025-2026 season of “Sounds of the Tenderloin” programs with another “2nd Thursdays at Dodge Alley in collaboration with the TLCBD. This month, we welcome Sruti Sarathy, a leading Carnatic musician with a soulful, imaginative approach to Indian violin. Born and raised in the Bay Area as a diaspora kid, Sarathy began her training in the South Indian Carnatic music as a prodigious three year old. Her lifelong practice in this classical tradition formed the basis for a decorated career as a performer, composer, researcher, and interpreter. She regularly performs at top Carnatic music gatherings in the Bay Area and across both the United States and India; she is also a prolific collaborator, most frequently as a composer-performer for dance and theater pieces. Now, she splits time between California and Chennai, so we are lucky to have her talents on the streets of the TL!

$15 vouchers for food/drink at nearby businesses first come first serve!

May 14, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
May 9
May 9, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
May 9, 2026

Saturday, May 9, 2026 | 2:00-3:30 PM

Meet at Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

$15: Tour only / $25: Tour + museum admission | Register via Humanitix

There’s no better way to get to know the Tenderloin than by walking its streets! Traverse the neighborhood with our passionate, knowledgeable resident tour guides, visit key sites from the Tenderloin’s history, and connect these notable places to what’s going on in the neighborhood today.

May 9, 2026
Rob Nilsson’s “CHALK” (1996) + Zhan Petrov’s “HOW I SEE” (2025)
May 7
May 7, 2026
Rob Nilsson’s “CHALK” (1996) + Zhan Petrov’s “HOW I SEE” (2025)
May 7, 2026

Film screening & post-show discussion + Zhan Petrov’s HOW I SEE

Thursday, May 7, 2026 | 6:00-9:00 PM

6:00pm DOORS + HOW I SEE (2025, 15 mins) / 6:30pm CHALK (1996, 140 mins)

at Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

Tickets: $10 GA / $6 TLM members | Register via Humanitix

TC (Kelvin Han Yee), a Korean pool prodigy, dominates the local talent, but his brother (Johnnie Reese) sets up a match with ruthless, gambling tournament player Dorian James (Don Bajema) that has dire stakes for their family and local hall. Will TC fold?

Maverick filmmaker Rob Nilsson returns to TLM for a revival screening of CHALK, his 1996 pool-hustling film cast from the Tenderloin Action Group, his long-running acting workshop that mingled TL denizens and local performers. Set in 1990s Richmond, CA at the hardscrabble Crabtree pool hall, CHALK marries high-stakes billiards with family drama of Shakespearean scope. 

A post-show discussion will feature Nilsson, longtime production manager Mira Larkin, Tenderloin Action Group co-founders Rand Crook and Ethan Sing, as well as professional pool player Billy Aguero, aka “Billy the Kid,” who designed the pool matches in the movie.  

Click here for more info.

“It is not just one more ‘Hustler’ clone, but a plunge into the hermetic world these characters have created and inhabit.” — Roger Ebert

May 7, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
May 2
May 2, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
May 2, 2026

Saturday, May 2, 2026 | 2:00-3:30 PM

Meet at Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

$15: Tour only / $25: Tour + museum admission | Register via Humanitix

There’s no better way to get to know the Tenderloin than by walking its streets! Traverse the neighborhood with our passionate, knowledgeable resident tour guides, visit key sites from the Tenderloin’s history, and connect these notable places to what’s going on in the neighborhood today.

May 2, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
Apr 25
April 25, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
April 25, 2026

Saturday, April 25, 2026 | 2:00-3:30 PM

Meet at Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

$15: Tour only / $25: Tour + museum admission | Register via Humanitix

There’s no better way to get to know the Tenderloin than by walking its streets! Traverse the neighborhood with our passionate, knowledgeable resident tour guides, visit key sites from the Tenderloin’s history, and connect these notable places to what’s going on in the neighborhood today. 

April 25, 2026
CANCELLED! "Valley of the Queens" LGBTQIA+ Walking Tour by Unspeakable Vice
Apr 11
April 11, 2026
CANCELLED! "Valley of the Queens" LGBTQIA+ Walking Tour by Unspeakable Vice
April 11, 2026

CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN!

Tenderloin Museum is thrilled to partner with Unspeakable Vice, “a volunteer history initiative making queer belonging accessible to everyone,” to offer a monthly walking tour focused on the LGBTQIA+ history in the Tenderloin and Polk Street neighborhoods.

Saturday, April 11, 2026 | 2:00-4:00 PM

Meet at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

Register to attend via Humanitix | Admission to the Tenderloin Museum included with ticket

Created by downtown San Francisco resident and professor at California College of the Arts Shawn Sprockett, Unspeakable Vice began as a close look at the queer origins of San Francisco, traversing the city’s North Beach and Barbary Coast areas to trace the history through from 1770-1960. This new tour extends Sprockett’s richly detailed and craftily delivered approach to the TL and Polk Street to offer a deep dive into the emergence of LGBTQIA+ icons and movements that shaped the area from the 1960s to the 1990s. 

April 11, 2026
2nd Thursdays at Dodge ft. Poets of the TL
Apr 9
April 9, 2026
2nd Thursdays at Dodge ft. Poets of the TL
April 9, 2026

2nd Thursdays at Dodge ft. Poets of the TL

Thursday April 9, 2026

At Dodge Alley (Turk & Larkin St.)

Tenderloin Museum continues the 2025-2026 season of “Sounds of the Tenderloin” programs with another “2nd Thursdays at Dodge Alley in collaboration with the TLCBD. This month, we present an evening of poetry (and a bit of accompanying jazz!) in honor of National Poetry Month and in celebration of Finding Our Way Home: Mary TallMountain in the Tenderloin at TLM. Over roughly two “sets,” this month’s show will feature readings and performances by:

Kitty Costello - Mary TallMountain’s literary executor, friend, and fellow poet

Kim Shuck - Cherokee Nation poet, weaver, bead work artist, and 7th Poet Laureate of San Francisco

Jesse James Johnson - author of Mine is a Community of Misfits and Outlaws and recipient of the most recent Mary TallMountain Award

Joel Yates - poet, Tenderloin advocate, and Skywatchers/ABD Productions Lead Artist 

Nazelah Jamison -  poet, emcee, vocalist, and recently named the 2026 Janice Mirikitani Poet Theologian in Residence at Glide Memorial Church

Adrian Arias - multi-disciplinary artist, poet, and performer and creator of two recent large scale murals in the TL: River to the Sky and Indigenous Forever

+ 

Charles Curtis Blackwell - poet, playwright, painter, and dean of the TL art scene

Devorah Major - writer, performer, educator, and 3rd Poet Laureate of San Francisco

Perform with two master musicians: Sandra Poindexter (Violin) & Donald Griggs (Trumpet)

Free to attend | No registration required

$15 vouchers for food/drink at nearby businesses first come first serve

April 9, 2026
The Indian American Dream Fundraising Gala
Apr 4
April 4, 2026
The Indian American Dream Fundraising Gala
April 4, 2026

A fundraising gala benefiting the upcoming Indo-American Hotelier History Exhibition at the Tenderloin Museum

Saturday, April 4, 2026 | 6:00—9:30 PM

The Green Room, San Francisco War Memorial, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102

Purchase tickets via Humanitix

April 4, 2026
Finding Our Way Home: Mary TallMountain in the Tenderloin Opening
Apr 2
April 2, 2026
Finding Our Way Home: Mary TallMountain in the Tenderloin Opening
April 2, 2026

Opening reception for Finding Our Way Home: Mary TallMountain in the Tenderloin, an exhibition celebrating the life, work, and words of an essential Tenderloin voice.

Thursday April 2, 2026 | 5-8pm (talk/screening at 6pm)

At the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

A new exhibit at TLM celebrates longtime Tenderloin resident and Native Alaskan (Koyukon Athabaskan) poet Mary TallMountain (1918-1994). Her extraordinary personal journey of recovery, writing, and cultural reclamation is told through key poems, rare photos, and video performances, with special emphasis on her community writing practice in the TL and how her legacy endures and inspires from SF to the Yukon. 

Organized in collaboration with TallMountain’s literary executor, friend, and fellow poet Kitty Costello, this exhibit tells her incredible life story, sharing her biography interpolated with select notable poems and performances, with a particular focus on how Mary made a home for herself in the Tenderloin, how the neighborhood affected her, and how she shaped it in return.

The exhibit reflects a broader renaissance around TallMountain’s life and poetry locally as well as in her homeland of the Alaskan Interior. Opening at the start of National Poetry Month, TLM’s TallMountain exhibit coincides with the launch of Denakkanaaga’s Mary TallMountain Project and seeks to manifest TallMountain’s life and work once again in the heart of the neighborhood that was so much a part of her life, sharing her legacy with old friends and a new generation of readers, writers, and community advocates. 

April 2, 2026
Theaters of the Tenderloin Walking Tour with Linda Day
Mar 28
March 28, 2026
Theaters of the Tenderloin Walking Tour with Linda Day
March 28, 2026

Saturday March 28, 2026 | 2-3:30pm

Meet at TLM | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

$15 | Register via Humanitix

Past and present, the Tenderloin has been home to a multitude of theaters, from movie palaces to grindhouses and cabarets to clubs. Linda Day leads a survey of some of our district’s notable stages and screens, exploring these theaters’ architecture, programming, iconic characters, and evolutions in tandem with the Tenderloin’s history.

March 28, 2026
Mission Local presents: Promises, Parks & the Tenderloin
Mar 19
March 19, 2026
Mission Local presents: Promises, Parks & the Tenderloin
March 19, 2026

Thursday March 19, 2026 | 6-8pm

At the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Free to attend with registration via Eventbrite


Join Mission Local for a community conversation on activating green spaces in the Tenderloin.

On March 19 at the Tenderloin Museum, a team of experts will sit down with Mission Local reporter Eleni Balakrishnan for a conversation on Tenderloin parks and green spaces and how community groups have mobilized to create them.

The speakers will dig into the history of efforts to get parks and public spaces created in the Tenderloin, obstacles to those efforts, and future plans.

The conversation will bring together:

  • Aseel Fara, who was raised in the Tenderloin and now works for the Planning Department

  • Curtis Bradford, a community organizer for the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, who was heavily involved in Tenderloin Community Action Plan to bring investments to the neighborhood

  • Esan Looper, who works with the Tenderloin Community Benefit District and played a critical role in the reopening of Boeddeker Park in 2014.

  • Larry Kwan, head of St. Anthony's that has played a vital role in cultivating green spaces in the Tenderloin.

Artwork will be on display from the youth of the Boys & Girls Club’s Tenderloin Clubhouse in response to the prompt: What do you envision for your community parks and green spaces?

The St. Anthony’s team will table at the event and be present to speak with community members about their role in activating green spaces.

Appetizers will be provided by Cantoo, a local Venezuelan-Chinese fusion restaurant. Come snack, mingle and share ideas with the staff of Mission Local.

March 19, 2026
"Valley of the Queens" LGBTQIA+ Walking Tour by Unspeakable Vice
Mar 14
March 14, 2026
"Valley of the Queens" LGBTQIA+ Walking Tour by Unspeakable Vice
March 14, 2026

Tenderloin Museum is thrilled to partner with Unspeakable Vice, “a volunteer history initiative making queer belonging accessible to everyone,” to offer a monthly walking tour focused on the LGBTQIA+ history in the Tenderloin and Polk Street neighborhoods.

Saturday, March 14, 2026 | 2:00-4:00 PM

Meet at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

Register to attend via Humanitix | Admission to the Tenderloin Museum included with ticket

Created by downtown San Francisco resident and professor at California College of the Arts Shawn Sprockett, Unspeakable Vice began as a close look at the queer origins of San Francisco, traversing the city’s North Beach and Barbary Coast areas to trace the history through from 1770-1960. This new tour extends Sprockett’s richly detailed and craftily delivered approach to the TL and Polk Street to offer a deep dive into the emergence of LGBTQIA+ icons and movements that shaped the area from the 1960s to the 1990s. 

March 14, 2026
2nd Thursdays at Dodge: Cascada de Flores
Mar 12
March 12, 2026
2nd Thursdays at Dodge: Cascada de Flores
March 12, 2026

Thursday March 12, 2026

At Dodge Alley (Turk & Larkin St.)

Free to attend | No registration required


Live music returns to the Tenderloin’s Dodge Alley in 2026! Cascada de Flores share an evening of song and story, drawing on their vast repertoire and curiosity for the multitudes of Mexican music and its cross cultural reverberations. Música from the heart: song, dance, and story for all ages.  $15 vouchers for food/drink at nearby businesses first come first serve!

March 12, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
Mar 7
March 7, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
March 7, 2026

Saturday, March 7, 2026 | 2:00-3:30 PM

Meet at Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

$15: Tour only / $25: Tour + museum admission | Register via Humanitix

There’s no better way to get to know the Tenderloin than by walking its streets! Traverse the neighborhood with our passionate, knowledgeable resident tour guides, visit key sites from the Tenderloin’s history, and connect these notable places to what’s going on in the neighborhood today. 

March 7, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
Feb 28
February 28, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
February 28, 2026

Saturday, February 28, 2026 | 2:00-3:30 PM

Meet at Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

$15: Tour only / $25: Tour + museum admission | Register via Humanitix

There’s no better way to get to know the Tenderloin than by walking its streets! Traverse the neighborhood with our passionate, knowledgeable resident tour guides, visit key sites from the Tenderloin’s history, and connect these notable places to what’s going on in the neighborhood today. 

February 28, 2026
GO TOGETHER - Film 9 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
Feb 26
February 26, 2026
GO TOGETHER - Film 9 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
February 26, 2026

Thursday February 26 , 2026 | 6:30 - 8:30pm

at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Tickets: $10 GA / $6 TLM members | Register via Humanitix

$50 / $35 (TLM members) full series tickets available at this link.

Film #9 in Rob Nilsson’s Tenderloin epic 9 @ Night. The sinking fortunes of an Oakland art cinema mirrors a shaky marriage. Michelle wants to program high minded films while her co-owner husband prefers "vintage porn" promoted by St. Tre, owner of a strip club and escort service. St. Tre's boy friend Ben Malafide, a recent inmate, begins to think life in prison is preferable to the "freedoms" of polite society. Bills pile up, homeless people begin to camp outside the theatre and, oddest of all, the theatre itself begins to speak.

February 26, 2026
PAN - Film 8 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
Feb 24
February 24, 2026
PAN - Film 8 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
February 24, 2026

Tuesday February 24 , 2026 | 6:30 - 8:30pm

at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Tickets: $10 GA / $6 TLM members | Register via Humanitix

$50 / $35 (TLM members) full series tickets available at this link.

Film #8 in director Rob Nilsson’s 9 @ Night film cycle. Bobby is a latch-key kid, a lonely 9 year old boy who plays at home as his single mother works to support them. Pan. an ex-convict tries to father a dysfunctional family of street people in an encampment by the railroad tracks. He tries to teach Bobby about life on the streets but violent consequences await those who challenge society's taboos.

February 24, 2026
Tenderloin Blackness Walking Tour with Del Seymour
Feb 21
February 21, 2026
Tenderloin Blackness Walking Tour with Del Seymour
February 21, 2026

Saturday February 21, 2026 | 2:00 - 3:30pm

Meet at Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

$30 GA / $20 Members | Register to attend via Humanitix

In celebration of Black History Month, TLM teams up with the “Mayor of the Tenderloin” and Tenderloin Blacknesscreator Del Seymour to offer a special walking tour highlighting the contributions and culture of the Black community in the TL past and present.

February 21, 2026
NEED - Film 7 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
Feb 19
February 19, 2026
NEED - Film 7 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
February 19, 2026

Thursday February 19 , 2026 | 6:30 - 8:30pm

at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Tickets: $10 GA / $6 TLM members | Register via Humanitix

$50 / $35 (TLM members) full series tickets available at this link.

Film #7 in director Rob Nilsson’s 9 @ Night film cycle. Petite robs johns in order to support Tyrone, a failing pool hustler. Jane works as a stripper in a Tenderloin club. Lou, Jane's mother and a heroin addict, is a renegade aging prostitute who works the streets in defiance of the pimps. Francesca manages an escort service and does phone sex. In a profession which thrives on fantasy and martyrdom these women struggle to hold onto their reasons for caring for each other.

February 19, 2026
SCHEME C6 - Film 6 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
Feb 17
February 17, 2026
SCHEME C6 - Film 6 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
February 17, 2026

Tuesday February 17 , 2026 | 6:30 - 8:30pm

at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Tickets: $10 GA / $6 TLM members | Register via Humanitix

$50 / $35 (TLM members) full series tickets available at this link.

Film #6 in Rob Nilsson's Tenderloin epic 9 @ NIGHT. A scheme is a dream with street smarts. but doomed to fail. Bid's father is a cop but Bid is an urban outlaw on a motorcycle determined not to need family or society. Yve, his anarchistic girl friend and Grey, his accomplice in stolen auto parts, are part of his scheme to stay one step ahead of the law. Bid invites rebellion but discovers loneliness.

February 17, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
Feb 14
February 14, 2026
Tenderloin Legends: A Historic Walking Tour
February 14, 2026

Saturday, February 14, 2026 | 2:00-3:30 PM

Meet at Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102

$15: Tour only / $25: Tour + museum admission | Register via Humanitix

There’s no better way to get to know the Tenderloin than by walking its streets! Traverse the neighborhood with our passionate, knowledgeable resident tour guides, visit key sites from the Tenderloin’s history, and connect these notable places to what’s going on in the neighborhood today. 

February 14, 2026
STROKE - Film 5 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
Feb 12
February 12, 2026
STROKE - Film 5 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
February 12, 2026

Thursday February 12 , 2026 | 6:30 - 8:30pm

at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Tickets: $10 GA / $6 TLM members | Register via Humanitix

$50 / $35 (TLM members) full series tickets available at this link.

Film #5 in director Rob Nilsson’s Tenderloin epic 9 @ Night. Phil Berkowitz, a 60 year old North Beach poet, survivor of the days of wine and roses, has a stroke. Helpless, he lies in his flea bag Tenderloin hotel room and is found by Johnny, part-time janitor in a seedy strip club run by St. Tre and Malafide, now operating under the name Modisco. Johnny tries to help him regain his speech and plays Cupid, Introducing him to Svetlana, a waitress, and alcoholic. Svetlana feels sorry for Phil, but Phil mistakes kindness for attraction.

February 12, 2026
SINGING  - Film 4 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
Feb 10
February 10, 2026
SINGING - Film 4 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
February 10, 2026

Tuesday February 10, 2026 | 6:30 - 8:30pm

at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Tickets: $10 GA / $6 TLM members | Register via Humanitix

$50 / $35 (TLM members) full series tickets available at this link.

Film #4 in director Rob Nilsson’s Tenderloin epic 9 @ Night. SINGING follows Perry Truman, an accountant from the suburbs, rejects a tryst offered by his live-in girl friend of 20 years. She wants to rekindle their love. He has just quit his job. Wandering the Tenderloin that night he is drawn into a series of dangerous and erotic street encounters. Everyone sings in SINGING, except the real singer. Perry sings the same song twice but with different meanings. At the end he sings like a man who knows he has failed to live passionately.

February 10, 2026
ATTITUDE - Film 3 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
Feb 5
February 5, 2026
ATTITUDE - Film 3 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
February 5, 2026

Thursday February 5, 2026 | 6:30 - 8:30pm

at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Tickets: $10 GA / $6 TLM members | Register via Humanitix

$50 / $35 (TLM members) full series tickets available at this link.

Film #3 in director Rob Nilsson's Tenderloin epic 9 @ NIGHT. ATTITUDE follows Spoddy, an impossible small time auto thief who alienates everyone. Then he is diagnosed with AIDS. Stunned, and in denial, he confronts his girlfriend, sister of two tough partners in crime. She rages at him. Where did he get it? Spoddy rages back. “I spread what I want." The bottom is about to fall out of his life.

February 5, 2026
USED - Film 2 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
Feb 3
February 3, 2026
USED - Film 2 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
February 3, 2026

Tuesday February 3, 2026 | 6:30 - 8:30pm

at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Tickets: $10 GA / $6 TLM members | Register via Humanitix

$50 / $35 (TLM members) full series tickets available at this link.

Film #2 in Rob Nilsson’s Tenderloin epic 9 @ Night. USED follows two pilgrimages to Reno. Malafide and Johnny hop trains to seek inspiration from People T, an ex-con Cherokee healer. But St. Tre takes would-be paramour Kenny by plane to play cards. Out in the Nevada desert one voyage ends in reconciliation... then suicide. The other ends empty-handed back where it started. Everyone has used and been used. A latter day WAITING FOR GODOT. but in constant motion.

February 3, 2026
NOISE - Film 1 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
Jan 29
January 29, 2026
NOISE - Film 1 of Rob Nilsson's "9 @ Night"
January 29, 2026

Thursday January 29, 2026 | 6:30-8:30pm

398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Tickets: $10 GA / $6 TLM members | Register via Humanitix

$50 / $35 (TLM members) full series tickets available at this link.

Film #1 in director Rob Nilsson’s 9 @ Night film cycle. Ben Malafide (Robert Viharo), arrives in San Francisco by ferryboat after 20 years in Federal Prison. He finds a world run by misdirection, euphemism, equivocation, downright lies and which avoids direct answers to any given question. Street raw meets digital glitz and Ben is transported...then thwarted.

January 29, 2026
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