“Turk and Taylor” (2007 Survey)
(340/12) 108-120 Taylor Street; St. Ann Hotel, Hotel Lennox, Bard Hotel, Notel Winfield, Hotel Warfield (1923). 1907.
(340/11) 76-80 Turk Street; Gaiety Theater, San Francisco Dollhouse. Stores and loft converted to theater. 2B stories; reinforced concrete with stucco facade and cast ornament; pilasters and pointed arches in second level; two-part commercial block composition; Gothic ornamentation; horizontal blade sign. Alterations: storefronts remodeled, decorative griffins and parapet removed. Original owner: H.B. Allen. Architect: Earl B. Bertz. 1922.
(340/10) 66-74 Turk Street; Hotel Taylor, Hotel Thames, Dahlia Hotel. 1907. Rooming house with seventy rooms and eighteen baths. 4B stories; brick structure; buff brick with darker brick trim, galvanized iron cornice; two-part vertical composition; Renaissance/Baroque ornamentation; vestibule: decorative arched entry with terrazzo floor; lobby: stair landing with wood paneling and cornice molding; blade sign. Alterations: one aluminum window, storefronts remodeled. Original owner: Margaret McCormick. Architect: Norman R. Coulter. 1907.
(340/9); Hotel Schwartz 1911, Hotel Tynan, Aranda Hotel. Rooming house with 123 rooms and thirty-eight baths, dining room. 6B stories; reinforced concrete structure; brick facade with imitation stone and cast cement on second level, galvanized iron trim including angled bay windows culminating in bracketed segmental arches and cornice, blue glazed tile base; two-part vertical composition; Renaissance/Baroque ornamentation; lobby: ceiling beam and moldings intact. Alterations: aluminum windows, half ground floor remodeled. Original owner: Jacob Schwartz, owner of North German Hotel. Architects: George Streshly and Company. 1911.
(340/8) 50 Turk Street; Hotel Brayton, Winston Arms. Mid-priced hotel with forty-two two-room and bath suites. 7B stories; brick structure; galvanized iron cornice; three-part vertical composition; Renaissance/Baroque ornamentation; lobby: not accessible. Alterations: aluminum windows, building vacant and boarded up, string course stripped. Original owners: Zellerbach & Levison (individuals associated with Zellerbach Paper Company). Architect: Absalom J. Barnett. 1913.
(340/7) 34-48 Turk Street; Hotel Dale (1910), Dalt Hotel (1984-2007). 1910.
(340/4) 2-16 Turk Street; Glenn Hotel, State Hotel, Oxford Hotel, Hotel Metropolis. 1911.
On the corner of Taylor and Turk is the 21 Club, a bar of local repute and one of the very few old Tenderloin establishments still in business. The Doll House was formerly the Gayety (later the Gaiety) Theater.
Source: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library
Turk near Market, 1944.
Source: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library (Photo: Alan J. Canterbury)
Gayety Theater, 1964.
Source: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library (Photo: Larry Moon)
Turk Street east of Taylor, 1982. The sex industry that was once prevalent in the lower Tenderloin has in recent years largely disappeared. None of the businesses seen in these ’80s-era photos now remain.
Source: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library (Photo: Larry Moon)
Turk Street west of Taylor, 1982.
“Dahlia” (2003)
(340/10) 66-74 Turk Street; Hotel Taylor, Hotel Thames, Dahlia Hotel. 1907.
Much of the Tenderloin’s history is embodied by its blade signs. Inasmuch as they are links to the City’s time line, their removal diminishes our understanding and appreciation of the past. Though time-worn and neglected, the Dahlia’s sign was a nexus to days gone by—now gone forever.
Source: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library
Dahlia Hotel, 1937. Newscopy: “When hotel men tried to get the Dahlia Hotel at 74 Turk Street closed, they said it was a vice resort with ten girls. Mayor Rossi’s secretary said: ‘You run your hotels and we’ll run the rest.’”
Source: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library
Unit Block Turk Street, 1944.
