SIGN-ON LETTER
 Support Full Historic Landmark Designation for 111 Taylor Street—Site of the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot

Dear Members of the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission and San Francisco Planning Department,

We, the undersigned community leaders, organizational representatives, and concerned residents, write to urge the City of San Francisco to fully designate 111 Taylor Street as a historic landmark.

In August 1966, 111 Taylor Street became the site of the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, one of the first known uprisings of trans and queer people in United States history. This act of resistance, led primarily by trans women sparked a national movement for LGBTQ+ rights and survival. This site is historic, and it remains a living testament to the ongoing struggles for racial justice, gender liberation, and housing security.

Today, 111 Taylor is operated by GEO Group, a private prison corporation with an extensive record of human rights abuses and labor violations. The presence of GEO at this historic site is not only offensive—it is an erasure of the very legacy the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot represents.

We believe that fully landmarking the entire building—including its interiors, cultural significance, and layered uses over time—is essential to:

  • Preserve and protect the full historical and cultural integrity of the site;

  • Prevent redevelopment or displacement that further harms trans and queer communities;

  • Honor the resistance and legacy of those who stood up to systemic violence in 1966;

  • Create opportunities for community stewardship and healing, grounded in the site’s true history.

We respectfully call on the Historic Preservation Commission and SF Planning Department to take swift action to support full historic designation of 111 Taylor Street in its entirety and to ensure the legacy of the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot is never commodified, erased, or co-opted.

Sincerely,
Signatories of the Comptons Cafeteria Landmark Initiative

Email to endorse: ComptonsxCoalition@gmail.com