San Francisco Relocation Guide - Antevia

History
The Tenderloin was born in the aftermath of the devastating 1906 Earthquake, when a
large number of hotels were erected to accommodate the displaced victims of the disaster.
By the 20s, the city's wealthier refugees had moved on, and the abandoned hotels were
converted into low-income housing. The Tenderloin became notorious for its
concentration of illegal bars, or "speakeasies" during Prohibition, and has since remained
the core of San Francisco's underworld.
There are a number of stories about how the Tenderloin got its name. One is that it is a
reference to an older neighborhood in New York with the same name and similar
characteristics. Another is a reference to the neighborhood as the "soft underbelly"
(analogous to the cut of meat) of the city, with allusions to vice, graft, and corruption.
There are also some legends about the name, probably folklore, including that the
neighborhood earned its name from the words of a local police captain, who was
overheard saying that when he was assigned to another part of town, he could only afford
to eat chuck steak on the salary he was earning, but after he was transferred to this
neighborhood he was making so much money on the side soliciting bribes that now he
could eat tenderloin instead. Another version of that story says that the officers that
worked in the Tenderloin received a "hazard pay" bonus for working in such a violent
area, and that is how they were able to afford the good cut of meat. Yet another story,
also likely apocryphal, is that the name is a reference to the sexual parts of prostitutes
(i.e., "loins").
Prior to the emergence of the Castro as a major gay village, the Polk Gulch at the western
side of the Tenderloin was one of the city's first gay neighborhoods. Few of the gay bars
and clubs still exist on Polk Street. Parts of Polk Street now cater to the recent
gentrification of the neighborhood - such bars as Vertigo, Hemlock, and Lush Lounge.
However, many failed businesses in the area (such as a women's gym) attest to a
continuing resistance to gentrification.
Both the movie and book The Maltese Falcon were based in San Francisco's Tenderloin.
There is also an alley, in what is now Nob Hill, named for the book's author (Dashiell
Hammett). It lies outside the Tenderloin because the boundary was defined differently
than it is today. Some locations, such as Sam Spade's apartment and John's Grill, also no
longer lie in the Tenderloin because local economics and real estate have changed the
character and labeling of areas over time.
Community
The Tenderloin is an ethnically diverse community, consisting of middle class families,
hip young people living in cheap apartments, and recent immigrants from Southeast Asia
and Latin America. It is also home to a large population of homeless and those living in
extreme poverty. The neighborhood is home to numerous non-profit social service