California Story Fund
The Rise of the I-Hotel
Manilatown Heritage Foundation
San Francisco
Project Director: Caroline Cabading
On August 4, 1977, more than 50 elderly Asian immigrants, most from the Philippines, were evicted from the 10x10-foot rooms in the International Hotel located on the edge of downtown San Francisco in a two block area known as Manilatown. The evictions were carried out to make way for an office tower, but instead they gave birth to a defiant grassroots movement for affordable housing.
This project collected stories via audiotape and videotape, illustrating the camaraderie and resilience of the I-Hotel community. Among the people individuals interviewed were two activists who were part of the fight against eviction and who continue the fight today for affordable housing.
Project Director Caroline Cabading said, “The struggle of the I-Hotel is a story of triumph and tenacity resulting in the rebuilding of a hotel for senior housing after 27 years of resistance and advocacy.
“It is also an immigration story since most of the elderly tenants in the hotel emigrated from the Philippines and created a community at the hotel. Telling the story of their will and determination helped affirm Filipinos’ presence in the United States and instill a sense of pride in a community whose identify has been affected by U.S. colonialism.”
A video of the stories wase featured at the International Hotel Manilatown Center and broadcast on the educational access channel of the City College of San Francisco.