This area is perhaps the last frontier
in SF's ever-expanding gentrification trend, and you
can still stumble on unpolished gems in the form of
incredible cooking, unpredictable bar scenes, independently
owned stores and great live music.
The streets aren't the cleanest, and you will be approached
frequently by strangers, so just stay alert and don't
let it get to you. You have to hunt a little harder
for your treasures in the 'Loin, but in a city increasingly
headed toward high-end everything, it's a small price
to pay.
Tenderloin
The Tenderloin is a historic place full of preserved
hotels from the early 20th century, some of which have
been renovated into boutique tourist hotels and others
into supportive housing. Squalid conditions, homelessness,
crime, drug sales, prostitution, liquor stores (over
60), and strip clubs give the area a seedy reputation.
However, these conditions have also kept rents in this
area more affordable to low-income and working-class
families in a city that is among the priciest in the
country. The Tenderloin has one of the city's highest
concentrations of children.
With some of San Francisco's most prestigious real estate
only a few blocks to the north, and the Financial District's
high towers, a major retail area, and hotels just to
the east, the Tenderloin often surprises tourists to
the city. As with other lower-income neighborhoods such
as the Mission and SOMA districts, many artists and
writers make the Tenderloin their home.
While the streets close to Market Street are among San
Francisco's most undesirable neighborhoods, a gradual
but distinct rise in income levels occurs as one travels
north, ascending to the Nob Hill sector. Relative to
other areas, the Tenderloin is the only largely working-class
neighborhood within the downtown area.
The Dot Com boom in the late 1990s brought a great
deal of redevelopment and resident inhabitation to
the SOMA district in particular, but some revitalization
funds put into the Tenderloin made a prominent impact
— evident today by a much broader section of
new ethnic restaurants and bars, as well as a more
long-term young working class.
