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Heart of San Francisco Walking Tour
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Hotel Whitcomb was completed in March of 1912 and while designed to be a hotel, its first use was a temporary location for San Francisco's City Hall, which had been destroyed in the infamous 1906 earthquake and fires that destroyed much of the city. The building served this purpose for four years, and during this period, the city jail operated within the basement. Upon the completion of the new City Hall in 1916, the building fulfilled its original purpose as a hotel.


Hotel Whitcomb today

Hotel Whitcomb today

Hotel Whitcomb entrance today

Hotel Whitcomb entrance today

Program for the first Daughters of Bilitis convention, held at the Hotel Whitcomb in 1960

Program for the first Daughters of Bilitis convention, held at the Hotel Whitcomb in 1960

Hotel Whitcomb lobby

Hotel Whitcomb lobby

San Francisco's former City Hall after the 1906 earthquake

San Francisco's former City Hall after the 1906 earthquake

San Francisco Chronicle article detailing the Hotel Whitcomb's construction and use as a temporary City Hall (December 17, 1910)

San Francisco Chronicle article detailing the Hotel Whitcomb's construction and use as a temporary City Hall (December 17, 1910)

During World War II, the Whitcomb once again shifted to housing governmental offices, this time hosting the Office for Emergency Management. This government agency was responsible for the internment of Japanese Americans throughout World War II, a chapter of American history that serves as a reminder of the discrimination faced by Asian Americans in the 20th century. In 1960, the hotel was the location of the first convention of the pathbreaking lesbian feminist organization Daughters of Bilitis.