International Hotel Manilatown Center

What you need to know

The International Hotel Manilatown Center sits on Kearny Street at the edge of Chinatown, on the site of the original International Hotel. The I-Hotel was a residential hotel for elderly Filipino and Chinese immigrants that became the center of a decade long eviction fight in the 1970s. The tenants lost that fight in 1977 when sheriff’s deputies removed them in the middle of the night. The site sat as an empty lot for over 20 years before the community rebuilt.

What to Expect

The ground floor houses a small museum and community space documenting the history of Manilatown, the neighborhood that was once home to thousands of Filipino Americans in San Francisco. Exhibits cover the I-Hotel eviction, the broader story of Filipino immigration to the West Coast, and the activist movements that grew from the fight to save the building.

This is not a large museum. A visit takes 30 to 45 minutes. But the story it tells is specific to San Francisco in a way that most tourist attractions are not. The eviction of the I-Hotel is one of the defining moments of the city’s tenant rights and Asian American civil rights movements.

Visiting

Address: 868 Kearny Street, Chinatown / Manilatown
Hours: Check website for current hours, typically open during business hours
Cost: Free
Tips: The exhibits are self guided. Staff are sometimes available to answer questions and share personal connections to the history.

Getting There

The building is a short walk from the Chinatown-Rose Pak BART station or the Montgomery BART station. Muni bus lines 8, 30, and 45 all pass nearby. Street parking in Chinatown is extremely limited. Take transit or walk.

Skip this if you want a big polished museum experience. This is a community run cultural center with a powerful story to tell, not a slick institution.

📍 Location: This activity is in Chinatown. Explore the neighborhood →