Manilatown commemorates Fil-Am History Month
In commemoration of Filipino American History Month, Consul General Neil Ferrer and Madame Miriam Ferrer visited the International Hotel (I-Hotel) Manilatown Center on Kearny Street—the site of the former I-Hotel—for a screening of a restored version of the 1983 documentary film “The Fall of the I-Hotel,” and a tour of the current I-Hotel Manilatown Center on 26 October 2024.
“I commend and thank Executive Director Caroline Cabading and the Manilatown Heritage Foundation for their efforts to preserve and promote Filipino American history, heritage and culture in San Francisco,” Consul General Ferrer said.
The former I-Hotel made headlines as a subject of a nine-year struggle to stop the eviction of hundreds of residents—mostly elderly Filipino bachelor men or manongs— who had lived in the single-room-occupancy (SRO) residential hotel for decades, and as the final bastion of San Francisco’s once-thriving “Manilatown.” The broad coalition that was formed to save the I-Hotel became a linchpin for Asian American solidarity in San Francisco, and a foundation for the housing and tenant’s rights movement in the United States.
Those who are interested in touring the I-Hotel Manilatown Center may reach out to the Manilatown Heritage Foundation by visiting their website, https://www.manilatown.org. (San Francisco PCG, Manilatown Heritage Foundation photos)
