The Mary Helen Rogers Senior Community occupies the former site of the Saint Paulus Evangelical Lutheran Church. The original wood-frame church burned to the ground in nineteen ninety-five, leaving only the brick bell tower standing.…
Fillmore Jazz and Redlining
This walk through the Western Addition reveals how the legendary 'Harlem of the West' was impacted by mid-century urban renewal. You'll visit historic jazz clubs, cooperative housing projects, and community hubs that showcase the neighborhood's resilience.
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1. Mary Helen Rogers Senior Community
2. freedom west homes
Freedom West Homes is defined by rows of low-slung, boxy townhouses featuring flat roofs and muted, earthy facades. These homes emerged in the nineteen seventies as a cooperative housing project, born from a period when urban renewal…
3. Ella Hill Hutch Community Center
The Ella Hill Hutch Community Center sits behind a facade of glass and painted steel, tucked into the heart of the Fillmore. It bears the name of a woman who spent decades navigating city hall to secure services for her neighbors when…
4. Fillmore Heritage Center
The Fillmore Heritage Center occupies a corner building clad in textured gray stone, marked by a massive, backlit marquee projecting over the sidewalk. This site replaced the Jimbo’s Bop City jazz club, a legendary venue where musicians…
5. Sheba Jazz Lounge
Sheba Jazz Lounge stands out with its bright, butter-yellow exterior and a mural of Ethiopian musicians painted right on the wall. This building serves Ethiopian food and hosts live jazz, blending the neighborhood's long history as the…
6. Gene Suttle Plaza
Gene Suttle Plaza features a low-slung, tiered concrete fountain and wide, stepped seating areas that anchor the corner of Fillmore and Bush. Gene Suttle operated a popular jazz club nearby, and this space honors his work as a community…
7. The Fillmore
The Fillmore auditorium features a marquee that juts out over Geary Boulevard, displaying the names of bands in individual plastic letters. This building began as the Majestic Hall in nineteen twelve, a dance academy that survived the fire…
8. Boom Boom Room
The Boom Boom Room is a low, unassuming storefront on Fillmore Street marked by a bright blue awning and a neon sign. It functioned as a jazz club for decades, but it gained its real reputation in the nineteen nineties when John Lee Hooker…
9. Hamilton Recreation Center
The Hamilton Recreation Center has a roofline that breaks into a series of jagged, concrete peaks. Inside these walls, a fire leveled the original nineteenth century structure in nineteen oh six. When the city rebuilt it, they shifted from…