Women's Building

The Women's Building exists because a group of activists were barred from hosting a conference on violence against women at a local university. In 1975, organizers were told the campus would not host them due to pressure from critics, so they set out to find their own space where they could gather without interference. They eventually purchased this 1910 structure in 1979, transforming a former hall once used by German and Norwegian social clubs into a sanctuary for feminist organizing. By owning their building outright, these women created a permanent, independent base for hundreds of grassroots organizations to operate in the heart of the Mission District.