Abstract (Document Summary)
More than 27 years have passed since police in riot gear dragged 55 elderly Filipino and Chinese tenants of the International Hotel out of their beds at 3 a.m. and into the cold morning air. The predawn evictions at the residence hotel, which served as an epicenter for many Filipino World War II veterans, sent tremors throughout the vibrant Filipino community and ultimately caused the demise of San Francisco's "Manilatown."

"I want to dedicate this day in memory of the strong and old manongs who fought for the tenants and supported affordable housing," [Peter Yamamoto] said. "Manilatown was a vibrant, soulful community and is now continuing to grow. But many can't be here today to see it."

"A lot of manongs fought alongside me, and are now gone," said [Emil De Guzman], who is currently president of the Manilatown Heritage Foundation. "But at the same time, I'm gratified by the Manilatown designation."

Full Text (648 words)
Copyright Asian Week Aug 5-Aug 11, 2004
More than 27 years have passed since police in riot gear dragged 55 elderly Filipino and Chinese tenants of the International Hotel out of their beds at 3 a.m. and into the cold morning air. The predawn evictions at the residence hotel, which served as an epicenter for many Filipino World War II veterans, sent tremors throughout the vibrant Filipino community and ultimately caused the demise of San Francisco's "Manilatown."

On July 27, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors resurrected old Manilatown and commemorated the Aug. 4, 1977, evictions by passing a resolution that designates a two-block area of Kearny Street a historical landmark and declares July 27, 2004, to be "Manilatown Day."

For Peter Yamamoto, who was among those evicted that night, this day is bittersweet.

"I want to dedicate this day in memory of the strong and old manongs who fought for the tenants and supported affordable housing," Yamamoto said. "Manilatown was a vibrant, soulful community and is now continuing to grow. But many can't be here today to see it."

Most of the manongs, Filipino male immigrants, who stepped forward in defiance of the evictions have died, and the number of former tenants is dwindling.

What remains of the old Manilatown are the memories of surviving tenants. Emil De Guzman, who was president of the International Hotel Tenants Association at the time of the evictions, said he's still nostalgic for the past.

"A lot of manongs fought alongside me, and are now gone," said De Guzman, who is currently president of the Manilatown Heritage Foundation. "But at the same time, I'm gratified by the Manilatown designation."

"This day is an important part of history, but it doesn't right the wrongs of what happened 27 years ago," said Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who sponsored the resolution.

From 1910 to the 1960s, Manilatown along Kearny Street served as the first Filipino community in San Francisco, but Peskin said there are tens of thousands of people who pass through the area with no knowledge of this history.

"The Filipino community has been marginalized," added Supervisor Chris Daly. "But now, a lot of young people are picking up the banner and trying to right the wrongs of the past so as not to repeat them again."

In the 1940s, Manilatown filled 10 blocks along Kearny Street, and housed more than 20,000 Filipino laborers and many Filipino-owned businesses. But as development began to boom in the 1960s, it bore the brunt of the financial district's encroachment.

Once bustling restaurants, pool halls and barber shops were bulldozed to make way for high rises, leaving behind only the derelict I-Hotel, where old manongs and Chinese immigrants could still have a warm bed and share a sense of community for $50 a month. But not for long.

In 1969, a real estate developer announced plans to tear down the I-Hotel and replace it with a parking lot. From 1968 to 1977, a cadre of its residents became part of the resistance to keep the hotel and fight for the rights of low-income seniors, as well as preserve the Manilatown community. The seniors' actions touched the nerve of the younger Asian Pacific Americans, and galvanized action among different communities in the Bay Area.

"We changed the laws by breaking the laws, and we pushed the envelope," De Guzman said. "And we're going to keep at it until the end of the dying day."

Manilatown banners will be strung up along Kearny Street as part of the establishment of the International Hotel Manilatown Center at the new International Hotel Senior Housing Complex, slated to be finished in April 2005. The 15-story housing complex will provide 104 units of Section 8 housing to low-in-come seniors.

The Manilatown Heritage Foundation is launching a capital campaign fundraiser to raise $1 million to develop, build and operate the new center.

Article copyright Pan Asia Venture Capital Corp.

Photograph (Peter Yamamoto)