International Hotel Chronology
The successful rebuilding of the International Hotel was the result of support on the part of numerous individuals and organizations over many years.
1968 October: First eviction order for tenants to vacate International Hotel by January 1, 1969.
1969 March 16: Suspicious fire kills three International Hotel tenants and guts third floor.
1969 Summer/Fall: Student and community volunteers assist tenants to rebuild the International Hotel.
1970 Spring: Community centers and a bookstore are established in the street-level storefronts.
1972 Spring: International Hotel Tenants Association founded.
1973 October 31: Four Seas Investment Corporation buys International Hotel from Milton Meyer and Company and orders tenant eviction in 1974.
1976 July 29: Mayor George Moscone proposes eminent domain that would lead to non-profit ownership of the International Hotel. Tenants and grassroots community mobilize and organize Bay Area campuses, forming an alliance of diverse supporters.
1977 April 27: Sheriff Hongisto serves jail term for failure to enforce eviction order.
1977 May 27: Superior Court Judge Charles Peery rejects Housing Authority’s case for eminent domain.
1977 August: International Hotel tenants forcibly evicted.
1979 Fall: Four Seas completes demolition of International Hotel. Community outcry leads Mayor Dianne Feinstein to establish the International Hotel Block Development Citizens Advisory Committee.
1981: Mayor Dianne Feinstein commits $1.3 million toward development of International Hotel block.
1982: San Francisco Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors approve interim zoning requiring housing on International Hotel block.
1983-1993: Numerous negotiations between International Hotel Citizens Advisory Committee (IHCAC), Four Seas Development Corporation and other developers; every developer withdraws, claiming financial infeasibility.
1984-2004: IHCAC advocacy spurs Mayors Dianne Feinstein, Frank Jordan and Willie Brown to commit additional funds for International Hotel development.
1993: IHCAC partners with St. Mary’s Chinese Schools and Catholic Center to develop site.
1994: HUD awards $8.3 million grant to co-sponsors Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC) and Kearny Street Housing Corporation (incorporated body of IHCAC) to build aordable senior housing.
1997: Manilatown Heritage Foundation tracks down and brings back former International Hotel tenants.
1998: Pan-Magna (successor corporation to Four Seas) sells International Hotel site to the San Francisco Archdiocese of the Catholic Church.
1998-2005: Chinatown Community Development Center develops the new International Hotel: 104 units of affordable senior housing and community space.
2005 August 26: Grand opening of the new International Hotel and International Hotel Manilatown Center. Manilatown Heritage Foundation creates programming to serve tenants and the community, reflecting cultural and historic significance of the site.
