The Awesomeness- Eths 210: The I-Hotel: Now and Then

In the beginning of my Asian American culture class, we watched a documentary about the struggle low-income Filipino senior citizens faced fighting to save their home, the I-Hotel. After watching the document, I knew that I had to take a trip to see the hotel so during Thanksgiving break I went with my sister to visit the remodeled hotel. When I arrived I found that the I-Hotel was split into two sections, one section was a cultural center displaying photographs and artwork from the I-Hotel protests while the other section was a low-income senior citizen housing facility. Here are some pictures of the new I-Hotel (all pictures are clickable for full resolution pictures):

(Front sign of I-Hotel.)

(Side view of building.)

(View of I-Hotel from across the Kearny street.)

(Fliers outside the window of the Filipino Cultural Center.)

(More fliers outside the Filipino Cultural Center.)

(Window photo on Cultural Center documenting a Filipino senior citizen speaking during a I-Hotel protest.)

(Window photo of protesters in front of old I-Hotel.)

(Window photo depicting life in the old I-Hotel.)

("Positively no Filipinos Allowed" window photo. Simply crazy and absurd that people use to/still think like that. )

(Poster inside the remodeled I-Hotel building.)

I was absolutely in awe at the photos that they displayed in the Filipino cultural center, as well as in the lobby area of the I-Hotel. The photos of the Filipino senior citizens in the old I-Hotel truly showed their positive character and how great the I-Hotel was them for the past. As one can see in the third to last picture above, the Filipino senior citizens were having a good time keeping each other company with music, conversation, dancing, and much more. The I-Hotel allowed all Filipino senior citizens to find camaraderie amongst themselves and to live in place where they could be who they wanted to be. No one judged them because they all understood each other and their own struggles. Although the I-Hotel building and the area completely changed from what it use to be in the past, I found an appreciation how the I-Hotel had tried to retain some of the history of Filipinos in San Francisco with the large posters and photos in the center and in the lobby area of the apartment. However, I was really upset that there was nothing left of the Manilatown that use to be in that area along with the old I-Hotel. It was really sad to go through Chinatown and that area of San Francisco and see that big businesses have truly taken over what we had left of Manilatown. All I saw was a bunch of restaurants and large corporation buildings right behind them. Large corporations always take out people out of the neighborhoods that they are so fond of in order to make profit. Originally the future of the I-Hotel was to make it into a parking lot for people to park in and I am truly glad that people dedicated their time in the past to protest and to protect the senior citizens' rights to live in that building they called their home. Those protesters helped to retain what is left in Manilatown and I have so much appreciation for them. All I can say is "Thanks." Anyways here are some pictures I took from the I-Witness event in Japantown last year showing the protests for the I-Hotel. Enjoy.