SAN FRANCISCO SPECTRUM - September 18, 1998
COMMUNITY CENTER MOVES FORWARD
by Tom Mayer
The long awaited plans for the new LGBT Community Center were unveiled on Wednesday, September 16 during the regular monthly meeting of the Community Center Project (CCP) board.
The CCP board met at 7 p.m. in the first floor auditorium of the Community College District's building at 33 Gough Street. The auditorium provided a larger venue than usual for the board meeting, so that more members of the public could attend. Groundbreaking for the center is scheduled for September 1999.
Presentation of the plans will also take place on Wednesday, September 23 at 6 p.m. at 101 Grove Street, Room 300 (third floor auditorium at the Department of Public Health building at Grove and Polk). A final presentation of the plans will be on Saturday, September 26 at 10 a.m. at Horace Mann Middle School, 3351-23rd Street (between Valencia and Mission). The plans will also be on display at the Hormel Center at the Main Library at Grove and Larkin, and at the Harvey Milk/Eureka Valley Branch Library at 3555-16th Street (at Market). Public comment will be welcome at all three public presentations.
Written comments may also be sent to the Community Center Project building committee at 1748 Market Street, Second Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102, or visit the CCP website at www.sfgaycenter.org to send email. Public comment will be taken from September 16 to 29.
The CCP will report back to the community on comments received and changes to be made to the design on Thursday, October 8 at 6 p.m. at 101 Grove Street, Room 300. The revised design of the building will be presented for public comment on Monday, November 2 at 6 p.m., also at 101 Grove Street, Room 300.
Over the past several months, the CCP board has been negotiating with Friends of 1800 Market and the Heritage Foundation to develop a plan to restore the Carmel Fallon Building, the Victorian at 1800 Market, as part of the LGBT Community Center. The Fallon Building will now be restored and integrated into the new community center. The Landmarks Board voted unanimously on June 3 to initiate landmark status for the Fallon Building, and the Planning Commission also voted unanimously for landmark status on July 16. The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on landmark status for the Fallon Building on Monday, September 28. The Fallon Building is featured in the September-October issue of Preservation magazine, published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). The NTHP will present an award for preservation to the CCP, the Friends of 1800 Market, and the Heritage Foundation at the NTHP's annual convention, to be held October 20-25 in Savanah, GA.
The CCP has also been busy gathering input from the community or what it wants in the new center. Surveys were filled out by 800 community members, focus groups were conducted with a wide range of LGBT groups, and the CCP program committee has been meeting for a year to determine which programs will be in the new building. The CCP has also consulted with the LGBT centers in New York, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Sacramento.
The CCP will continue to solicit public comment by holding monthly meetings of the program committee, and by regular community forums on the planned services and programs of the center.
The spaces currently planned for the Center include a ceremonial planned for the Center include a ceremonial space, meeting rooms, office space, an auditorium, gallery, exhibit space, information and referral desk, center store, cafe, educational center, child watch center, youth space, reading room, ticket booth, and kitchen.
Programs proposed for the center include information and referral services, office space for existing community groups, a welcome wagon for newcomers, exhibitions of art and historical subjects, and a safe and sober place to socialize.
The CCP also continues to sponsor a wide variety of fundraising events. The next one will be "Big Kahuna Luau" on Sunday, September 20, at 5 p.m. at Sol y Luna, 475 Sacramento (at Battery). The event will feature food, music, dancing, entertainment, and free admission to Club Bangkok, the dancne party which starts at 9 p.m. at Sol y Luna. This fundraiser is cosponsored by Gay Asian Pacific Alliance, Pacific Friends, Club Bangkok, and Sol y Luna. Tickets are $10, and all proceeds go directly to the CCP.
copyright 1998
