Founded by three black trans women in 2017 as Compton’s Transgender Cultural District, The Transgender District is the first legally recognized transgender district in the world.
Originally named after the first documented uprising of transgender and queer people in United States history, the Compton’s Cafeteria Riots of 1966, the District encompasses 6 blocks in the southeastern Tenderloin and crosses over Market Street to include two blocks of 6th Street.
In 2016, the City of San Francisco renamed portions of Turk and Taylor to commemorate the historic contributions of transgender people, renaming them “Compton’s Cafeteria Way” and “Vikki Mar Lane” respectively.
This urban region of the city’s Tenderloin District has held a documented, ongoing presence of transgender residents since as early as the 1920s- with the Tenderloin known as a “gay ghetto” during the 1930s to the 1960s- prior to the birth of the internationally renowned Castro District in San Francisco. This area is home to the city of San Francisco’s first LGBT bar, and various community spaces, gathering sites, and hotels with cultural significance for the broader transgender and queer community in the Tenderloin.
The Riot Fund
The Transgender District is launching the Riot Fund, a new multi-year emergency fund designed to address urgent funding gaps and build long-term financial stability.
The Riot Fund was created in response to escalating budget cuts, rescinded grants and a wider trend of institutional divestment from trans-led organizations both locally and nationwide. With city resources dwindling and federal attacks on trans people mounting, we are taking action against the administration’s ongoing and hostile attacks by asking our community and allies to stand firmly with trans people.
February 2026 marks 100 years of Black History Month.
This month, we honor our Black trans ancestors who not only imagined possibility, but built the tools, movements, and pathways that shape how we live, resist, and care for one another today. Their courage and vision continue to guide us toward a future rooted in collective liberation.
Black history is America's history.
Black history cannot be erased.
None of us are free, until all of us are free.
August is Transgender History Month statewide!
Visit transgenderhistorymonth.com to learn about the formation of Transgender History Month, from its inception in San Francisco in 2021 to its California statewide declaration in 2023.
Discover iconic figures and moments in our Trans History Timeline, and join us in celebrating this month devoted to our history and legacy!
In the press
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![In San Francisco’s Transgender District, Preservation Is Resistance]()
In San Francisco’s Transgender District, Preservation Is Resistance
Harper’s Bazaar
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![How SF became the heart of the trans rights movement]()
How SF became the heart of the trans rights movement
Axios
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![A diverse group of people standing together in front of flags, smiling for a photo at an event or gathering.]()
Transgender History Month Kicks Off With Flag-Raising Ceremony at SF’s City Hall, Events All Month
SFist
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![Three people talking and laughing in a room with wooden floors, with other people in the background.]()
One "Remedy to Fear" for Trans Folks? Self-Defense Classes
KQED
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![Black and white photo of a store with a large neon sign that reads 'Gene Compton's'. There are people walking outside the entrance, with some entering or exiting the store.]()
Trans landmark added to National Register of Historic Places despite Trump’s anti-trans attacks
LGBTQ Nation
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![Two women sitting at a table with name badges, bottles of water, and pamphlets, at a health-related event or fair.]()
Trans San Franciscans prioritize health care, each other in annual summit
SF Examiner
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![Cover page of San Francisco Bay Times featuring a smiling transgender woman in white standing in front of the California State Capitol building with the headline 'Transgender Leaders Rising']()
Transgender Leaders Rising
SF Bay Times
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![A large trans pride flag with blue, pink, and white stripes hanging off a flagpole above a city street intersection, with cars, pedestrians, and a park in the background.]()
San Francisco Kicks Off Transgender History Month With Annual Flag Raising and Celebration
SF.gov
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![A group of people standing in a wood-paneled room with chandeliers, some wearing masks, posing for a photo. The man in the center wearing a suit holds a certificate, and another man next to him has his arm around him.]()
Transgender District's entrepreneurship program recognized by SF Board of Supervisors
Bay Area Reporter
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![Person with white face paint, colorful makeup, and wearing a large white hat holding a rainbow transgender pride flag at a pride event with a crowd, tents, and palm trees in the background.]()
San Francisco Declares Itself a Transgender Sanctuary City
KQED
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![Portrait of a person with curly, bright orange hair, dark lipstick, and eye makeup, wearing large earrings and a blue patterned shirt, posing with one hand under their chin.]()
Opera Parallele to present Expansive 2024 Transgender Showcase this August
Broadway World
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![Aerial view of a city intersection with a painted message on the ground that reads 'BLACK TRANS LIVES MATTER' in pink, blue, and white letters, surrounded by pedestrians and parked cars.]()
Explore San Francisco's cultural districts
SF Travel
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![Four scuba divers exploring a coral reef underwater]()
Trans-led scuba diving company caters to queer travelers
Gay City News
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