Hugo Hotel Explained

The Hugo Hotel was a building in San Francisco's South of Market district built in 1909, designed by Theo W. Lenzen.^[1] It was located at 200-214 Sixth Street.

Gutted by fire in 1988,^[2] Hugo Hotel was notable for being held vacant by the owner for 26 years, and for being the site of the Defenestration of Furniture art installation created in 1997 by local artist Brian Goggin.^{[3] [4] [5]}

The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency took the owners to court in 2008.^[6] In 2009, the building was acquired by the City and County of San Francisco under a rare claim of eminent domain^[7] for $4.6 million.

It was finally razed in 2015 to make way for affordable housing;^[8] in 2017 the Bill Sorro Community, an apartment house for low-income residents, was completed at the site.^[9]

References

37.7795°N -122.4072°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Architect: 1909 . TimelinesDb. 13 September 2012.
2. Web site: Successful replacement for decrepit but beloved funky-art Howard Street site. 19 December 2017.
3. Web site: New SF building uses wiring, 'shock' tape to deter pigeons. 6 April 2017.
4. News: Furniture gallery in the sky. CNN . 17 March 1997 . 13 September 2012.
5. Web site: Happy ending for blighted Hugo Hotel. 16 October 2010.
6. Web site: Jones. Kevin L.. May 30, 2014. 'Defenestration' Goes Out the Window After 17 Years. 2021-05-04. KQED Inc.. en-us.
7. News: Tom Carter. February 2009. The Hugo: City's first eminent domain case in 25 years. Central City Extra. 13 September 2012. 10 May 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120510033941/http://www.studycenter.org/test/cce/issues/75/ccx.75-Fp6.pdf. dead.
8. Web site: Hugo Hotel Now Partly Defenestrated; Affordable Rentals Rising. 25 March 2015.
9. News: Salmonsen . Mary . 15 January 2018 . Affordable Bill Sorro Community Opens in San Francisco . Multifamily Executive . 23 August 2022.