Welcome
to the Cadillac Hotel
The Cadillac Hotel was the first non-profit “Single-Residence Occupancy” (SRO) hotel West of the Mississippi.
It provides supportive housing for approximately 160 tenants and is an official San Francisco landmark. Built the year
after the 1906 earthquake, the Cadillac was home to wealthy visitors in the first part of the 20th century. The hotel
even had its own furrier.
It was briefly owned in the 1960s by GAP founder Don Fisher who removed some of its historic detail. In 1977, the Cadillac
was bought by the non-profit Reality House West, led by Leroy and Kathy Looper. Over thirty years later, Leroy and Kathy
Looper are still actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the hotel. For over three decades the Cadillac has
provided affordable housing and support services for thousands of low-income single adults who would otherwise have no place
to go.
The original
Grand Ballroom was leased for many years by Newman’s Gym, a legendary training facility for boxers. Muhammed Ali
and Mayor Willie Brown are said to have worked out there. When its owner, Don Stewart passed away in 1995, the Loopers leased
the space to a federal Head Start program which promotes school readiness and provides health and social services for children
up to three years old. This is in keeping with the Looper's efforts over many years, to maintain the residential
character of the Tenderloin. There is not enough space here to describe the Looper’s life of giving. Leroy
Looper is known as “The Father of the Tenderloin”. He and his wife, Kathy, have dedicated their lives to
letting people who are down on their luck — know that someone cares about them.
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| Kathy and Leroy Looper at The Cadillac's Centennial Celebration, 2007 |
Cadillac
Hotel Celebrates Centennial
On September 19, 2007, the Cadillac Hotel celebrated its 100th
birthday. Among those on-hand to help commemorate the Centennial Celebration were dignitaries Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisors
Aaron Peskin and Tom Ammiano, and Dan Bernal representing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Leroy and Kathy Looper
who bought the Cadillac in 1977 through their non-profit "Reality House West", reflected on the changes to the Cadillac
and the Tenderloin during the last 30 years. Kathy and Leroy's sons Malik, Esan and Camlo
also took part in the Centennial program. Brad Paul, long-time affordable housing advocate and former Cadillac tenant,
presented a slide show on the history of the Cadillac. Many of the current tenants of the Cadillac attended alongside
the dignitaries and other friends of the Cadillac. The Patricia Walkup Memorial Piano was formally
dedicated as well as a new glass sculpture by Mary Lynn Devereux-Bowman which is on permanent display in the lobby.
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| Mural of The Loopers that once hung outside the Page Hotel at 161 Leavenworth. |
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The
Patricia Walkup Memorial Piano
The Patricia Walkup Memorial Piano is at home in the lobby
of the Cadillac Hotel — and is one of the great pianos in the City. A fully-restored 1884 Steinway Model D Concert
Grand Piano, it was donated to the hotel in memory of Patricia Walkup, a San Francisco activist and former volunteer at the
Cadillac. The lustre of the Indian Rosewood case is a work of art. The old-growth spruce soundboard is the piano's
original. The instrument is meticulously maintained on a regular basis. The Cadillac Hotel
is an unlikely place for this magificent instrument. But then that is the whole idea. Music has the power to transform
and uplift people — no matter what their station in life.
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