Polk St. prostitution (San Francisco, Oakland, Sutter: hotel, to buy, construction)

[icepickphil]

I lived in San Francisco in 1979 for a few months working as a musician and living in a SRO hotel at Sutter and Larkin. At that time the area on Polk Street around Sutter was the location of male teenage prostitutes. O'Farrell St. was where you'd find the transsexual hookers, many of whom lived in my SRO hotel.

What are Polk St. and O'Farrell St. like now?

[SunDevil1212]

I've seen prostitutes on a regular basis that hang out by the parking garage on the corner of Sutter and Larkin.

As for Polk and Sutter, I'm in that area a lot and cannot recall ever having seen prostitutes. Sure, there is no shortage of shady characters in that area, but from what it sounds like the corner is much tamer than when you lived there. There are some bars in the area that attract big, younger crowds (Hemlock Tavern, McTeague's, etc...) and it feels more safe at night than deeper in the Tenderloin (i.e. a couple blocks east and a couple blocks south).

It always amazes me the difference a couple blocks can make, in terms of safety (or shall I say the illusion of safety?)

[icepickphil]

Yeah in '79 Polk Street near Sutter (or maybe Bush?) was the area male hustlers worked. I used to play music at a bar named The Palms that was on Polk but is now long gone. It closed down in the 80s. Anyone ever heard of it?

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by icepickphil

I lived in San Francisco in 1979 for a few months working as a musician and living in a SRO hotel at Sutter and Larkin. At that time the area on Polk Street around Sutter was the location of male teenage prostitutes. O'Farrell St. was where you'd find the transsexual hookers, many of whom lived in my SRO hotel.

What are Polk St. and O'Farrell St. like now?

In other words: "where to find teenage male prostitutes nowadays, because you recently moved back to SF or are planning to move back"


LOL

[Isebiel]

In the daytime the area around Polk and Sutter is all art students, business people, and construction workers.

*shrug*

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

In other words: "where to find teenage male prostitutes nowadays, because you recently moved back to SF or are planning to move back"


LOL

So, really looking for "Poke" street.

[0'Farrell]

Lower Polk=Trannies

Upper Polk=females

[Oleg Bach]

Originally Posted by icepickphil

I lived in San Francisco in 1979 for a few months working as a musician and living in a SRO hotel at Sutter and Larkin. At that time the area on Polk Street around Sutter was the location of male teenage prostitutes. O'Farrell St. was where you'd find the transsexual hookers, many of whom lived in my SRO hotel.

What are Polk St. and O'Farrell St. like now?

That's odd..I was playing music during that period..a friend went to that area to buy some pot..I tagged along..it was around 1975..being a rural guy who grew up just north of Toronto...I felt as if I had dropped into another world..It was dark gloomy and sleezy...funny that it stuck in your memory also.. We lived across the bay in Oakland at the time...I had seen some weird things - I had never seen such people...I suppose the area might have changed- but the rot seemed to be deep...it might still be he same.

[mayorhaggar]

It still has that reputation but I dunno how accurate it still is. Usually when people talk about seeing trans prostitutes there it's in the context of "20 years ago, I..."

[icepickphil]

The SRO hotel I lived in back in '79 was called the Hotel Tarreyton and it had many transsexual hooker residents that worked on O'Farrell Street. It's now called the Hotel Sutter Larkin. Here is a current photo. Just curious what that area near Sutter/Bush and Polk Street is like now at 1am.