Abstract
This project nominates Compton’s Cafeteria to the National Register of Historic Places. Compton’s Cafeteria is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A, due to its association with the landmark incident of collective resistance against police oppression that targeted members of the transgender and gender-variant community. Compton’s Cafeteria is nationally significant and retains all necessary aspects of integrity. This project establishes the historic context of the Compton’s Cafeteria riot in 1966 and traces the origins of the conflict through the history of establishing the Tenderloin neighborhood as a transgender district and center for transgender-focused police harassment. The project also emphasizes the importance and benefits of nominating sites associated with LGBTQ history to the National Register. Sources used for this project include works on transgender history and the Tenderloin district in the 20th century, Office of Historic Preservation documents, newspaper articles, historic photographs, oral histories, and ephemera.