The San Francisco Women’s Building

Beautiful Murals in the Mission District and Interesting History!
I visited the Women’s Building to check out the murals on the afternoon of July 28^th, my first day of seven in San Francisco.
The Women’s Building was located on 18^th Street between Valencia and Guerrero Streets, in the Mission District. It is a non-​profit community centre that advocates for social justice and gender equality and offers resources and a safe place to stay for women.
The building was covered with beautiful, colourful and detailed murals of inspiring women throughout history, which were impressive and provided great photo opportunities.
I encourage you to read about the history of the building and the murals, as it is very interesting. There are also walking tours that visit this building and would probably be able to offer more background information about the history as well.
The Women’s Building is definitely a must-​see in the Mission District!

Seems to be a venue for groups to rent out for special events along with various orgs being based there. It is a historic institution for the City’s Progressives. Also an Irish bar used to be here, so the building probably has union roots.
Came here for an event last week on the second floor. Looks like the room could hold about 50 people comfortably. Cool staircase on the way up.

I wanted to rent out their largest room for a inter-​active dinner production for a period of several months. This would have hired local actors from the Mission and others… I was willing to work around their schedule and would also have done some benifit performances for the Womens Buliding… after meeting with their facility coordinator she was to contact me after presentation to the director. To date I have not received a return call as courtesy… I have also emailed the director of buliding but to date has not responded. I would think dealing with this organization in good faith they would also deal on that level…
Very disappointed including my friends in the Mission with the Women’s Buliding management.

Last Wednesday, I rented all of the rooms of the Women’s Building for an all-​day conference. Everything about the building, including not just the physical space but also the people, was simply perfect. In the days following, numerous participants took time to tell me how special the building was, and how it enhanced our event, which was all about women of color in our profession. The staff was exceedingly helpful, and everyone was so friendly and accommodating, including helping with parking in front to unload our equipment, keeping the compost and recycling bins emptied as they filled up repeatedly during the day – just, all sorts of little things that showed that they cared about making our day successful. We’ll definitely be renting this space again for our next conference.

We had our wedding in their auditorium in April 2014. The rental price is amazingly cheap, and includes tables and chairs. The room has some ways to make the lighting soft and romantic. The brick wall makes a nice background, and their is even a balcony to hide in before you come down the aisle, and to toss the bouquet from! We had the caterers set up up their too (it’s big) so that they stayed out of sight. The people who work there are super nice, friendly, and easy to work with. Plus, the money you pay them supports their important services. And, who doesn’t want to say they got married in the prettiest building in SF???

Super awesome venue for various organizations and events!
Community based and really nice folks run this place. Held an event here and the space was nice. Lot of cool literature on upcoming events and women’s initiatives.
There are a few things:
Parking can be a bit tricky.
The floors need to be mopped or waxed
Its a community space so you have to take it for what it is! Its wonderful that this space exists! Kudos!

Um it’s a place for meetings or groups getting together. I went last Saturday for the after dating workshop dating party. We took the creepy elevator up 1 floor into a big room and it was nice. The floors need to be cleaned/​waxed.
The room served it’s purpose and then I got the hell out of their.
The pain job on the inside looks like some hippies painted it or the cast of Sesame Street was on crack.
It is what is it people!

Awesome idea, awesome mural outside, awesome non-​profits that work inside… but it usually smells like cabbage in the stairwell/​elevator.

In a city where art flows on the sidewalks this gorgeous building to me is the heart of the city. Colorful, Beautiful, and impressionable. The building is a breath taker, I recommend you go in and explore this amazing building.
When you live in a city like San Francisco you come to find that people take, take and keep taking, but the people who work & volunteer at the Women’s building, they genuinely give without expecting anything from you.
They offer amazing services like legal advice, free dance classes, a computer lab for your enjoyment, job builders, and much more then what I can remember.
Everything about this place is poetic.
Go in, discover and fall in love with the heart of your city and community.

I’m going to steal someone else’s review as it sums up the women’s building perfectly:
«Magic happens here.
Purely accessible, community-​based & driven, much-​needed magic.
The energy in this building is truly palpable — you can feel something stir in you and it propels you to do good and be better.
The organizations this building houses are all remarkable:
— San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR)
— Riley Center
— Girls on the Run
— GirlVentures
— Global Service Corps
— Immigration Center for Women & Children (ICWC)
— Code Pink
— Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic
— Mission Neighborhood Centers: Head Start Child Development Center
— Mujeres Unidas y Activas
— Parents for Public Schools»
I rented the Audre Lord room and auditorium and both are wonderful. The staff are super friendly and the rates are very affordable even for nonprofits.

NOT community minded. The Feldenkrais clinic is very unprofessional, and I have to assume the reception/​office staff did NOT inform the instructor that OF COURSE i was a woman.
I made an appointment by calling the Women’s Building 6 weeks in advance for a private Feldenkrais session, as a friend had told me there were low cost sessions available. As a student who is always at the computer, and having taken Feldenkrais classes in the past, I thought this would really help.
At 11 AM the day of the appointment, which was or 2:30, Sonja left a message for «Roberto» that she doesn’t see men at the Women’s Building, and i could see her in private practice. WTF??? What made her think I was a man? The Womens Building has been taking appointments for her for YEARS, they would know if I was a man to tell me they couldn’t schedule me. I rearranged my schedule as I live nowhere near the site, and don;t have a car, to get there and she tells me I can’t come in. When I called Sonja’s number AND the Women’s Building back, Sonja was unavailable. She did call me about 1 PM to offer to reschedule. No thanks. The PROPER thing to do would be to have left a message «If you made the appointment and are a male, please know that the clinic is for women only. Please call back to confirm.»

Magic happens here.
Purely accessible, community-​based & driven, much-​needed magic.
The energy in this building is truly palpable — you can feel something stir in you and it propels you to do good and be better.
The organizations this building houses are all remarkable:
— San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR)
— Riley Center
— Girls on the Run
— GirlVentures
— Global Service Corps
— Immigration Center for Women & Children (ICWC)
— Code Pink
— Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic
— Mission Neighborhood Centers: Head Start Child Development Center
— Mujeres Unidas y Activas
— Parents for Public Schools
The majority (all?!) of these orgs offers free services to those in need, and many other resources.
The mural outside — can’t rave enough about it! Look out for their updates where you can donate to the Women’s Building, and have the name of an influential woman in your life inscribed on the mural ribbon — how touching and amazing is that?!
The lower level auditorium — a nonprofit I’ve been involved with forever has held TWO sold-​out fundraiser theatre performances here & they make it oh-​so easy. It’s *crazy* affordable and they are willing to work with you. Just ask.
And don’t be a jerk about the name.
It’s not just a «womens» building. It’s everyone’s building — because all o’ ya’ll came out of a vajayjay & this is where you pay homage to it.
So come on in & volunteer some time.
Get to know your local treasures & community stars a little bit better & I promise you — you’ll feel wonderful about yourself.
Remember: THIS IS WHAT COMMUNITY LOOKS LIKE!

This is a monument to all the women of bay area. It is beautiful outside and in and serves the community of San Francisco to be a better place. Our women’s group has used the building several times, the rates are more than fair and I highly recommend it.

Five stars for the awe-​inspiring 4-​story mural depicting the contributions of women around the world. If you ask at the front desk, they’ll give you a wonderful brochure on the imagery and background of their «MaestraPeace».

Had an event here and I highly recommend it. We rented out the auditorium on a Friday night and everything was wonderful. The staff is organized and on top of their game. The venue is beautiful and it is actually very cheap as far as San Francisco venues go.

I planned an event here just recently and I was surprised to find out what a hidden gem this place is. Located on 18^th street, it is conveniently located near food hotspots like Tartine Bakery and Bi-​Rite Creamery.
I loved the location but also the price of the venue. We rented the auditorium for about $ 60/​hour and another meeting room for just $ 25/​hour. Daisy was helpful to answer my questions, though I wish she was more accessible via phone.
On the day of my event, the woman at the front counter was helpful and timely. She helped us with the chairs and tables and even helped us set up. She was friendly also. Our event was a success and I appreciated the help of the staff there!

Mission District — Mural Stop #3
Such an empowering building, inside and out. I’ve never been inside the building, nor have I used any of their services, but I have read about what they have to offer. Being in such a huge city, they offer spaces for rent for meetings, banquets, and conferences, as well as other non-​profit /​social work things.
The Women’s Building has a beautiful exterior portraying strength of women, and is a must see for murals in the Mission District.

I came here tonight for a special event of my software user group. Our usual venue had a schedule conflict so our group rented space here. Parking is very difficult in this area. You’d need to come early to find a space, public transportation is a better choice.
The building is located across the street from popular restaurant Farina. You cannot miss it, just look for the colorful painted mural walls.
We had fun at this year’s anniversary celebration, it’s a good event space.

Beautiful beautiful beautiful inspiring mural outside of the women’s building here. It represents so many social, racial, cultural, and economic issues that women are faced with and brings them all together to address that we are all struggling, with one cause, one fight.
There are many services here, and including rooms for rent. And please come out here and support many of the groups that use their services!
What a beautiful building to help create and build and maintain a beautiful community within!

I work for a non-​profit social service organization, so, of course, I have heard of the Women’s Building.
Then I found out last week that I no longer had a conference room for free for an event we were hosting this weekend, so I called the Women’s Building to see if they could help me out– they did.
For a very affordable $ 35/​hr, we rented out a nice conference room that worked for our group of about 15– the receptionist even came in early at 8:30 am to accommodate us.
My one and only issue: I mentioned that we wanted to put some paper on the wall, and that I had enough sense to use blue painter’s tape to protect their paint and they made me come down to look at the room only to tell me not to rip off the paint– there was no need, but they didn’t keep me long.
I am all about supporting local non-​profits, and they were a very accommodating helpful conference space rental, and the building is amazing.