What is 1920C?

1920C is a coworking, retail, art gallery, and event space located in the heart of Chinatown, San Francisco. 1920C has been open for about 3 months and is located on the second floor of a historic building. 1920C offers hourly, daily, and monthly shared workspace membership, meeting room rentals, and art gallery space for local artists.

1920C aims to bring together a diversity of people and skills to build a collaborative community. 1920C incorporates sustainability, local community and wellness into the space. 1920C bridges the gap for individuals, teams, and artists who can't afford to work or sell art in San Francisco's rent crisis. 1920C has already helped support small businesses, women entrepreneurs, socially driven organizations, freelancers, independents, students, artists, and others. We share our space with Pacific Atrocities Education, a nonprofit organization that brings awareness to wartime atrocities in the Pacific Asia region, helping survivors find closure and reconciliation for their painful memories and increasing dialogue about complex contemporary issues surrounding human rights worldwide.

How Did 1920C Start?

1920C was formed by three local women, Jenny Chan, Molly Bacon, and Paola Rossara, they wanted to bring a new kind of coworking space to San Francisco. The three women had tried out many other spaces but wanted something closer to their homes and not just tech focused. Jenny Chan wanted to start the space in Chinatown because she already had a community there and had so many memories growing up there. When they found the location they learned about how the floor had been vacant for over 8 years and the space was in need of revitalization. The three decided this was a great opportunity to do something with a spot that was struggling to find a tenant, and they thought about all the benefits the space could bring to the local community, as well as providing a safe space for women in a historically male dominated neighborhood.

Instantly upon opening 1920C did grassroots marketing and found that people really did want this kind of community space in Chinatown. They also found that they were impacting local businesses by bringing new levels of economical support by shopping locally in the neighborhood everyday. They even found that tourists were excited about what they were doing, and every day they have met new people that come to view their space and art gallery.

Why We Need Your Support?

Recently, the San Francisco Planning Department has decided that the 1920C coworking space is not a permitted use. We maintain that our operation falls within the permitted uses and fits with the Chinatown Visitor Retail District. We have appealed the notice and requested a Zoning Administrator hearing which is scheduled for July 15th at 3pm. We have received an outpouring of community support and want to continue to serve the Chinatown community. We request the public's support by signing our petition and joining us for the hearing on July 15th, 3PM, at 1650 Mission Street, Suite 400, Room 431(A).