For more than 150 years, Cameron House has evolved alongside San Francisco’s Chinatown—meeting the changing needs of each generation while remaining rooted in our mission of empowering people, strengthening families, and building belonging.
This fall, we’re excited to begin our next journey.
This is the Way
Thanks to generous support from the City of San Francisco’s Community Challenge Grant and the Bothin Foundation, Cameron House will transform our Joice Street parking lot into a safer, greener, more accessible, and more versatile community space. In honor of Donaldina Cameron’s trusted assistant-turned-Cameron House leader, this project will be known as “The Tien Fuh Wu Way at Cameron House”—a tribute not only to the alley that commemoratively bears her name, but to her way: a life of compassionate service, courageous leadership, thoughtful innovation, necessary safety and access, and an unwavering commitment to community.
We hope every person who enters Cameron House will, in their own style and pace, walk the Tien Fuh Wu Way.
At the heart of The Tien Fuh Wu Way will be the Community Commons—a flexible outdoor gathering place thoughtfully designed to serve many purposes. It will remain a parking lot on most days, become a food pantry distribution center on others, and transform into a welcoming space for youth programs, neighborhood events, and community celebrations in between.
We’re especially proud that this project reflects thoughtful stewardship. By creatively bringing together public and private funding, we’re able to strengthen our campus without drawing resources away from the programs, services, and people at the heart of Cameron House’s mission. It’s a powerful example of maximizing community investment while ensuring that philanthropic support continues to be directed where it matters most: serving our community.
Temporary Closure, Lasting Impact
Construction is expected to begin Monday, September 28, and continue through approximately November 13, though we’re optimistic the work may be completed even sooner.
The renewed Community Commons will improve accessibility for older adults and visitors with disabilities, enhance safety for our clients, volunteers, and staff, and create new opportunities to bring people together.
Our youth will help cultivate vertical edible gardens, learning about sustainability in one of the country’s most urban environments, while neighbors will be invited to enjoy outdoor movie screenings, digital art exhibits featuring AAPI artists, and other gatherings that celebrate community, culture, and creativity.
A Team Effort
Just as importantly, we’ve been working closely with the organizations and volunteers who already make this space an important part of Chinatown.
Together with our longtime partners at Presbyterian Church in Chinatown (PCC) and the Rotary Club of San Francisco Chinatown and our generous neighbors at the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) Museum, we’ve developed backup plans to ensure there is no interruption to the Thursday food pantry distribution. During construction, the distribution will temporarily relocate to CHSA’s parking lot. Upon completion of construction, the Thursday food pantry distribution will be able to return to business as usual in the newly beautified and accessible Community Commons. PCC’s volunteer project leadership and other community partners continue to help shape the future of this space, and we’re excited to share more as plans are finalized in the coming months.
We want to especially thank our property owner and friends at the Presbytery of San Francisco for their enthusiastic official support of this project very early in the process, without which even applying for the grants would have been impossible.
More Than a Place
This transformation is about much more than improving a parking lot. It’s about making the most of precious space in Chinatown through thoughtful stewardship—creating a place that serves many purposes and many people. It is a place where visitors can park, volunteers can serve, children can learn, artists can share their work, and families can gather and belong.
More details about parking, access, programming, and temporary arrangements will be shared as plans are finalized closer to construction. For now, we’re simply grateful for the funding, the partnership, and the opportunity to bring this gift to Chinatown.
Walk the Tien Fuh Wu Way
For more than 150 years, Cameron House has continually adapted to meet the changing needs of our community. We hope that The Tien Fuh Wu Way becomes more than the name of a place. We hope it becomes an invitation—to lead with humility, serve with compassion, embrace innovation, and build community together. May everyone who walks this path be reminded that lasting change begins with acts of service, and that the strongest communities are built when we walk together.
We look forward to walking the Tien Fuh Wu Way with you at Cameron House this fall.