Queer history is often forgotten if we don’t take the time to commemorate it ourselves. Osento was a women-only bathhouse that existed in San Francisco's Mission District from the early 1980s until its doors closed in 2008 due to a change in zoning codes. Passing the old Victorian on Valencia now you’d never know what a healing place it was for so many if you hadn’t spent time there. This mural serves as an enduring reminder of those healing waters, while recognizing the need for more. Although we know some trans women felt safe at Osento, we also recognize that this was in large part due to their abilities and desires to have gender affirming surgeries. The transgender symbol swirling in the tub signifies a change in tides, and a desire for more inclusive spaces for everyone beyond a binary.

Found Poem from Testimonies of Osento Bathers

Exhaling when I got through the door of the

oasis in the middle of the city.

We learned to love our bodies here.

Older women made it look easy, naked in various forms of relaxation.

I sat on the edge of the warm soak near the wall,

resting a head or grasping a hand,

I soaked in the pool and wept underwater.

This mural is a permanent installation at Sour Cherry Comics in San Francisco.