September 21, 2026

KEXP joins effort to create ‘cultural center' at historic San Francisco location

Photo by Alvis E. Hendley, courtesy SF Heritage [enlarge]

At the corner of Haight and Ashbury, the historic Doolan-Larson House is a symbol of ’60s counterculture.

Long a local promoter of the power of music and community, Seattle's own nonprofit public broadcaster KEXP is expanding its influence in the Bay Area.

On Friday, San Francisco Heritage announced that it will be exploring a partnership with KEXP and Blue Bear School of Music to create a new cultural center at the historic Doolan-Larson House and Storefronts on the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets.

The plan is to create a “welcoming third space,” which will include year-round activities, a rooftop venue for live music and community gatherings, radio broadcast facilities, and a full floor of space for individual and group music lessons.

“KEXP is honored to move forward with the next steps to realize our proposal for the adaptive reuse of the Doolan-Larson House and Storefronts,” said Ethan Raup, KEXP CEO, in a Friday news release. “We are deeply inspired by the prospect of establishing a lasting partnership with SF Heritage and Blue Bear School of Music, built on our shared commitment to culture, legacy, and the unique identity of this iconic intersection. We approach this opportunity with profound respect for the stewardship required to preserve and uphold both the tangible structure of the Doolan-Larson buildings, and the living counterculture of Haight-Ashbury.”

SF Heritage said it will now move into the next phase of planning with its chosen partners. The nonprofit preservation organization will finalize the adaptive reuse plan with KEXP and Blue Bear over the coming months, soliciting community input and determining feasibility for construction and project financing.

HAIGHT-ASHBURY HANGOUT

Photo via SF Heritage [enlarge]

Joe Goode Performance Group rehearses for “Time of Change” at the Doolan-Larson House in 2021. San Francisco Heritage is exploring a partnership with KEXP and Blue Bear School of Music to create a new cultural center at the historic building.

The historic Doolan-Larson House was built in 1903 as a private residence for Richard P. Doolan. Located at the roughly northwest corner of Haight and Ashbury streets, the storefront and surrounding corner served as a hangout for 1960s counterculture. Widely recognized as a symbol of San Francisco's role as a center of cultural and political change, the Doolan-Larson House was designated a San Francisco Landmark in 2006, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

San Francisco Heritage has overseen the property since 2017, when longtime resident and owner Norm Larson donated the building to the organization. The donation launched a multi-year public process to identify the best partners to reactivate the site while preserving its historic character.

ADAPTIVE REUSE

Three teams submitted full redevelopment proposals in June, with the San Francisco Heritage board making its final selection in August.

“SF Heritage is the steward of a historic property at the most famous intersection in the world,” said Woody LaBounty, San Francisco Heritage president and CEO. “With KEXP and Blue Bear School of Music, we see an exciting future of preserving the integrity of the Doolan-Larson building, honoring the spirit of the counterculture, and ensuring the Haight Ashbury community thrives both economically and culturally.”

The project team has enlisted two prominent architecture firms as part of the planning effort: Page & Turnbull, a San Francisco preservation firm specializing in adaptive reuse projects, and Gensler, the global architecture and design company founded in San Francisco.

“Working together, KEXP and Blue Bear will build one of the country's most unique, innovative, and highly integrated civic music hubs,” said Steve Savage, Blue Bear School of Music executive director. “By selecting this project, SF Heritage is opening a space for us to create a complete music ecosystem: one that combines broadcasting, performance, discovery, education, and community under one roof.”

“This new art and cultural space presents an opportunity to preserve the legacy of the HaightAshbury neighborhood, while providing artists, musicians, students, and the public a new artistic hub to gather, create, connect and experience music,” said Matthew Goudeau, San Francisco's executive director of Arts and Culture. “This partnership is a powerful example of how we can all work together to preserve the city's iconic cultural heritage and help build San Francisco's creative future.”

KEXP BEYOND SEATTLE

What began as a small student and volunteer-run radio station in 1972, KEXP has grown into a global music platform with one of the world's most influential independent radio stations. It reaches a worldwide audience through its digital platforms, including its website, mobile apps and popular YouTube channel.

Here in Seattle, the station broadcasts at 90.3 FM. From its home at the Seattle Center, the organization hosts live performances and music events, many of them free and open to the public.

Photos from KEXP website

KEXP opened its new home in the Seattle Center's Northwest Rooms in 2016.

Caffe Vita's coffee shop inside the KEXP Gathering Space.

In 2016, KEXP opened its new home in the Seattle Center's Northwest Rooms, designed by SkB Architects as lead architect and WSDG in charge of acoustical and broadcast system design. Sellen Construction was the general contractor.

As part of that new home, KEXP created its Gathering Space, with a cafe, seating, a small stage and a window into the KEXP DJ booth. It functions as a public community hub and live music venue, with art installations and various retail pop-ups.

In March 2024, KEXP began broadcasting in the Bay Area on the 92.7 FM frequency, operating under the call sign KEXC, licensed in Alameda.

On its website, KEXP had this to say about the Doolan-Larson House opportunity: “Ultimately, we believe this project could help us generate greater impact in more communities while simultaneously growing our audience and our donor base, and introducing ourselves and our listeners to more artists — particularly artists from a thriving Bay Area music scene that deserves to be celebrated.”

How to pay for this new venture? The website says answering that question will be a big part of the next phase: “Along with Blue Bear School of Music and SF Heritage, we'll be digging in over the coming months to determine if there is a viable path to raising the funds to complete this project through a dedicated capital campaign. As with the fundraising campaign to build our facility at Seattle Center, this would involve making special appeals to donors who might be interested in applying their philanthropic dollars towards this project specifically, and the project budget for the construction of KEXP Haight Ashbury would be distinct from KEXP's general operating budget.”

The website continues: “Over the years, many ideas and opportunities for growing our service have come our way. Responsible stewardship of this organization and its resources means doing our best to follow through on promising opportunities to whatever point makes sense from a financial and mission-delivery perspective. No risk, no reward as they say. We think we've got something here, and we're excited to see where this opportunity leads.”