Ann West | 85

Ann West born and raised in Mississippi and as she moved around the country working in hotels, she got advice that San Francisco was the place to be for people working in the hotel industry. She came here on a Greyhound bus, “lock, stock, and barrel” and at this point has “56 years walking hills”. She ended up working in the San Francisco Hilton for over 30 years and has lived downtown for just as long. She loves our city, its diversity, but also wishes we would get along better and is particularly upset by the anti-Asian violence that has escalated with the pandemic. She also talks about ageism that she has faced and how sometimes restaurants do not want to serve you “because you’re old.”

Interview date: 5/6/21

Interviewed by: Anna Chodos

Referred by: Gloria Garcia