The SRO Project: A Public Installation of Photography

On the edge of downtown San Diego sits an unremarkable dive bar, The SRO Lounge. It’s dark and has that too familiar bar rot smell. A solitary pool table sits in the back. Most of the time it’s a quiet spot for locals and bar flies. On Friday’s and Saturday nights, after midnight, the place comes alive with women, transgender women, from all around San Diego and even beyond. More than just a safe space for the transgender and crossdressing communities, it’s a welcoming place to drink, mingle and shoot pool with a uniquely intermixed group of women.

In 2019, word got out that the location was to be torn down for redevelopment. In response, I began creating portraits of the patrons because once this location was lost, I knew that it would never be replaced. Today, the SRO Lounge still stands, but the building where it resides has been mostly abandoned and fallen into decay.

I propose to both honor the trans community that is still present at the bar and in the community and liven up this blighted building by pasting my portraits to the boarded up and covered over windows of the closed businesses. The portraits will be printed in full color and then adhered to the outside of the building where they can be viewed from the street.

In order to achieve this, I will be launching a Kickstarter campaign in June of 2026 with the goal of having 21 4 feet by 8 feet prints installed in time for San Diego Pride week in lated July 2026. You can also contribute to the success of this project at the link below. Any amount will help bring this project to life! Thank you, John