This house trumpets its history in the face of gentrification. Now it's a landmark

Richard Segovia stands in front of his house on 25th and York streets, known as the "Latin Rock House," in San Francisco in April. The home is covered in a large mural honoring dozens of musicians tied to the Mission District's Latin rock scene, which Segovia has helped preserve for decades. Beth LaBerge/KQED hide caption

The house is unmissable. Its colorful exterior, a painted forest of faces.

Latino artists, activists and musicians, suspended mid-motion, grin down at passersby. A spotted jaguar sprawls across the garage door. Around the border of one of its windows, a message is written in all-caps: "It takes the hood to save the hood."

This is the "Latin Rock House," an enduring tribute to the culture and history of the Mission District, one of San Francisco's oldest — and most dramatically gentrified — neighborhoods. Last month, San Francisco lawmakers unanimously declared the Latin Rock House a historic landmark , formally protecting the Spanish-style home from being painted over, altered or destroyed by future owners or developers without the city's permission. The house has been the site of jam sessions and musical creation, community festivals and celebrations and ongoing efforts to engage the city's youth in music. It's also a home, where Richard and Tammy Segovia live.

"Now we can say this piece of the city is ours," said owner Richard Segovia, 72, a fifth-generation San Franciscan who was born and raised in the Mission.

"This is for us," he said. "Our culture. Our music. Our people. It's amazing."

Among San Francisco's more than 300 historic landmarks — including the Golden Gate Bridge and colonial-era Mission Dolores church — there are several residences. Most are traditional in style or notable for the historic events that happened within. The city's most recognizable historic homes may be the row of pastel Victorians known as the Painted Ladies, which were included in the opening credits of the sitcom Full House.

In a neighborhood that has seen decades of redevelopment, skyrocketing home prices and the displacement of thousands of Latino families, this mural-wrapped home is more than a marker of the Mission's cultural vibrancy. It's a stake in the ground, Segovia said. A sign to tourists and transplants of what this neighborhood has long represented.