Public radio station KALW has taken over the top two floors of the new Warfield Commons building at 988 Market as it begins renovating the space. The station will serve as the anchor tenant at the revolutionary new arts and media hub in collaboration with Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST).

As SFist reported in February, CAST purchased the 48,300-square-foot building for $7.3 million with the aim of “bringing the Warfield back to life as a place for collaboration, production, and creative operations,” per CAST’s website.

The new arts and media hub recently had an open house, and KALW officially moved in, inviting the public to catch a glimpse of the station’s new space before renovations begin.

As Broke-Ass Stuart reports, DIY radio station Psyched Radio has settled into its space, and the building has been activated with a variety of arts and cultural events in recent months, including the Unstaged Third Thursday series.

“A lot of us are volunteers, people who are a part of the local scene, who live right over there in the Tenderloin,” Guillermo Goyri, President of Psyched Radio told Broke-Ass Stuart. “We’re excited about the future collaborations we can do in this space, shows, and concerts with KALW and the DIY community.”

According to CAST’s website, KALW’s two floors make up 11,000 square feet for housing the station’s new headquarters, which will include broadcast studios, offices, classrooms, and training spaces.

The station's previous offices were located at Burton High School in Vistacion Valley. They were also awarded a temporary pop-up event space at 220 Montgomery Street in the Financial District through the city's Vacant to Vibrant program, which SFist recently visited.

CAST’s offices will occupy one floor of the building, which will also house meeting and collaboration spaces for artists and nonprofits.

The much anticipated opening of Warfield Commons is a welcome addition to the thriving Market Street Arts scene, which launched a little over a year ago. “This investment by CAST and KALW creates a new center of gravity for our cultural ecosystem, and with independent journalists and creatives activating the space daily,” said Steve Gibson, Executive Director of the Mid-Market Foundation, via Broke-Ass Stuart. “It reinforces what we’ve long known: that arts and culture are not just part of this neighborhood’s history, but the key to its future.”

Check out Warfield Commons during Unstaged Third Thursdays on Mid-Market.

Image: Google Street View

Previously: Office-to-Housing Conversion on Back Burner at Warfield Building, Which Just Sold With New Plans Afoot

As "Out In The Bay" co-host Eric Jansen tells SFist, it began with the question, "Why isn't there an intelligent radio show about gay topics in, of all places, the Bay Area?" That was in 2005, when Jansen and Marilyn Pittman began hosting their show on KALW 91.7 FM. Jansen, coming from KQED's popular "Forum" as a producer, and Pittman, a leading talent coach for NPR stations across the country, have now corralled fascinating guests and led worthwhile discussions for ten years.

Tomorrow night they celebrate that fact in San Francisco at Oasis with a live taping and plenty of guests including SF Gay Men’s Chorus ensemble The Lollipop Guild, and jazz singer Joshua Klipp of the Klipptones. Jansen and Pittman will also be highlighting some of their favorite shows and clips from over the years, having collected a "best of" list you can hear on their website. You'll find interviews with filmmaker and artist John Waters; mother of murdered gay college student Matthew Shepard, Judy Shepard; and director Ang Lee.

But, when asked for an all-time favorite interview, Jansen recalls lesbian political pioneers Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, the first same-sex couple married in California whom he interviewed in 2006. "They invited me into their house," Jansen remembers, "and we talked at their kitchen table for about two hours. It was their love story, they were these party girls, known for starting the first national lesbian political organization, the Daughters of Bilitis, in 1955. At the time, they just wanted to a place where women could dance together without being arrested."

As for the future of the show and of queer radio, Jansen says "It's hard to tell how things will evolve," though he does cite the growing movement for transgender rights as one area of focus. "Marriage might be made legal, but there are still lots of protections that we need, and discrimination hasn't disappeared."

Kate Kendell, who is executive director of SF-based National Center for Lesbian Rights, says of the show,“Our stories need to be heard, and Out in the Bay allows listeners a glimpse into [our] diverse and crucial experiences. I’ve been inspired and moved by Out in the Bay’s work for years, and commend their commitment to bringing LGBT voices to the public in an elegant and accessible manner.”

Alongside stories of struggle, Jansen and Pittman have brought humor and culture to their subjects. "You've got to keep doing the fun stuff," Jansen says. Take another favorite episode, "Liberace! and his Crystal Closet" or "Sylvester," Pittman's portrait of a late great disco diva. In fact, it sounds like it's been fun for everyone. "I like the fact that over these years I've had an excuse to talk to people I otherwise haven't talked to," Jansen said.

Crosscurrents now includes a feature called MUNI Diaries. You can listen to the three entries that are up there now (the 71 Haight is currently over-represented, with the 35 Eureka close behind), or call in to add your own stories at 415.264.7106.

Photo Empty Muni by digiyesica. Creative Commons.