San Francisco’s Chinatown is the largest Chinatown outside of Asia and the oldest in North America, and today it’s a must-see tourist hotspot known for its dim sum and brightly colored lanterns. Its past, however, is tumultuous, filled with brothels, gang violence and earthquake destruction.
Travel back in time to see how the enduring and culturally rich neighborhood changed and grew between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries.
Portsmouth Square, 1866
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Portsmouth Square, considered the heart of Chinatown by locals, is a one-block park where the discovery of gold in California was first announced in 1848. Sam Brannan, founder of the city’s first newspaper, showed his gold to a crowd and left onlookers itching to make their fortunes.
Kearny Street and Commercial Street, ca. 1880
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Between 1870 and 1880, 70 percent of the women in Chinatown were prostitutes organized largely by the Tong gang.
Joss house, ca. 1900
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Joss houses were Chinese temples that tourists could visit to learn more about Chinese spirituality. Unused to Eastern culture, Mabel Croft, an early visitor, described them as “superb in a garish way but to the last degree unchurchly according to occidental standards.”
Children crossing Stockton Street, 1900
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The same year this photo was taken, Chinatown was quarantined after a resident was found dead of the bubonic plague. A federal court eventually ruled that the quarantine was unconstitutional, but by then the plague had spread. Over the next four years it killed 113 people, primarily inside Chinatown.
Post-earthquake destruction, 1906
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San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake completely destroyed Chinatown. During the rebuild, city officials and real estate developers attempted to move the neighborhood to less desirable locations, including Hunters Point and Daly City, a city south of San Francisco. Their efforts were unsuccessful as those alternate areas didn’t want to bring in the Chinese community.
Clay Street in ruins after the earthquake, 1906
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The earthquake also destroyed the power behind the Tong gang, and allowed merchants and the police to gain the upper hand.
Grant Avenue, ca. 1910
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In 1912, the famous Sam Wo restaurant opened. SF Gate has called it “famous for its no-frills, late-night food and its you-get-what-you-get service.” It closed from 2012 to 2015, then reopened in a different location.
Bystander posing in Chinatown, 1937
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During the Great Depression, more night clubs combining western and eastern culture started popping up in Chinatown. One of those, Forbidden City, nicknamed its performers after famous mainstream celebrities — it was said to have “the Chinese Frank Sinatra” and “the Chinese Fred Astaire.”
Sailors walking along Grant Avenue, ca. 1940
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During World War II, the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard boomed and sailors were seen strolling all around San Francisco.
Looking down Grant Avenue, 1950
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The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, a US federal law that prevented Chinese laborers from immigrating, was repealed in 1943. Chinese immigrants were able to settle in San Francisco once more, and there was a major population boom in the city.
Pagodas and hanging lamps, ca. 1958
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The annual San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival began in the 1950s, and included art shows, street dances, martial arts, music and a fashion show.
Waverly Place, 1960
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Shown above, Waverly Place is known as “The Street of Painted Balconies” and is an important location in the Amy Tan novel “The Joy Luck Club.”
Old St. Mary’s, 1964
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Old St. Mary’s was used as a cathedral in the latter half of the 19th century, but then became a parish church. It is a California Historical Landmark and underwent a major renovation from 2011 to 2012.
