Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
8
East West Bank
743 Washington St.
Map
5 C3.
Te l
421-5215.
@
1, 30, 45.
Open
9am-5pm Mon-Thu, 9am-
6pm Fri, 9am-4pm Sat.
Bank) above the existing
building, incorporating the
original street-level façade
and basement.
q
Chinese
Historical Society
of America
965 Clay St.
Map
5 B3.
Te l
391-1188.
Powell-Clay.
@
1, 30, 45.
Open
noon-5pm Tue-Fri, 11am-4pm Sat.
Closed
public hols.
&
except first
Thu of month.
=
^
∑
chsa.org
Before being turned into a bank
in the 1950s, this building
housed the Chinese Telephone
Exchange. It was built in 1909
on the site where Sam Brannan
printed California's first
newspaper. The three-tiered
tower is like a pagoda, with
upward-curving eaves and a
ceramic tiled roof, and is the
most distinctive work of
architectural chinoiserie
in the neighborhood.
The telephone operators
worked on the main floor and
lived on the second floor. They
were multilingual, speaking
Cantonese and four other
Chinese dialects. One of their
original telephone books can be
seen on display in the Chinese
Historical Society on Clay Street.
Portsmouth Square
Mexico, a party of marines rowed
ashore. They raised the American
flag above the plaza, officially
seizing the port as part of the
United States
(see pp26-7)
. Two
years later, on May 12, 1848, it
was here that Sam Brannan
announced the discovery of
gold in the Sierra Nevada
(see
pp26-7)
. Over the next two
decades, the square became
the hub of an increasingly
dynamic city. In the 1860s
the business district shifted
southeast to flatlands reclaimed
from the bay, and the plaza
declined in civic importance.
Portsmouth Square today is
the social center of Chinatown.
In the morning, people practice
t'ai chi
, and from midday to
evening others gather to play
checkers and cards.
Founded in 1963, this is the
oldest and largest organization
dedicated to the study,
documentation, and
dissemination of Chinese
American history. Exhibits
include the Daniel Ching
collection, the original hand-
written Chinatown telephone
book, a ceremonial dragon
costume, and a “tiger fork.”
This triton was wielded in one
of the battles during the reign
of terror known as the Tong
Wars. Many objects, documents,
and photographs illuminate the
daily life of Chinese immigrants
in San Francisco in the late
19th and early 20th centuries.
The Chinese contribution to
California's development was
extensive. Chinese helped build
the western half of the first
transcontinental railroad and
constructed dikes throughout
the Sacramento River delta.
The CHSA sponsors oral history
projects, an “In Search of Roots”
program, and a monthly
speakers forum.
0
Pacific Heritage
Museum
608 Commercial St.
Map
5 C3.
Te l
399-1124.
@
1, 41.
Open
10am-
4pm Tue-Sat, except public hols.
7
As elegant as the frequently
changing collections of Asian
arts displayed within, this is
actually a synthesis of two
distinct buildings. The US Sub-
Treasury was built here in
1875-7 by William Appleton
Potter, on the site of San
Francisco's original mint.
You can look into the old
coin vaults through a
cutaway section on the
ground floor, or descend in
the elevator for closer
inspection. In 1984 architects
Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill
designed the 17-story
headquarters of the Bank
of Canton (now East West
East West Bank entrance
9
Portsmouth
Square
Map
5 C3.
@
1, 41.
San Francisco's original town
square was laid out in 1839. Also
lesser known as the Portsmouth
Plaza, it was once the social
center for the small village of
Yerba Buena. On July 9, 1846,
less than a month after American
rebels in Sonoma declared
California's independence from
Dragon's head, Chinese Historical
Society of America
