1968. The Chinatown Hilton, 750 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA. Architect Clement Chen Jr.

Docomomo US Tour Day 2019 celebrated Diversity in Modernism to highlight the contributions of female and underrepresented architects, landscape architects, designers, and artists to the modern movement. Like many professions, the field of architecture is primarily dominated by white male architects, and their legacies are entered into the canon. San Francisco’s Chinatown is a great place to explore the work of architects and designers of Chinese descent because it is not only the birthplace of San Francisco but also where modern architecture exists if you know where to look. Docomomo US/NoCa takes you on a tour of Chinatown to highlight the contributions of the architects, designers, and artists that have shaped Chinatown in the latter part of the past century.

Architect Clement Chen Jr.

Architect Worley K. Wong

Jade Snow Wong

Jade Snow Wong puts an enameled copper dish into the kiln in which she bakes her pottery, c. 1947 (photo of original by Shawn Miller via the Library of Congress Blogs)

Kearny Street Pedestrian Bridge — Standing on the bridge over Kearny Street provides a good view of several modern buildings, including the China Trade Center (in the background) that housed the Empress of China on the top floor. This bridge, designed by Taiwanese architect Chen Chi-kwan and American landscape architect Robert Royston, is scheduled for demolition in 2025 as part of a renovation of Portsmouth Square. (Photo by Hannah Simonson)

We start in the heart of Chinatown at Portsmouth Square. Standing on the bridge that spans Kearny Street, we can see Portsmouth Square as the center of Yerba Buena, the location of San Francisco’s earliest township that soon became the only place in the city where Chinese could live and own property. Like all things in Chinatown, the existing parking garage and elevated park is the most recent layer of history that tells the story of urban renewal as city planners sought to make all parts of the city accessible to cars by running freeways through existing neighborhoods and turning public squares into parking garages. But looking south from Portsmouth Square, you can see the positive legacy of this layer of history when you look directly at the Chinatown Hilton and Chinese Cultural Center.

ChinaTown Hilton originally Holiday Inn

The Chinatown Hilton towers over Portsmouth Square (image courtesy of Jack McCarthy) — 1970. The Chinatown Hilton, 750 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA. Architect Clement Chen Jr. (Photo by Jack McCarthy)

Arguably one of the finest examples of brutalist architecture in San Francisco, the 27-story building stands 298 feet tall. Floors two, three, and four are suspended from a structural arch, creating a distinctive visual element. The building was originally a Holiday Inn and was designed by Clement Chen Jr., an architect born in Shanghai who became known for his hotel projects and designed hotels for Holiday Inn around the world. The hotel was constructed on the former Hall of Justice site, which was demolished in 1968. The project faced initial challenges, including competition from other proposals for the site’s use. The San Francisco Greater Chinatown Community Service Association Organization (SFGCCSA) lobbied to convert the old Hall of Justice into a Chinese cultural and trade center. After a competitive process, Justice Enterprises won the rights to develop the site. The groundbreaking occurred on August 20, 1968, and the hotel was completed in November 1970. It was dedicated as the Holiday Inn Chinatown on January 13, 1971.

Buddha’s Universal Church

Although modern architecture and design are scattered throughout Chinatown, two additional sites on the tour are best viewed from Portsmouth Square. Before facing the frenetic pace of Grant Street, focus on the Buddha’s Universal Church (720 Washington Street) and the China Trade Center (838 Grant Street). Buddha’s Universal Church was designed by Chinese American architect Worley K. Wong, an Oakland native and U.C. Berkeley alum. The church took over a decade to complete because it was mainly built by members who had to learn some specific trades on-site, such as laying out the Italian-style terrazzo on its front steps. Other notable design elements include a finely crafted steel screen wall at the entry, consisting of overlapping metal circles joined by specially designed connectors; a main auditorium with a Buddha altar raised on a stage-like platform; paneled teak walls framing the altar, representing the sails of the ship; and a roof garden named the Garden of Symbols, featuring a dry landscape garden in the shape of a lotus flower.

China Trade Center and Empress of China Restaurant

To the west of Portsmouth Square is the China Trade Center, a six-story building that towers over the rest of Chinatown. While the China Trade Center was designed by Michael Cabak and Chan and Rader Associates, the most impressive aspect of this building was the Empress of China, the lavishly decorated “View Restaurant” at the top. Although the restaurant closed on December 31st, 2014, the neon sign at the top of the building is still visible from Portsmouth Square, and most of the signage can still be seen from Grant Street. Worley Wong and John Campbell designed the lavish interior space of this restaurant for restauranteurs H.K. Wong and Kee Joon Lee. In its heyday, the Empress of China was the restaurant in Chinatown, and it was frequently mentioned in Herb Caen's articles. The space was reopened in 2021 as “Empress of Boon,” helmed by Michelin-starred Chef Ho Chee Boon. Some original design elements, such as carved panels and a wooden pergola, have been retained to honor the legacy of the original Empress of China.

Empress of China. Postcard. — 1966. Empress of China interiors by Worley Wong and John Campbell.

China Bazaar and Jade Snow Wong

Jade Snow Wong at her potter’s wheel. Passersby could see her throwing pots on the wheel and then go inside and purchase her work. (Image credit unknown)

China Bazaar building (667 Grant Avenue) at the corner of Grant and Sacramento, 1965 (Courtesy of the San Francisco Public Library).

Although China Bazaar (now known as Bargain Bazaar) on the ground floor looks like a typical Chinatown curio shop, for a time during the late 1940s, Jade Snow Wong sat in this shop window at a potter’s wheel and crafted elegant Song Dynasty-inspired ceramic ware. Jade Snow Wong was born in Chinatown in 1922 and was the fifth of nine children. Although she attended Mills College in Oakland and majored in Economics and Sociology, she was inspired during her last semester in college when she took a ceramics class taught by F. Carlton Bell. Song would become a renowned potter and enamelist, and her work has been featured in major museums in the United States, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. In addition to her contributions to art, Song was a published author who chronicled her childhood growing up in Chinatown in the best-selling novel 5th Chinese Daughter.

Ping Yuen Housing

The tour concludes at the Ping Yuen Public Housing Project (795 Pacific Avenue), designed by Architect John Savage Bolles. While most people do not associate Chinatown with public housing or modern architecture, the Ping Yuen housing project is an enormous complex of four buildings in the heart of Chinatown along Pacific Avenue that collectively house over 400 families. The buildings were designed by John Savage Bolles (who also designed Candlestick Park) and are an interesting combination of modern apartment blocks ornamented with flourishes of Chinese-inspired architectural features. The Ping Yuen complex, the original three buildings, was completed in 1951, and the opening ceremony drew a crowd of 5,000 people. Ping Yuen North, a 12-story building designed by Bolles, opened in 1961 and added affordable housing units to the neighborhood.