Walking Tour Information: Modernism in San Francisco's Chinatown

We’re reprising our walking tour, “Modernism in San Francisco’s Chinatown,” for San Francisco Design Week! It’s Wed. June 24, 2020 over video conference. Use this page to take the tour at your own pace!

List of stops

Portsmouth Parking Garage, as built and designed by landscape architects Royston, Hanamoto & Mayes, January 8, 1964. Source: San Francisco Public Library.

1.

Portsmouth Square
Area bounded by Clay St., Walter U. Lum Pl., Washington St., and Kearny St.

Originally established as a square in 1833, Portsmouth Square was the center of Yerba Buena, the town that would eventually become San Francisco. The site of numerous historical events, Portsmouth Square was heart of the Chinatown community by the early 20th century. Previously a Beaux-Arts style park, Portsmouth Square was redesigned in 1963 by landscape architects Royston, Hanamoto & Mayes above a new underground parking garage.

2.

Holiday Inn & Chinese Cultural Center
750 Kearny St.

This Brutalist style hotel was originally designed by Chinese American architect Clement Chen for Holiday Inn (now a Hilton hotel). John Carl Warnecke oversaw the construction of the project, which was completed in 1971. Taiwanese architect and artist Chen Chi-kwan finalized the design of the pedestrian bridge that connects to Portsmouth Square. Local activist J. K. Choy successfully lobbied the city to establish the Chinese Cultural Center, which opened in the hotel in 1973.

The Chinese Cultural Center continues to host a variety of in-person and online events and exhibits. Check out their website for details.

Chinese American architect Clement Chen in front of his design for the Holiday Inn, 1971. Source: San Francisco Examiner.

3.

Buddha’s Universal Church
720 Washington St.

Designed by Chinese American architect Worley  K. Wong, Buddha’s Universal Church took over 11 years to build due to the fact that it was constructed primarily by the church’s congregants, and with help from the occasional casual passersby who would pitch in to help with construction during the weekends and after work. During construction a banner hung over the site with the phrase, “A symbol of America’s generosity and freedom of religion.” The interior courtyard landscape was designed by Eckbo, Royston & Williams.

Buddha’s Universal Church invites visitors to tours and lectures on the second and fourth Sunday of each month. Check out their website for up-to-date information.

Buddha’s Universal Church, June 20, 1964. Source: San Francisco Public Library.

4.

China Trade Center / Empress of China
838 Grant Ave.

The China Trade Center was designed by Chan/Rader & Associates (Lun Chan and Morton Rader) with Michael Cabak and opened in 1966. The building is designed in a “Chinese Brutalist” style with elevations facing Portsmouth Square and Grant Avenue. The rooftop restaurant, the Empress of China, was designed by Campbell & Wong (John Campbell and Worley K. Wong) and featured lavish interiors and spectacular views of downtown San Francisco and North Beach.

Postcard illustrating the Empress of China restaurant, circa 1970.

5.

China Bazaar
667 Grant Ave.

The China Bazaar building was constructed circa 1907-8 by architect William Curlett & Son. Ceramicist Jade Snow Wong convinced the owner of China Bazaar to let her set up her studio in one of his storefront windows so shoppers could see her working on a potters wheel and then come in to purchase a piece of her ceramics in the gift shop. A highly regarded ceramist and enamelist who blended traditional methods with Modernist form, Jade Snow Wong also gained international renown for her autobiography, Fifth Chinese Daughter (1945).

Want to learn more about Jade Snow Wong? Check out these three short documentaries produced by the Asian Art Museum. The Asian Art Museum also has fantastic resources for classroom education about Jade Snow Wong.

Jade Snow Wong throwing pottery in the storefront window of China Bazaar. Source: Asian Art Museum, courtesy of Family of Jade Snow Wong.

6.

Li Po Cocktail Lounge
916 Grant Ave.

Li Po Cocktail Lounge opened in 1937, and is named after one of the pen names of a famous Tang Dynasty poet who was known for expounding on the pleasures of drinking. The neon sign is known to have been installed by 1947 as it appears in a scene in the Orson Welles noir film, The Lady of Shanghai (1947). Recently restored, the unique hexagonal lantern form is based on the decorative street lights that were installed along Grant Avenue as part of the 1925 California Diamond Jubilee celebration.

Want to learn more about neon signs? Check out SF Neon.

Li Po Lounge neon sign in background of parade, 1958. Source: David Boyer, National Geographic/Getty Images.

7.

Ping Yuen
655, 711-795, and 895 Pacific Ave.

The Ping Yuen (“tranquil gardens”) complex was a landmark public housing project when it opened in 1951, designed to serve low-income families in the Chinatown neighborhood. Originally designed by Mark Daniels in a Chinese “exotic revival” style, architect John Savage Bolles revised design and executed the project, which features simple, Modernist blocks with limited ornamental flourishes inspired by traditional Chinese architecture. Ping Yuen includes three housing blocks (East, Central, and West) along Pacific Avenue.

Want to learn more about tenant activism at Ping Yuen? Check out this brief 14-minute documentary produced in 2013 by the Health Equity Institute.

Archway in front of Ping Yuen, with the saying by Chinese philosopher Lao Tse, “Peace and Prosperity Prevail Among Virtuous Neighbors,” 1956. Source: San Francisco Public Library.

8.

Ping Yuen North
838 Pacific Ave.

Ping Yuen North was also designed by John Savage Bolles. Completed in 1962, at 12 stories tall, the Modernist style building is taller than the earlier Ping Yuen buildings and has less applied ornamentation. The building has been recently renovated and repainted, but two original concrete relief murals by Bolles remain, as well as concrete monument reminiscent of a Chinese stele. 

Want to learn more about Ping Yuen and San Francisco’s public housing? Check out More Than Shelter: Activism and Community in San Francisco Public Housing by Amy L. Howard.

Ping Yuen North, 1964. Source: San Francisco Public Library.