Then … Director Wang presents more montage shots of Chinatown; this one looks west over Portsmouth Square towards several interesting buildings. In the background at left: the Hang Ah Tea Room on Hang Ah alley; side-by-side in the midground: the Bing Tong Kong and The Wong Family Benevolent Associations on Waverly Place and in the foreground: the Ying On Labor and Merchant Association building on Grant Avenue.
… and Now, the above shot was filmed from the 10th floor elevator lobby window of the Holiday Inn (now called the Hilton Financial District) at 750 Kearny Street. Within this frame little has changed over the past 43 years. Citysleuth is grateful to the Hilton Financial District for allowing him access to take the closely matching photo below.
… and Now, the Hang Ah Tea Room at 1 Hang Ah Street (map) has since been re-addressed 1 Pagoda Place - odd, since that alley is street-signed Hang Ah Street at its other end. It has been at this location since 1920, claiming to be the longest surviving Dim Sum restaurant in the nation. Below, the vertical sign which replaced the one seen above points to the entrance a few steps down the alley.
… and Now, here’s how the midground buildings in the ‘Then’ image above look today. The two benevolent association buildings are at 29 and 39 Waverly Place, “The Street Of The Painted Balconies”. On the left is the headquarters of the Bing Tong Kong, one of the powerful tongs of the early 20th century. Next to it is the home of the Wong Family Benevolent Association. Chinatown has over 200 such Associations - they were created to promote and support the interests of various community groups.
It’s worth mentioning the history preceding these two buildings. In the late 1800s these sites, back then addressed 33 and 35 Waverly Place, were occupied by two Chinese temples; on the left in this 1889 photo is the Tin How (or Tianhou) Temple, the oldest Taoist temple in Chinatown, founded in 1852. Next to it is the Gee Tuck Tong Temple, founded in the mid-1880s.
Here they are in April 1906 after the devastation of the earthquake and fire; both buildings were rebuilt by 1911.
… and Now, here’s how the foreground building in the ‘Then’ image at the top of the post looks today. The Ying On Labor and Merchant Association is headquartered here at 745 Grant Avenue; it was created to protect members from unfair and discriminatory business practices, provide them with social gatherings and even organize funerals for those who departed without family in America.
Then … a second montage frame, also filmed from the Holiday Inn, captures mostly a view of high density residential buildings not usually seen from street level but it also captures a retail block of Washington Street at lower left. Two restaurants are visible, Nam Yuen at 740 Washington and Sun Hung Heung Chinese at 744 Washington.
… and Now, in this matching photo we see little change, except for the scattered graffitti high up on some of the buildings.
… and Now, from street level, here are those two restaurants, still there and still in business.
Then … The montage continues with this great telephoto view looking south from Jackson Street along several blocks of Grant Avenue that presents a kaleidoscopic array of concertinaed signs and business and restaurant logos.
… and Now, without the elevated vantage point and a telephoto lens the effect may not be as dramatic but this same stretch of Grant Avenue is as colorful as ever.
… in 1982 … two years later competitors in the 1982 San Francisco marathon pounded along these blocks; this view is from Pacific Avenue, one block further north.
Jo enters the reception area of Mr. Lee’s office - he is the insurance agent who sponsored the Chan family; perhaps he knows where Chan might be. The receptionist asks him to wait; he looks around and sees attached to the walls an interesting collection of traditional Chinese wall altars with paper proverbs and statues of deities.
Then … Mr Lee steps out and introduces himself.
… and Now, here’s that same office today. Note the matching staircase and railing in the corridor outside.
How did Citysleuth find it? He came across an interview with director Wayne Wang where fortuitously he said that the actor who played the role of Mr. Lee (credited in the cast as Roy Chan) was in real life his insurance agent. The 1980 City Directory listed his business and gave his address as 915a Grant Avenue, Room 2.
But finding the office wasn’t straightforward, a visit to 915a Grant drew a blank. Fortunately a helpful office worker there told CitySleuth he should be looking next door because that used to be 915a before its address was changed to 917 Grant. Sure enough a sign inside 917 verified exactly that.
Here’s 915 Grant on the left, the red herring, and 917, flanked by the red brick facia; those stairs led up to Mr. Lee’s office.
… and here’s the office on the second floor at the top of the stairs. It’s now M & L Services, 917 Grant Avenue #1, a tax preparation and family-based immigration office.
Then … It’s another dead end for Jo because It’s been a week or so since Mr. Lee saw Chan Hung and he doesn’t know where he is now.
… and Now, the corner where Mr. Lee’s desk was has since been reconfigured.
When Scorpio drives into the Hutchinson Rock Quarry trying to throw Dirty Harry off the roof of the bus we get a brief glimpse of a cottage, shown arrowed at far right. The cottage has nothing to do with the movie but its story is worth recounting since it is of local historical interest. It was built in 1891 to house the superintendent of the adjacent Remillard Brick Company; today it is the lone surviving quarry complex building.
In this 1937 image the Hutchinson Rock Quarry is in the center (back then the site was part of Greenbrae before it was annexed to Larkspur). The arrows point to the cottage and the towering smokestack and brickyard kiln of the Remillard Brick Company. The kiln and cottage were built in 1891; the quarry followed it in 1924. San Quentin State Prison is in the background; still operational, it has been there since 1854.
What to do with the delapidated cottage became a cause célèbre when the Hutchinson structures were demolished in the mid 1970’s, a few years after Dirty Harry was filmed there. Here it sits alone awaiting news of its fate.
This 1977 article in the Marin Independent Journal reflected a lack of enthusiasm by the local city council for saving the structure. But thanks to the efforts of the town’s Historical Society and Heritage Committee and just as it was about to be burned as an exercise by the local fire department in 1982, the decision was made to save it.
Then … With doors and windows boarded up the cottage was temporarily moved next to the Remillard brick kiln smokestack, very fitting since these are the only surviving structures from the entire Remillard/Hutchinson site. The brick smokestack, whose letters proclaim ‘RB Co 1891’, survived the closing of the kiln in 1915.
… and Now, The redeveloped kiln site integrated the smokestack into an office and restaurant complex at 125 East Sir Francis Drake Blvd. (The restaurant closed in 2000, a victim of a parking issue). But the cottage is gone from here, moved one last time. (Note the same electric pylon at center on the distant skyline).
Then … A new purpose was found for the cottage; in this 1984 photo, below, a tow truck has taken it to its new home at 2900 Larkspur Landing Circle on the corner of Lincoln Village Circle (map).
… and Now, a $100,000 restoration in 1985 transformed the cottage into a nursery, still there today as the Children’s Cottage Cooperative Preschool.
This map shows 1: the original cottage location, 2: the temporary location, 3: the final (current) location.
Then … The San Franciscan Chinese-American community were not confined solely to Chinatown. The urban diaspora included the Richmond district, where Jo has arranged to meet Steve. As he arrives in his cab we can see Gordon’s Sporting Goods at right on the corner at 554 Clement Street.
… and Now, This view looks north along 7th Avenue across Clement Street to the Presidio in the background (map). The corner store at right where Gordon’s was is now the home of a Tinker Preschool. Check out those two power poles; 43 years later they are exactly the same, the furthest even leaning at the same angle.
Then … Steve is waiting in front of 325/327 7th Ave; the front steps of 321/323 are seen on the left. Jo pulls in as Chan Hung’s daughter Jenny (Emily Yamasaki) approaches with a friend.
… and Now, today we see that the entrance to 321/323 7th Ave over on the left has been remodeled.
Then … across the street is the former Lick Super Market at 350 7th Ave, at that time housing Louie’s Delicatessen and Petrini’s Fish, Poultry, Meat and Super Markets.
… and Now, that store is currently occupied by Smart & Final, a warehouse grocery. For reference in comparing the images, that’s the same power pole both Then and Now.
Then … Steve introduces himself, trying to impress them but falling flat with his best Richard Pryor imitation (a popular comedian back then). Jenny tells him that when her parents came to the U.S. her mother quickly assimilated but Chan did not. Her mom chastised him for not being successful like their sponsor, Mr Lee - she thinks her Dad went to see him just a week ago. Now Steve has another lead to follow in his search for Chan. The building stretching out behind them was the Lloyd’s Bank branch at 601 Clement.
… and Now, that building is now the Tat Wong Kung Fu Academy.
