In addition to the gun, Jo also found a letter in Chan’s cab. It was from his brother, delivered to an earlier address before it was forwarded to his current address in the St Paul Hotel.
On a trivia aside, of interest perhaps only to philatelists, the stamp on the above envelope was one of a set of five released in 1978 featuring early windmills from different states. The one on the envelope is the Massachusetts 1793.
Then … Jo goes to the original address on the forwarded letter at 1385 Vallejo (map) - the entrance on the left - but nobody was there. A man who lived in the building told him Chan used to live there with his family but he moved six months ago with “the other woman”, presumably she who had removed the photographs from Chan’s apartment.
… and Now, the shot above was filmed from a top level window of the building across the street from it. This matching photo shows that the posts on either side of 1385’s entrance have since been replaced.
Here’s that building, on the corner of Larkin and Vallejo; the arrow points to where the camera looked down for the street shot. Incidentally, this 3rd floor apartment was also used for filming Jo’s place, seen earlier in the movie. (Makes sense, it was efficient and economical to maximise the utilization of the apartment given the movie’s meager budget).
The next scene , during which Jo tells us he sees the other woman, was filmed on Stockton Street in Chinatown. This photo shows Wayne Wang directing his crew there. The Kum Yuen restaurant behind them was at 1247 Stockton. Wang is talking with crew member Sara Chin while cinematographer Michael Chin takes a lightmeter reading.
Then … Here we see Jo looking towards the other woman. Note the scale on the sidewalk ahead; it’s the same one as in the location photo above at far left.
… and Now, the view ahead looks south down Stockton Street. The tall building in the distance both Then and Now is the 72 unit Mandarin Tower condominiums built in 1970. On the right the New Moon restaurant has replaced Kum Yuen.
Then … When Jo spots the other woman the store across the street, number 1248, places his cab location precisely.
… and Now, This is 1248 Stockton, so Jo is parked alongside the store opposite it, at 1251 Stockton.
Then … The camera cuts to the other woman casually brushing her hair, apparently in front of 1251 Stockton; back then that store was Kenson’s Trading Co. Gourmet Food. The movie’s storyline doesn’t make clear whether the attractive young lady is a political bedfellow of Chan or just a bedfellow. Or both. The uncredited part was played by Nancy Wong, the still photographer for the movie (some of her stills appear in this blog). CitySleuth has recently been in touch with her; she told him she still has the stylish Jeanne Marc jacket that she wore in this scene.
… and Now? 1251 Stockton currently houses the Fu Yuan Food Market. The film’s clues intimate that this is the Other Woman location and indeed, the number and location of the overhead lights match the movie shot. On the other hand the sign inside the store, above, appears to be aisle numbers 11 A and B suggesting that this was filmed at a place larger than this small store…
… and, consistent with this, Nancy Wong recalls that the scene was actually filmed a block further south at the much larger Tian Tian Market at 1117 Stockton. Below is a contemporaneous (1976) photo of that store, at that time called the Lun Wah Market, as it would have looked when the movie was made. Nancy’s recollection is that she was standing in front of the entrance on the left below the awning.
… and Now, this is how that doorway looks today at Tian Tian Market (it has been remodeled and widened since the above photo was taken).
A magazine has published a photo of the flag-waving protest that led to the murder of a Taiwan supporter by Chan’s friend, the old man, a Mainland Chinese supporter.
Then … That sets Jo musing about the unfolding mystery as he sits in his cab across Kearny Street from the Holiday Inn hotel under the bridge at Portsmouth Square (map
… and Now, the hotel has since been refurbished and renamed the Hilton Financial Center. That’s Merchant Street on the right in both images.
Then … He continues his voiceover while pottering around in the kitchen of his apartment. But where was this filmed?
… and Now, CitySleuth tracked Jo’s apartment down - it’s at 2104 Larkin Street in Russian Hill. Here’s that same kitchen now; it’s had cabinet and countertop upgrades, the appliances too, but is still squeezed into the same tiny space.
Then … Here’s how the apartment was found: earlier in the movie there was a brief night-time exterior shot of Jo in the apartment. The juxtaposed detail of siding, window trim and the bay window overhead molding plus a hint from director Wang led CitySleuth to the location.
… and Now, this is the same bay window today. The windows have been replaced but all else is identical 40 years later.
… and Now, director Wang’s recollection to CitySleuth was that the apartment was “either in Lower Nob Hill or Russian Hill”. A search of those neighborhoods revealed it to be the 3rd floor apartment on the corner building at Larkin and Vallejo in Russian Hill, address 2104 Larkin Street (map). The arrow points to the Then and Now window seen above, on the Vallejo side of the building. The corner store was Uncle Sam’s Grocery when the movie was filmed; it’s now a Pilates Studio.
The mood darkens when we learn that while Jo was cleaning out Chan’s cab he found a gun under the front seat. On hearing this, Steve speculates that it was Chan who killed the flag-waving protester with this gun and that the old man was covering up for him. But when asked, the old man tells Jo that Chan wasn’t involved.
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.
