Skip to main content

Grant Avenue in San Francisco and Chinatown's Dragon Gate

By


The Dragon Gate is a structure found along Grant Avenue at the southern boundary of Chinatown approaching Bush Street.  The structure is in the style of a traditional pailou and was dedicated during October 1970. Chinatown is one of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco and traditionally has been centered around Grant Avenue. Grant Avenue previously was known as Dupont Street and Calle de la Fundación.




Part 1; the history of the Dragon Gate

The Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco began to develop at the height of the California Gold Rush around Portsmouth Square along Dupont Street (now Grant Avenue).  Dupont Street was originally known as Calle de la Fundación when San Francisco was part of Alta California.  Dupont Street was designated in 1847 during the Mexican-American War and was named to honor of the Navy Admiral from the USS Portsmouth.  

The majority of Chinese migrants arrived from the Pearl River Delta and Guangdong from the 1850s through to the early 1900s.  The neighborhood is now generally thought to encompass twenty-four square blocks.  Chinatown is roughly bounded by Kearny Street, Broadway, Powell Street and Bush Street.  

Chinatown can be seen below as it was displayed on the 1885 Farwell Map of the neighborhood.  Chinatown is shown to be bounded by California Street, Stockton Street, Broadway and Kearney Street.


Following the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Dupont Street was upgraded and renamed Grant Avenue.  The street was renamed in honor of President Ulysses S. Grant.  

Chinatown can be seen at current neighborhood boundaries on the 1929 Huapei Huang Map of Chinatown. 


Numerous temporary gate structures around Chinatown were erected during the twentieth century. During 1967 the city of San Francisco held a design contest for a permanent gate structure for Chinatown. A groundbreaking ceremony for the Dragon Gate was held during October 1967 but construction did not begin until August 1968. Much of the materials used to construct the Dragon Gate were donated by the Republic of China (alternatively Taiwan). The structure was largely complete by early 1969 but was not dedicated until October 18, 1970. Dragon Gate is in the style of a traditional pailou.



Part 2; a tour on Grant Avenue in Chinatown to the Dragon Gate

Grant Avenue between Bush Street north to Broadway is carried one-way northbound through Chinatown. This photo tour progresses south on Grant Avenue through Chinatown from Broadway to Dragon Gate at Bush Street.












Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more