Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Signs of the Times
I was walking around in SF Chinatown one day on a photo shoot. I found a couple of interesting old signs on one of the buildings. I thought this one was a bit contradictory:
I think this one looks cooler now than it did when it was new:
But here's the real point of this article. Chinatown's historic Grant Avenue has always had its share of tourist trap, souvenir shops with their oriental knick-knacks and such. These shops coexisted with stores serving the residents such as produce markets and grocery stores. As rents increased, these community stores were forced off of Grant Ave. Most of them relocated one block west to Stockton street. That's where the "real" Chinatown is now. Someday, I'll post more pictures, but for now, here's my last one.
Lost in the gaudy signage of the modern tourist trap (a camera store), you'll need to look hard to find a sign of the old Chinatown (Suey Sing Chamber of Labor & Commerce).
I think this one looks cooler now than it did when it was new:
But here's the real point of this article. Chinatown's historic Grant Avenue has always had its share of tourist trap, souvenir shops with their oriental knick-knacks and such. These shops coexisted with stores serving the residents such as produce markets and grocery stores. As rents increased, these community stores were forced off of Grant Ave. Most of them relocated one block west to Stockton street. That's where the "real" Chinatown is now. Someday, I'll post more pictures, but for now, here's my last one.
Lost in the gaudy signage of the modern tourist trap (a camera store), you'll need to look hard to find a sign of the old Chinatown (Suey Sing Chamber of Labor & Commerce).
# posted by Warren T. : 7:41 AM
