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George Soy's Chinatown Surprise
- George Soy, a Chinese immigrant, found San Francisco's Chinatown unexpectedly outdated and unlike the modern China he knew.
- The iconic pagoda roofs and dragon gates felt more like a movie set than genuine Chinese architecture to him.
Original Chinatown Architecture
- Early Chinatown looked like neighboring Victorian neighborhoods with brick homes and Italianate facades.
- The distinct Chinese architectural style came later, shaped by factors beyond immigrant preferences.
Chinatown as Racial Refuge
- Chinatown functioned as a racialized enclave due to exclusionary laws and violence risk outside it.
- It was both a refuge for Chinese immigrants and a target of heightened discrimination, especially after the 1906 earthquake.