Archive Watch

Seeing America's Greatest Chinatown: San Francisco (Part I) (1912)

1912 · Ephemeral film · 10 min

Synopsis

Captain Lewis, a licensed Chinatown guide, shows San Francisco's Chinatown in 1912, with flags flying for Sun Yat-sen's new Republic of China: aerial views, street scenes, grocery stores, a church, a parade, the Sing Fat Company and Sing Fat himself, and a temple. What survives of a longer film.

Synopsis, reviewed

Details

Running time
10 minutes
Collection
Prelinger Archives
Internet Archive item
0339_Seeing_Americas_Greatest_Chinatown_San_Francisco_Part_I_16_29_18_00

Reviews on the Internet Archive

★★★★ · Where's Jack? · Spuzz · 2018-01-17

Good overview of Chinatown here, much different than the bizarre "Comedy" reel Captain Lewis has elsewhere on here. The film shows the earlier incarnations of Chinatown. I wonder how much of it is still there. Nice watch.