Way back to when I was 15, I learned from Herb Caen that, although it is often referred to as Portsmouth Plaza, a true San Franciscan calls it Portsmouth Square. From an article by Ko Lyn Cheang in last Thursday’s San Francisco Chronicle, I learned that they may be closing the famous park in Chinatown for several years for renovations. Some consider this little spot as the most historic piece of land in San Francisco; In 1846, John B. Montgomery, Captain of the USS Portsmouth, raised the first United States flag in the city of San Francisco at what was then called ‘La plaza’. In 1848, prospector, John Brannan announced the discovery of gold in Sacramento, which started the 49ers on a roll (the original ones). It’s overcrowded and the bathrooms are a fright, but its closer will disrupt the lives of a lot of people in San Francisco. These are a few pictures I’ve posted in the past that were taken at Portsmouth Square. (Thumbnail images)
The original Hall of Justice Building on Kearny Street. spelled Kearney in the old photo, across from Portsmouth Square. The vintage picture was taken after the 1906 Earthquake. The now closed bridge in the modern picture crosses over to the Hilton Hotel, which replaced the rebuilt Hall of Justice in 1968.
The rebuilt Hall of Justice on Kearny Street in 1958 from a Charles Cushman photo: Both pictures were taken from Portsmouth Square. This building appeared regularly in television shows such as ‘Lineup’ and ‘Ironside’, and many crime pictures like ‘Impact’. ‘The Man Who Cheated Himself’ and ‘The Lady from Shanghai’. The old hall was demolished in 1967.
Of course, the best look you get at vintage Portsmouth Square is from the website opensfhistory.org. This 1960 photo and update are looking at the southeast corner of Portsmouth Square.
The southeast corner of the Square in 1937, looking in the opposite direction from the previous pictures: The buildings in the background are the same in both photos.
Orson Welles, on trial for murder in the Hall of Justice Building, escapes and runs across Kearny Street to Portsmouth Square in the 1947 film ‘The Lady from Shanghai’.
Rita Hayworth chases after Orson Welles across Portsmouth Square in ‘The Lady from Shanghai’.
Probably my favorite Chinatown scene from any movie is from the 1949m film ‘Impact’. Here’s the setup; Brian Donlevy is on trial at the old Hall of Justice Building on Kearny for murdering his unfaithful wife’s lover. (He’s innocent) Anna May Wong has information that may save him but will not testify, although she comes to the courthouse out of guilt. Ella Raines, Donlevy’s new squeeze, spots her as she leaves the courthouse and a chase is on. As Anna May’s taxicab turns onto Washington Street from Kearny on the corner of Portsmouth Square jumps into a waiting taxicab to follow her.
They race up Washington past Portsmouth Square to Grant Avenue. This chase scene covers much of Chinatown, including some of its old alleys.
A child looks at the Robert Louis Stevenson Monument at Portsmouth Square in 1939:
“Who’s he, Daddy?’
“He wrote Treasure Island.”
“You mean, about the Fair?”
“No, it’s a story about adventures on a mysterious island with treacherous scoundrels, cutthroats, and pirates.”
“Oh, Alcatraz.”
San Francisco Film Locations Then & Now 
Oh, that last pair of pictures shows something odd. The tree behind and to the left of the Robert Louis Stevenson Monument seems to be similar in both pictures, and is about the same spot, but is a different tree.
The Stevenson statue was actually more in the center of the Square before they did a major remodeling in the late 1960s, Tony, so that is odd.
So, the tree is merely coincidental.
Now that I look at it closer, Tony, it’s possible that the statue and that tree in the old picture were not moved when they paved the majority of the Square in the late 1960s. Could the tree in the modern picture possibly go back to 1939?
No; that is what is so odd about it. They seem to be very similar, but are not. The older tree seems to be Ulmus americana, American elm. The younger tree seems to be Quercus agrifolia, coast live oak. The younger tree is slightly smaller than the older tree, after a very long time. Their similarities are weirdly coincidental. It took me a while to determine why the elm did not look like an oak.