Chinatown in the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s (Thumbnail images)

I like this picture from the 1939 WPA Guide to San Francisco, and I wanted to see if I could find the same spot, which isn’t hard when you use Google Maps. It’s on Grant Avenue, looking south toward Washington Street.

Sacramento Street in 1948. It amazes me that this urban children’s playground, now named Willie “Woo Woo” Wong Playground has been around since 1927. (San Francisco Public Library Archives)

Grant Avenue, next to Old St. Mary’s: I hope this Chinatown Cinderella got home before her 1956 Dodge turned back into a pumpkin. (San Francisco Public Library Archives)

Waverly place, looking north toward Washington Street in 1965: This image is from the 1965 film ‘Once a Thief’. Amy, from the Sunnyside History Project website, enlightened me about this movie, which also features scenes from Fisherman’s Wharf, the Hyde Street Pier, and SOMA among other San Francisco locations.

Washington Street, west from Grant Avenue in 1973: Anybody who is familiar with San Francisco in the 1970s will remember the terrible thing that happened here in 1977 when gunmen stormed into the Golden Dragon Restaurant and shot five innocent people to death, wounding eleven others. I think I read somewhere that all of the murderers involved in this crime have been released from prison now. (opensfhistory.org)

Old Chinatown Lane, off of Washington Street in 1984. There was a tour guide taking people down this alley when I took my picture yesterday. (San Francisco Public Library Archives)