Passed by an installation of work by Cynthia Tom, as part of Art In Storefronts initiative by the San Francisco Arts Commission.
Better photos than mine can be found here.
Amazing use of a vacant shopfront window and menu-board case.
CHILDHOOD MEMORY SHOP
950 GRANT ST.
SF,CA
94133
Dope little shop in Chinatown SF. They’re sitting on a bunch of vintage bits and pieces of stationary and printed materials.
A selection of wares from Chong Imports.
Chong Imports in the basement of the China Trade Center is my kind of Chinatown store; large, dusty, and filled with old stock.
Pictured above is the plastic bag carrier from the China Trade Center (50 cents), an old postcard from Chong Imports (25 cents), and an assortment of deadstock souvenir greeting cards (50 cents).
I love the stylized characters and type from the greeting cards. A lot of the covers are flocked as well. They were produced by the Card Company in 19.
High Dog is my favorite.
Tried to stop in for a snack. Closed Sundays. Bummer.
“Oldest restaurant in Chinatown”
Peep their website for more details.
Sam Wo
813 Washington St.
SF, CA
94108
Popped in-popped out for some Otter Pops at Eastern Bakery on Grant.
Eastern Bakery
Since 1924
720 Grant Street
SF, CA
94108
Spent a bunch of time trawling through SF Chinatown last month. Great energy about, as everyone was preparing for Chinese New Year celebrations. Pretty much went inside every storefront looking for vintage souvenirs and peculiarities. Always good to hear random firecrackers, bang-pops, street hawkers, and ambient noise amongst an odor of gunpowder. I could do without the here-and-there Fart Bombs going off though.
My favorite find of the trip was this place located within the China Trade Center, called Chong Imports.
Found this large publication/business guide about the China Trade Center. As far as I can tell, I guess it was supposed to be this huge building development that would revitalize the area. Nowadays, it houses an art gallery and a jeweller (both which are going out of business), an independent brush calligrapher…and Chong Imports in the basement.
I’m not sure what’s in all the floors above…
China Trade Center
838 Grant Avenue
SF. CA
94108
Quick NY pop in last month, and as per usual, hit up Tings Gift Shop on the corner of Doyer to buy something/anything. The whole family was there when I popped by, receiving a bunch of neighborhood drop-ins wishing them well for Chinese New Year.
Had been eyeing the fading Lion Dance tee in the window my last visit, bought a fresh one this time around.
Top photo taken from Nick Carr’s amazing website Scouting New York, from a post entitled Chinatown’s Bloody Angle - A Trip Down Doyers Street.
Another nice write up on Doyers St. history via Jeremiah Moss’ Vanishing New York blog.
Got this copy of Tales of Chinatown by Sax Rohmer for Christmas and just started reading bits of it before going to bed.
You can find a free copy to read or download online over here.
Whenever i’m in New York I make it a point to go to Ting’s Gift Shop on the corner of Doyers and Pell and buy SOMETHING. It’s my favorite shop in Chinatown in terms of aesthetic and feel; old and dusty, with stock to match.
This time around I bought a set of three vintage boxes of jasmine tea, that were promotional items from a place called
OLD COIN RESTAURANT
994 Second Avenue
b/w 52nd and 53rd St
New York City
PL 8-1251
Did a bit of snooping and found this informational piece about the origins of the (G)Old Coin via Harley Spiller / Inspector Collector / Agent of Chaos website.
FULL ARTICLE : The Ineffable Bruce Ho: Restaurateur
Really great, in-depth piece.
The more I snoop around, Harley Spiller deserves a dedicated shout out. Here’s a link describing his World’s Largest Menu Collection, with special mention of his relationship with Chinatown/Chinese food restaurants.
Most information has the restaurant listed as Gold Coin. So perhaps these tea boxes were a misprint. Somebody blacked out the side information with a marker.
Older posts
Page 1 of 3
