Dragon Gate San Francisco
Ceremonial pailou archway of stone lions and Taiwan-donated tile marking Chinatown's southern entrance.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Dragon Gate in San Francisco's Chinatown opens on its chaotic 1970 unveiling, when protesters demanding housing tried to drown out a vice president from Taiwan and the city's mayor. It reaches back to 1953, when a local writer's contest-winning essay first proposed an archway here, and traces the decade of stalled funding and a design contest limited to Chinese American architects that finally got it built. Look for the two carved lions flanking the arches, cast in Taiwan and shipped over with the tile and roofing.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Chinese Historical Society of America Museum
Landmark by architect Julia Morgan blending Chinese motifs, now a museum of immigrant history.
Japantown Peace Plaza
Public square anchored by a five-tiered peace pagoda gifted by a sister city, with an eternal flame carried from an ancient shrine.
Spofford Street
Narrow historic alley once lined with gambling dens and a secret revolutionary's hideout above a fraternal hall.
Ross Alley
Century-old alley of hand-folded fortune cookies, once notorious for gambling dens and vice.
Angel Island State Park
Rugged bay island of hiking trails, old military posts, and a haunting former immigration barracks.
Old Saint Mary's Cathedral
Gothic Revival brick cathedral built by Chinese laborers, its clock warning passersby against vice.