Chinatown as it looked like in 1912. See my other 1150 clips by searching RUclips with 'michael rogge playlists'. Website 'Man and the Unknown' wichm.home.xs4all.nl/
You’ll find people like these if you left your mama’s basement. + generalizing based off a 12 minute video is chronically online behavior. Get back to reality☠️
And to think, the Chinese Exclusion Act was still around then and people were being incredibly racist to such a beautiful culture. It's 2021, and we still see the same type of racism now. Very unfortunate. But very happy to be able to see such lovely footage from that time.
@Bob Ng: The costumes and pigtails of that time were not traditional Han Chinese, but more Manchu style that was enforced on Chinese males since the Qing Dynasty.
It's amazing how much rebuilding was done in just 6 years after the quake and fires! However, after viewing more of the video and reading the posts below, I would have to say that it is, indeed, at least a composite of different times. The cars shown in the first part are definitely from the 1920s.
MY BEAUTIFUL CHINA TOWN. I LOVED SO MUCH WALKING THE STREETS OF CHINA TOWN AND VISTING IT'S STORES . I JUST LOVE EVEY THING ABOUT CHINA TOWN, THE PEOPLE ARE VERY NICE. I MISS MY CHINA TOWN SO MUCH.
The two little Chinese girls at 2:16 are so lovely! That's a western style goodbye kiss not typical for Chinese, they were likely born and educated there.
Hey Michael, rather Mr. Rogge, I guess, I do appreciate your effort in putting up all these valuable footages and films. As an ex-Hongkong expat having spent time there in the mid 80's, I also very much appreciate your endeavor putting up here all the wonderful old Hong Kong scenes. My great kudos!! Time flies and sadly things aren't what it used to be in Hong Kong.
Adding my observations with respect to timing - Panama Exposition was held in 1915. SF was entirely rebuild by that time, earning SF the moniker: the city that knows how. - Tuck Key indeed owned a shop in 1911 - Zubelda was a cigarette brand prominent in 1911-1912 and quickly disappeared afterwards. - I'm not an expert in automobiles, but none of the models seemed totally inconsistent with what would have been available in 1912 (Model T came out in 1908) - The Chinese queue disappeared practically over night with the introduction of the republic (1912). - Sound recording was widely available post 1900. The lack of talkies in movies (until 1931) had to do with equipping theaters with projectors that were reliable and could accurately synchronize the sound. It's entirely possible that documentary sound recording could have been taken long before 1930, though that is unusual. Over all I see no reason to say that most of the film is from c. 1912. (see the RUclips San Francisco -1906 in HD) for a film of SF taken 6 years previously.
Thanks for sharing , I saw my grandparents in this video >_< , as a chinese ( HongKonger ) it seem that I am travel a time machine back to my Grandfather meet my Grandmother ^_^ welcome to HK LKF
may be four Generation chinese know how to speak cantonese in USA SF, but definitely not in HK , MU or Canton province , because of the one language policy in PRC (China) ROC (Taiwan), the hakka , mongolian language , tibet language and the other language may be forbidden and destroyed by mandarin Cathay language) similar than Taiwan don't teach(Min) language in school as well .British PM family for Econ reason still learning simplify Chinese writing scripts create in 1949 , in 2017-2023 the cantonese language speaker will likes Romansch language (speak in south-east part of switzerland and Latin language / classical hebrew language ) almost became dead language >_
@@SimonChengHK Cantonese is well and alive all over! After 普通話，it's the most spoken Chinese language: and 閩南語 is very much alive too, in its different forms.
Parade at 4:00 minutes is turning from Van Ness Avenue, left on to Market Street (east). In Background is Masonic Building still at Van Ness @ Oak St, and Godeau Funeral Home, 41 Van Ness @ Hickory Street (business moved out in 1970's).
I would guess that this is a compilation of clips taken from at least 3 different decades. Maybe we should all just agree that it's "old" and leave it at that. Interesting historical footage, nonetheless. My girlfriend and I went to SF last year and, of course, went to Chinatown. It was interesting to see many Chinese teenagers selling fireworks on the street corners and in front of stores. I enjoyed Chinatown and SF as a whole very much. I'm curious as to what the man is cutting at the end.
As a Chinese person I can definitely tell you right now that, that part of the clip was taken at a Chinese medicine store where they prepare and weigh etc. herbal medicine for people. That guy was probably cutting some ingredients into smaller pieces. The drawers in back hold herbal medicine as well. The drawers and the way he’s weighing the herbs is how it’s traditionally used back when there were kings and queens back in China and till this day, this is still how most traditional Chinese medicines store do it and the drawers too!
@@dddddw9590 Thank you. I was thinking it looked like a Chinese herbal store with the drawers as storage. The magical wonders of herbs is long lost on us in modern day. I took some Chinese herbs once for an affliction I had for years and had never felt such relief. Sadly the store I purchased from is gone and I don't have the name of product line.
The clips that have background sound probably date closer to 1930, Synchronized sound wasn't introduced to film until 1927, and then only big budget movies. It took a few years to phase sound into more mundane films, like travelogues and educational features. The silent clips that have only music overdubs came from earlier years. I wouldn't judge too far back, because the reconstruction after the earthquake looks rather complete.
+J Johnson I agree it's not likely in the 1910s given the number of cars. It won't be too long after 1927 though because the 5-strip China flag shown in the clip was replaced (by the current "Taiwan" flag) shortly after 1927 when KMT were in power.
Notwithstanding the tourist trap now - which it is in spades, you can't even get a decent bowl of won ton - for someone who grew up in and around SF Chinatown in the 50s, this is quite moving emotionally...
That last bit is in a Chinese herbalist shop. It hasn't changed one iota, except in the dress and hairstyle of the workers there.There's on on 10th and Webster in Oakland. I can't promise its efficacy, but it's a very interesting place.
I am certain this is more recent than 1912.....those cars are much more modern than 1912 models, and the City in general looks more advanced than just six years after the earthquake. I would place this at 1920, maybe 1919 at the absolute earliest.
I say a guy still wearing a long pigtale, a typical of the Qing Dynasty and also part of the town still have wooden horse carriages so it maybe around 1912.
Lar M I tried to read the newspaper in the final frames to see if that would give a clue. I could only read one: "Passengers held while doctors vaccinate." To me, also, the city seems much too built up for only six years after the earthquake and fire.
The film is actually a composite of different time periods. Most of the footage was produced by Captain HJ Lewis in 1912 (he's the white guy kissing the Chinese children for whatever reason at 2:20). I agree the cars seen around 2:40 are certainly probably not pre-1920
Nice to see the 5 color flag when China was more inclusive: Red the Han, yellow for the Manchus, blue for the Mongols, white for the Hui Muslims and black for the Tibetans. Those were more hopeful times under Sun Yatsen (or Sun Zhongshan 孙中山 if you prefer). I think Hong Kong protestors show that 1911 revolutionary spirit of Sun Yatsen and we, freedom lovers of the world, are with them.
Chinatown in 2023 is a ghost town. Its a shell of what it once was. Many empty store fronts. Grant street is deserted. Only a few gift shops and ice cream stores, one camera store, and a few jewelry stores. Stockton street is still alive and well with several produce stores and a few small dim sum shops for to go orders. Many older Chinese still come to buy cheap produce and groceries. Many poor Chinese families still lived in those SRO's buildings. I can' imagine a family of four living in a single room but they still do.
1912, one of the most important years in Chinese history. I'm sure the overseas Chinese were excited about the future! You can tell by all the ROC flags waving atop the buildings.
@@abueloraton That's interesting. The five-colour flag lasted until 1928, but the current ROC flag was introduced in 1924, yet I don't see any here. Also, the cars, clothing, etc don't look very mid-'20s to me, more like the '10s at the latest.
@1:44 and 2:37 those automobiles were 1920 Ford models. Also @11:00 people in the Chinese herbal drug store dressed in traditional Chinese costumes and hair style with a pig tail which were before 1911. However, Chinese oversea may took a little longer to adjust the new changes. Therefore 1915 to 1925 time frame is about right.
Thank you for sharing, Mike :) Just by observing the architecture, I can't infer the era. However, as a Southerner (Cantonese) who grew up in Hong Kong, I noticed, in couple of scenes (the grocery store, the temple, the smoking gathering, the farewell and the herbal pharmacy), people were acting very un-natural (the cultural practice, frame speed and lighting). The Cantonese opera scene was the most outrageous! :D
That was my great grandfather's company. His name was Tong Bong. FBI accused him of smuggling opium into USA - bullcrap! But he was too old to fight, so he closed the entire chain of Sing Fat Bazaars in USA and returned to China. Today, CIA is the world's biggest opium grower in Afghanistan, and US government is the world's biggest opium smuggler in the world.
![San Francisco 1906 (New Version) in Color [VFX,60fps, Remastered] w/sound design added](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sHkc83XA2dY/mqdefault.jpg)
Everyone is dressed so nicely and acting politely with perfect manners. Man I wish people were still like this today
You’ll find people like these if you left your mama’s basement. + generalizing based off a 12 minute video is chronically online behavior. Get back to reality☠️
You can't be more wrong. But ok
Chinese women were still openly sold at auction at this time in San Francisco.
And to think, the Chinese Exclusion Act was still around then and people were being incredibly racist to such a beautiful culture. It's 2021, and we still see the same type of racism now. Very unfortunate. But very happy to be able to see such lovely footage from that time.
A political response, unnecessary but provided anyways by someone who sees little else in history.
@@rickariki547He sees more from the clip than you prefer that's all.
@Bob Ng: The costumes and pigtails of that time were not traditional Han Chinese, but more Manchu style that was enforced on Chinese males since the Qing Dynasty.
It's amazing how much rebuilding was done in just 6 years after the quake and fires!
However, after viewing more of the video and reading the posts below, I would have to say that it is, indeed, at least a composite of different times. The cars shown in the first part are definitely from the 1920s.
MY BEAUTIFUL CHINA TOWN. I LOVED SO MUCH WALKING THE STREETS OF CHINA TOWN AND VISTING IT'S STORES . I JUST LOVE EVEY THING ABOUT CHINA TOWN, THE PEOPLE ARE VERY NICE. I MISS MY CHINA TOWN SO MUCH.
look at all those parking spots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It may be more modern than 1912, but it is still fascinating and I'm showing my class ahead of a field trip. Thank you for posting!
The two little Chinese girls at 2:16 are so lovely! That's a western style goodbye kiss not typical for Chinese, they were likely born and educated there.
Thank you again Michael
Thank you what a precious video!
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks! This is precious .
Thanks for sharing!
Qing Dynasty, which ended in 1912, was not the multi-striped flag. The Chinese flags flying indicates this to be 1920 at earliest.
What a beautiful video.
When San Francisco had a sky line. I've been reminiscing in Remembering Old San Francisco on Facebook page and Fong Fongs on Grant St.
KUO WAH ON GRANT AVE SF., home to celebrities
Thank you.
Amazing footage. The old Chinese herbalist scene is still on going in today's Chinatown.
I don't care about the time period. The look into the culture at that period in San Francisco history is fascinating. Thanks Michael.
Loved it!!! Thank you.
Hi there! Greetings from Australia 🇦🇺
Hey Michael, rather Mr. Rogge, I guess, I do appreciate your effort in putting up all these valuable footages and films. As an ex-Hongkong expat having spent time there in the mid 80's, I also very much appreciate your endeavor putting up here all the wonderful old Hong Kong scenes. My great kudos!! Time flies and sadly things aren't what it used to be in Hong Kong.
Indeed we share fond memories!
Adding my observations with respect to timing
- Panama Exposition was held in 1915. SF was entirely rebuild by that time, earning SF the moniker: the city that knows how.
- Tuck Key indeed owned a shop in 1911
- Zubelda was a cigarette brand prominent in 1911-1912 and quickly disappeared afterwards.
- I'm not an expert in automobiles, but none of the models seemed totally inconsistent with what would have been available in 1912 (Model T came out in 1908)
- The Chinese queue disappeared practically over night with the introduction of the republic (1912).
- Sound recording was widely available post 1900. The lack of talkies in movies (until 1931) had to do with equipping theaters with projectors that were reliable and could accurately synchronize the sound. It's entirely possible that documentary sound recording could have been taken long before 1930, though that is unusual.
Over all I see no reason to say that most of the film is from c. 1912. (see the RUclips San Francisco -1906 in HD) for a film of SF taken 6 years previously.
I agree with everything except the sound part. The sound was added in the 50s probably and is fake.
This is at least from 1927.
weltarchiv4 Totally fake sound effects.
Look at the cars jn 2:32: they're from the 1920s
@@weltarchiv4 Sounds much later than the fifties
Where did you find this video? Source? I want to use it for a project
Thanks for sharing , I saw my grandparents in this video >_< , as a chinese ( HongKonger ) it seem that I am travel a time machine back to my Grandfather meet my Grandmother ^_^ welcome to HK LKF
Do fourth generation Chinese even know how to speak Cantonese?
may be four Generation chinese know how to speak cantonese in USA SF, but definitely not in HK , MU or Canton province , because of the one language policy in PRC (China) ROC (Taiwan), the hakka , mongolian language , tibet language and the other language may be forbidden and destroyed by mandarin Cathay language) similar than Taiwan don't teach(Min) language in school as well .British PM family for Econ reason still learning simplify Chinese writing scripts create in 1949 , in 2017-2023 the cantonese language speaker will likes Romansch language (speak in south-east part of switzerland and Latin language / classical hebrew language ) almost became dead language >_
Bullshit, China isn't that bad...I know plenty of Chinese in China that know the language...plus, it's good to have one language
@@SimonChengHK Cantonese is well and alive all over! After 普通話，it's the most spoken Chinese language: and 閩南語 is very much alive too, in its different forms.
That's so cool
2:32 is a great shot of the automobiles. That is going to be you best "no earlier than" point.
Thank your for sharing this video, can u tell me the musics used? I enjoyed them thanks!
Brings back memories of delicious meals there in the 70s.
2:15 That was adorable. Wonder what this clip was shot for.
Watching Chinatown again. I always like seeing the people in USA Chinatowns. People being filmed in 1912. Thanks.
This is from at least 1927.
Hey MichealRogge, what is the background music's name, cause I really love the background music.
What fascinates me about Chinatown is how many associations are in it. They're all over the place.
Beautiful thing's going o. in SF. And the people doing their thing's keeping busy. San Francisco always inspired me. And Chinatown.
great, love it
Video is from Prelinger Archives.
Fascinating
Parade at 4:00 minutes is turning from Van Ness Avenue, left on to Market Street (east). In Background is Masonic Building still at Van Ness @ Oak St, and Godeau Funeral Home, 41 Van Ness @ Hickory Street (business moved out in 1970's).
Nice to see the past.
I would guess that this is a compilation of clips taken from at least 3 different decades. Maybe we should all just agree that it's "old" and leave it at that. Interesting historical footage, nonetheless.
My girlfriend and I went to SF last year and, of course, went to Chinatown. It was interesting to see many Chinese teenagers selling fireworks on the street corners and in front of stores. I enjoyed Chinatown and SF as a whole very much.
I'm curious as to what the man is cutting at the end.
As a Chinese person I can definitely tell you right now that, that part of the clip was taken at a Chinese medicine store where they prepare and weigh etc. herbal medicine for people. That guy was probably cutting some ingredients into smaller pieces. The drawers in back hold herbal medicine as well. The drawers and the way he’s weighing the herbs is how it’s traditionally used back when there were kings and queens back in China and till this day, this is still how most traditional Chinese medicines store do it and the drawers too!
@@dddddw9590
Thank you. I was thinking it looked like a Chinese herbal store with the drawers as storage. The magical wonders of herbs is long lost on us in modern day. I took some Chinese herbs once for an affliction I had for years and had never felt such relief. Sadly the store I purchased from is gone and I don't have the name of product line.
Judging by some of the cars this looks more like c. 1925
You are 100% correct. Those are definitely vehicles from the 20's.
What about the A. N. Knoph Chinese Employment Office at 2:13 and the Main's Bar at 3:52?
Where u got the film?
Nice video
I'm not sure about 1912. Forgot how I came to that date. The sound was of course added later and is not live.
This is 1927 of later
It's from much later, with bits of early decades.
The clips that have background sound probably date closer to 1930, Synchronized sound wasn't introduced to film until 1927, and then only big budget movies. It took a few years to phase sound into more mundane films, like travelogues and educational features. The silent clips that have only music overdubs came from earlier years. I wouldn't judge too far back, because the reconstruction after the earthquake looks rather complete.
+J Johnson I agree it's not likely in the 1910s given the number of cars. It won't be too long after 1927 though because the 5-strip China flag shown in the clip was replaced (by the current "Taiwan" flag) shortly after 1927 when KMT were in power.
googahoo looks like 1927
Your jagged lines may be removed if you can get the footage copied in a 720p or 1080p style. The p is what does the trick. Pulldown.
Notwithstanding the tourist trap now - which it is in spades, you can't even get a decent bowl of won ton - for someone who grew up in and around SF Chinatown in the 50s, this is quite moving emotionally...
Well.....chop suey is not really authentic Chinese, either.
@@abueloraton Who said anything about chop suey?
people always film special events, but what lasts for eternity are ones of ordinary events.
You sure this is 1912? The buildings look newer, like 1920s at least. Also didn't sound only come later, or was there a separate audio track?
Fake sound effects from today-music included
That last bit is in a Chinese herbalist shop. It hasn't changed one iota, except in the dress and hairstyle of the workers there.There's on on 10th and Webster in Oakland. I can't promise its efficacy, but it's a very interesting place.
That's miles away, all over the other side of the Bay. Oakland is totally different than SF.
Thank you for this information. They definitely have some fantastic herbs to help with what ails you. I'll have to look for it next time I visit SF
@@naturegazer6749 No, it's in Oakland, not San Francisco.
I am certain this is more recent than 1912.....those cars are much more modern than 1912 models, and the City in general looks more advanced than just six years after the earthquake. I would place this at 1920, maybe 1919 at the absolute earliest.
I say a guy still wearing a long pigtale, a typical of the Qing Dynasty and also part of the town still have wooden horse carriages so it maybe around 1912.
Lar M
I tried to read the newspaper in the final frames to see if that would give a clue. I could only read one: "Passengers held while doctors vaccinate." To me, also, the city seems much too built up for only six years after the earthquake and fire.
The film is actually a composite of different time periods. Most of the footage was produced by Captain HJ Lewis in 1912 (he's the white guy kissing the Chinese children for whatever reason at 2:20). I agree the cars seen around 2:40 are certainly probably not pre-1920
Lar M The Russ Building is from 1927!
Wow, my granddaddy was 16 years old that year.
The daddy kissing his little girls goodbye!❤🥰
Not talking about the music but the street sounds.
Nice to see the 5 color flag when China was more inclusive: Red the Han, yellow for the Manchus, blue for the Mongols, white for the Hui Muslims and black for the Tibetans. Those were more hopeful times under Sun Yatsen (or Sun Zhongshan 孙中山 if you prefer). I think Hong Kong protestors show that 1911 revolutionary spirit of Sun Yatsen and we, freedom lovers of the world, are with them.
@S. Young I see you are a true hater of human rights
Zhu Bajie 🇹🇼 🇹🇼 🇹🇼
Chinatown in 2023 is a ghost town. Its a shell of what it once was. Many empty store fronts. Grant street is deserted. Only a few gift shops and ice cream stores, one camera store, and a few jewelry stores. Stockton street is still alive and well with several produce stores and a few small dim sum shops for to go orders. Many older Chinese still come to buy cheap produce and groceries. Many poor Chinese families still lived in those SRO's buildings. I can' imagine a family of four living in a single room but they still do.
I'm pretty sure some of the music was used in Civilization 5
100 years ago!! Chinese kids looked very happy in a foreign place!
Look at shenzhen then and now and its transformation in just 39 years
What a transformation 3 years after the 1909 quake
This is much, much later.
1906 quake?
what kind of flags are on top of the buildings? old China?
yes china use 5 color flag from 1912-1928
Dried seahorse. Poor little guys. One of my favorite creatures.
How interesting. We had quite a few Chinese immigrants in our city and gold mines in the mountain region back in the days.
from 8:10 to 8:51 If you slow down playback speed at .5 you can tell they are speaking a southern chinese dialect most likely Cantonese.
1912, one of the most important years in Chinese history. I'm sure the overseas Chinese were excited about the future! You can tell by all the ROC flags waving atop the buildings.
This is not from 1912 at all-
@@abueloraton Then when?
@@Enigmatism415 about 1925, 會員。
@@abueloraton That's interesting. The five-colour flag lasted until 1928, but the current ROC flag was introduced in 1924, yet I don't see any here. Also, the cars, clothing, etc don't look very mid-'20s to me, more like the '10s at the latest.
@@Enigmatism415 Vehicles in 2:32 are from the 1920s, 會員
So.....it took a major pandemic to find a parking space on Grant Ave.
(time stamp 2:32)
@1:44 and 2:37 those automobiles were 1920 Ford models. Also @11:00 people in the Chinese herbal drug store dressed in traditional Chinese costumes and hair style with a pig tail which were before 1911. However, Chinese oversea may took a little longer to adjust the new changes. Therefore 1915 to 1925 time frame is about right.
Russ Building is from 1927.
Six years after the earthquake, and everything is built up and aged.... with no sign of construction going on ? Hmmmm!.
Thank you for sharing, Mike :)
Just by observing the architecture, I can't infer the era.
However, as a Southerner (Cantonese) who grew up in Hong Kong, I noticed, in couple of scenes (the grocery store, the temple, the smoking gathering, the farewell and the herbal pharmacy), people were acting very un-natural (the cultural practice, frame speed and lighting). The Cantonese opera scene was the most outrageous! :D
Back when the Republic of China was only a few months old.
At 2:00 there is a Whiskey Advertisment, which places the film before the prohibition (starting 1920)
Than why are there cars from 1925? Or later. This film is way off
Oh Old St. Mary's!
beautiful they are still cooking the same stuff squid, mushrooms-
Excellent! A reminder that Asian migration isn't a recent thing.
When blowing toxic smoke (8:07) in each other's faces was considered "socializing"!
@Eva K. Lee , yes all the way up till around 1995
Back in the day .. $10.000 was a lot of money ..
Great video but date is off. cars are late 20’s models. Some of the buildings in the video were not built until 1927.
Which buildings?
Chinatown, SF is America's tastiest ethnic enclave, making it a timeless symbol of capitalism couture.
Certainly this movie is post 1930.
charles chaplin visited san francisco chinatown?
After 10:44......what do you think is being cut?
kdm71291 Chinese medicinal herbs, but the whole screen looked like a directed footage with props and actors. Not a documentary.
hello dixon The owner of Sing Fat is authentic, niot actor. No plot in here.
Looks like old school Shanghai!
There are very lucky migrated to America but my grandparents migrated to South East Asia is another sad story.
Right now, Asia is much nicer than the USA.
Sing Fat Co building was built in 1910. You can see modern images of the building but I believe the company is now defunct
That was my great grandfather's company. His name was Tong Bong. FBI accused him of smuggling opium into USA - bullcrap! But he was too old to fight, so he closed the entire chain of Sing Fat Bazaars in USA and returned to China. Today, CIA is the world's biggest opium grower in Afghanistan, and US government is the world's biggest opium smuggler in the world.
金山 jin shan (Gold Mountain) that's what San Francisco was called back then..
It still is, but it goes by two names: (1) Jiu Jinshan - old gold mountain. (2) San Fan Shi - (literal translation) San Francisco City.
Gung Hay! Year of the Ram
Visit at Amazon the new SF-set private detective novel, 4th in a series, Francesco Ferrari Explores CHINATOWN!
1912 = 110 Years Ago
The ORIGINAL CHINATOWN
Sing Fat closed in 1931.
This looks like its grand inauguration.
I think there was a McDonalds at or near that building in the recent past.
Tong wars
Very interesting indeed.
It is interesting money back then a just coins no paper money yet until 20-30 years later
This film is from around 1927!
interessant!! ook 8:07 opiumschuiven
The architecture looks more recent than 1912 for sure. It's probably late 1920s.
+thetonedeaftenors
It is certainly before 1928, because of the flags used.
親華會員 Buildings from 1927-Russ Building
Just to let people know out there is that SF Chinatown is the oldest and largest Chinatown in the US.
Even in North America
rob roy damn no wonder why It take so long to Japan town
If we're talking about Chinatown proper, then Manhattan's and Flushing's are much, much larger.
@S. Young
Good to know. 👍
New York’s is larger
Not 1912!
唐人街！！
這應該不是1912年的電影。
This is not 1912
*Beiyang army*
Part of the episode is staged and I doubt it's really from 1912;could be much earlier.