#Dupont St.

[arcturus11]

I was out taking a walk in Toronto along Dupont St. and headed south on Clinton. Just before Barton Ave. I spotted something shiny and I couldn't determine what it was. Being the curious crow that I am I couldn't resist. The entire house and van exteriors were covered in action figures, shells and other doodads. I can only imagine the hours and hours it took to do this.

[petersvault]

[demospectator]

“Altar in the Chinese Joss-house, San Francisco.  A probable illustration of Eastern Glory Temple from Harper’s Weekly, March 25, 1871.

The Eastern Glory Temple of Dupont Street

The “Eastern Glory” Temple (東華廟; canto: “Doong Wah miu;” pinyin: “Donghua miao”) reportedly opened in 1871 possibly at 929 Dupont Street.  The Daily Alta California of February 10, 1871, reported that a temple “just completed by the six companies” was located in the third story of a row of buildings “on the west side of Dupont street on the west side of Dupont street, between Washington and Jackson.”

The reporter who had been invited to the inaugural rites at the new temple observed that the temple’s central hall honored “Pak Tie,” one of three gods whose statues were so honored.  The temple also venerated in its center hall, Gwan Dai (關帝; pinyin: “Guāndì”), the God of War, and Hung Sing, the God of Water.  Other deities were venerated in side rooms.  

Less than a month later, the Daily Alta California on May 1, 1871, printed a critical letter to the editors from a reader, pointing out numerous inaccuracies in the previous news report.  This letter contains the first reference to the temple as the “Tung Wah Min” in reference to its origins in southern China and, perhaps more significant, the poetic inscription which referred to the waves of blessing flowing to the men of eastern Cantonese men.  The letter then described the temple’s veneration of “Pak Tie” (北帝; lit. "North Deity;" canto: “Buck Dai”), also known as the “God of the Eastern Peak.”  

In his superb mapping project of the temples of old San Francisco Chinatown (found here), Peter Romaskiewicz asserts that pioneer photographer Eadweard Muybridge’s photograph “843 -- Chinese Joss House, Guardian of the Temple” c. 1871 was taken in the Eastern Glory Temple.  The altar or central shrine shown in the photograph is consistent with the newspaper descriptions.  

“843 – Chinese Joss House, Guardian of the Temple” c. 1871 - 1875.  Photo by Eadweard Muybridge (from a private collection).  The stereograph shows an altar in a temple that is probably the Tung Wah Miu (東華廟; canto: “Doong Wah miu;” pinyin: “Donghua miao”) or the “Eastern Glory” temple to non-Chinese.

“843 – Chinese Joss House.  1, God of Southern Sea. 2, God of Sombre Heavens. 3. God of War”  Detail of the altar of the Eastern Glory Temple, c.1871 - 1875, detail from a photo by Eadweard Muybridge (from the Marilyn Blaisdell collection).  In Chinese, the God of Southern Sea would be 南海洪聖大王, Sombre Heaven is 玄武（or 真武）大帝, and the God of War is often ascribed to 關公 (canto: “Gwan Gung”).

The plaque seen in the Muybridge photo no. 843 presents deity names including “Pak Tie” (canto: “Buk Dai;” pinyin: “Beidi”).

As was the case of Chinatown’s other pre-1906 temples, the Eastern Glory temple was known for its elaborate ceremonies and festivals, which attracted Chinese immigrants from all over San Francisco and beyond. During these events, the temple would be filled with the sounds of traditional Chinese music and the smell of incense, as worshippers prayed and made offerings to the gods.

Assuming that Romaskiewicz accurately located Muybridge’s altar idols image no. 843, the numerical sequence of Muybridge’s other temple images indicates that Muybridge took at least two (and possibly three) photos before entering the Eastern Glory Temple and several other photographs at the same location after capturing image no. 843.

Two photos, 840 and 841, of “menshen” or door gods (文門神; canto: “munh moon sun”) have survived in various public and private collections.  The door gods are usually presented in divine pairs, or  Shenshu (Chinese: 神荼; Jyutping: “San4 Tou4″).  

“840 – Chinese Joss House, Guardian of the Temple” c. 1871.  Photo by Eadweard Muybridge (from the Marilyn Blaisdell collection and a stereoview titled “Guardian of the Door” in the collection of California State Library).   Based on the negative no. 840, Muybridge probably took this photo of the other entry door to the Eastern Glory Temple before photographing the altar idols and door seen in his images no. 841 and 843.  The guardian seen in this image is Shubao (叔寶; canto: “Sook Boh”) , one of two Tang dynasty generals whose image was ordered placed upon gates by the Great Ancestor of the Tang (“Emperor Taizong”).  

Since the Tang dynasty, the deified generals Qin Shubao (Chinese: 秦叔寶; Jyutping: “Ceon4 Suk1 Bou2”) and Yuchi Gong (Chinese: 尉遲恭; Jyutping: “Wai3 Ci4 Gung1”) became most ubiquitous as martial door gods (武門神; canto: “moe munh sun;” lit. “military gate gods”).  Moreover, the first Chinese in California identified often referred to themselves as “Tohng yahn” (lit. “Tang dynasty people”).

“841 – Chinese Joss House, Guardian of the Temple” c. 1871.  Photo by Eadweard Muybridge published as a stereograph by Bradley & Rulofson (from the collection of the Getty Museum).  Based on the “841” number, it can be inferred that Muybridge probably took this photo before entering the Eastern Glory Temple and photographing the altar idols seen in his image no. 843.  The guardian seen in this image is Yuchi Gong(尉遲恭; canto: “Gwai Chee Gung”), one of two Tang dynasty generals whose image was ordered placed upon gates by the Great Ancestor of the Tang (“Emperor Taizong”).      

Based on a comparison of the numerical labeling of the images,  and a comparison of the partial signage seen in Muybridge’s photo no. 843, it is possible to connect several images taken of the temple’s resident priest(s) and astrologer outside the entrance.

“844 – Chinese Joss House. Tanist [sic] Priest in full costome.” Photographer Eadweard Muybridge (from the collection of the California State Library).

“Chinese Joss House, Tauist [sic] Priest In Full Costume” c. 1875 (from the collections of the Bancroft Library).

“845 - Chinese Joss House, Astrological Priest”(from the collection of the New York Public Library). This photo appears to have been taken in front of the same building as the photo no. 842 of the Taoist priest.

“846 – Chinese Joss House, Priests discussing Theology.”

“847 – Chinese Joss House. God of the Earth.”

Muybridge’s dogged persistence, and the apparent cooperation of the temple staff, produced an extant photographic record of the Eastern Glory temple provides perhaps the best documentation of the pre-1906 temples in San Francisco Chinatown.

Despite the challenges faced by the Chinese community in San Francisco, including discrimination, poverty, and violence, the Eastern Glory Temple remained a source of strength and resilience. It provided a sense of belonging and identity for the community, and helped to preserve traditional Chinese culture and beliefs in a foreign land.

However, the temple’s days came to an abrupt end in 1906, when a massive earthquake struck San Francisco and destroyed much of Chinatown. The Eastern Glory Temple was among the many buildings that were destroyed in the disaster.  Despite its relatively short existence, the Eastern Glory Temple remains an important symbol of the resilience and perseverance of the Chinese community in San Francisco. Today, its legacy lives on through the many temples and cultural institutions that continue to thrive in Chinatown and beyond.

[updated: 2024-5-5]

[chunksupreme]

Nectar of the Gawdz.

[aesthetically0b5essed]

I know what kind of a lighter he has because of the way that it clinked when he opened it.

[future-crab]

People in the US: find a protest for Rafah

I found out about my local protest too late to attend (I don't have a car and I live in an area with zero public transportation) so I thought I'd share this list of protests so that other people might be able to go to their's!

[ID:

February 12, 2024

AUSTIN, TEXAS | 5PM 1100 Congress

CHICAGO, IL | 4:30 PM Federal Plaza 230 Dearborn Ave

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON | 6 PM University of Washington Station

MANHATTAN, NY | 4 PM Union Square

SAINT LOUIS, MO | 2:30 PM @ Kirkwood Park 111 So. Geyser Rd.

February 13, 2024

SAN DIEGO, CA | 4:30 PM Federal Plaza

SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 5:30 PM Federal Building

ATLANTA, GA | 7 PM Israeli consulate

PHILADELPHIA, PA | 5:30 PM 1400 JFK Blvd

PITTSBURGH, PA | 5 PM 4100 Forbes Ave

HOUSTON, TX | 4 PM Houston City Hall

February 14, 2024

PHOENIX, AZ | 4 PM NE Corner of 7th St & McDowell Rd

WASHINGTON, DC | 2 PM Dupont Circle

February 15, 2024

AUSTIN, TX | 10 AM Austin City Hall, 301 2nd St

February 16, 2024

EAU CLAIRE, WI | 5 PM Corner of Hwy 93 and Golf Rd (Outside Hardee’s)

February 18, 2024

NEW ORLEANS, LA | 11:30 AM ARMSTRONG PARK

February 19, 2024

CHICAGO, IL | 11 AM Chicago History Museum, Children’s Fountain

February 25, 2024

SAINT PAUL, MN | 1 PM 1176 N Mississippi River Blvd, St. Paul, MN.

End ID.]

[babakca]

Annet / Davenport & St George area - Toronto. Nov 2022. Photos BABAK 2022 

[luckyspot]

After a whole bunch of head scratching, pitiful research and staring at the ceiling doing nothing, I was able to commission a reference sheet for my Lackadaisy OC!

(Art commissioned from Phanecito . Go give them love!)

Mirabelle René "Belle" Dupont

Info (and name not in cursive) under break

(Lackadaisy owned and created by @lackadaisycats )

Mirabelle René "Belle" Dupont

The daughter of French immigrants, Belle is in St. Louis for school. While her father is still at the family restaurant at home in the French Quarter, her mother is moving back and forth between countries, busy building up a Fashion Empire.

With a kind nature and bleeding heart, Belle was persuaded to be a tutor to some struggling students; namely, one Ivy Pepper.

Initially asked to be a cook at the Little Daisy Café (she makes a MEAN gumbo!), Belle now finds herself strung along into staffing a Speakeasy and hiding hooch on far-too-often basis.

She's a girl with a refined air and could be considered pampered and spoiled. But that doesn't mean she likes being that way.

Belle actually doesn't fit the mold of the upper crust. Sure, she makes her own perfume and has a closet of personalized French Fashion. But she can also catch, cook and serve up any wild game you can think of. (Comment on her getting blood on her gloves marks and she WILL end you.)

Ivy and everyone else in the school dorms can take the clothes, she's not big on trends.

She wants everyone in Lackadaisy to get home safely and has trouble turning her nose away for her own sake, but her refusal to leave anyone behind could be the final push her mother needs to force her to move back to France permanently.

If anyone should happen to have some questions about her, I'd love to answer them.

[opencommunion]

please go to a protest for Land Day tomorrow (March 30th) if you can

AUSTRALIA – Hobart / Nipaluna. 1PM Every Saturday @ Davey St. (Grand Chancellor).

CANADA – Antigonish, NS. 1PM Every Saturday @ Antigonish Town Hall. Antigonish 4 Gaza.

CANADA – Montreal. 2PM Land Day Tatreez Workshop @ Refugee Center. PYM Montreal.

CANADA – Ottawa. 2PM Land Day @ Human Rights Monument.

CANADA – Toronto. 2PM Land Day @ Yonge & Dundas. PYM Toronto.

ENGLAND – Halifax. 1PM Every Saturday @ Wilkos on Southgate.

ENGLAND – Hebden Bridge. 3PM Every Saturday @ Holme Street. 4PM @ St George’s Square. West Yorkshire for Palestine.

ENGLAND – London. 11AM @ 7 Tavistock Square. PYM Britain.

ENGLAND – London. 12PM @ Central London. STW UK.

NETHERLANDS – Amsterdam. 7PM Every Night @ Dam Square.

PORTUGAL – Porto. 10PM Every Night Vigil @ Camara Municipal.

SCOTLAND – Orkney. 1PM Every Saturday @ St Magnus Cathedral Steps. Amnesty Orkney.

AZ – Phoenix. 1MP Land Day @ Civic Space Park. PSL Phoenix AZ.

CA – Los Angeles. 1PM Land Day March @ LA City Hall. PYM LA/OC/IE.

CA – Petaluma. 12:30PM Every Saturday @ Petaluma & E Washington. Occupy Pelatuma.

CA – Ventura. 12:30PM @ 181 E Santa Clara St. ANSWER Coalition.

CO – Fort Collins. 3PM Every Saturday @ Old Town Square. NOCO Liberation Coalition.

DC – Washington DC. 4PM @ DuPont Circle. ANSWER Coalition.

FL – Gainesville. 11AM @ Depot Park. ANSWER Coalition.

FL – Orlando. City Hall. TBA. ANSWER Coalition.

FL – Pensacola. PM @ Main & Reus (Blue Wahoos). PSL CGC. 

GA – Atlanta. 2PM @ Consulate of Israel. PYM.

ID – Pocatello. 12PM Every Saturday @ Bannock County Courthouse. Pocatello for Palestine.

IL – Chicago. 1PM @ TBA. USPCN + Chicago SJP.

LA – New Orleans. 3:30PM @ 701 N Rampart St.

MA – Springfield. 2PM @ 36 Court St. ANSWER Coalition.

ME – Portland. 1PM @ Monument Square. PSL Maine.

MI – Detroit. 1:30PM @ Beacon Park. USPCN.

MI – Detroit. 10AM Land Day @ Rouge Park. PYM.

MN – Minneapolis. 2PM @ 2707 West Lake St. ANSWER Coalition.

MT – Kalispell. 12PM Every Saturday @ Main & Center. MT 4 Palestine.

NC – Asheville. 4PM @ 1 N Pack Square. ANSWER Coalition.

NC – Charlotte. 4PM @ Wilmore Centennial Park. CLT 4 Palestine + PSL Carolinas.

NC – Raleigh. 3PM Land Day @ Moore Square. PSL Carolinas.

NC, Charlotte. 4PM @ Wilmore Centennial Park. Land Day. CLT 4 Pali + PSL Carolinas.

NM – Albuquerque. 4PM @ UNM Book Store. ANSWER Coalition.

NY – New York. 12PM @ City Hall Park. Within Our Lifetime.

NY – New York. 12PM Vigil Every Saturday @ 5th & 44th in Brooklyn. Sunset Park Elders.

NY – New York. 5PM @ Times Square. PYM.

NY – Rochester. 1:30PM @ MLK Park. End Apartheid ROC + SJP UR.

OH – Cincinnati. 3PM @ 801 Plum St. ANSWER Coalition.

OH – Cleveland. 2PM Land Day @ Edgewater Upper Pavillion. USCPN.

OH – Columbus. 4PM @ 120 W Goodale St. ANSWER Coalition.

OH – Dayton. 5PM @ 2680 Ridge Ave. ANSWER Coalition.

OH – Wooster. 11AM @ 538 N Market St. ANSWER Coalition.

OR – Bend. 12PM Saturdays @ Peace Corner. Central Oregon 4 Socialism.

OR – Portland. 12PM @ Desert Island Studios. Letters for Palestine PDX.

PA – Philadelphia. 5PM @ 7th & Walnut. ANSWER Coalition.

PA – Pittsburgh. 3:30PM @ 4100 Forbes Ave. ANSWER Coalition.

RI – Providence. 5PM @ Prospect Terr. ANSWER Coalition.

TX – Houston. 1PM @ Waterwall Park. PYM Houston.

TX – San Antonio. 12PM @ 301 E Travis ST. ANSWER Coalition.

VT – Burlington. 1PM @ City Hall. ANSWER Coalition.

WA – Seattle. 2PM Land Day @ Lake Union Park. PYM.

WI – Milwaukee. 1:30PM @ Sijan Park. PSL Milwaukee.

WI – Viroqua. 11AM Vigil Every Saturday @ Main & Decker. Driftless Solidarity / Wolves PSC.

WV – Martinsburg. 12PM Land Day @ Martinsburg Town Square. PSL WV.

DISCLAIMER: I didn't make this list and it's not comprehensive. If you don't see a protest near you, look up what your local orgs are doing, and if you still can't find anything, take autonomous action

[lesorciercanadien]

Folk Ways for an Acadian or French Canadian folk practitioner

I want to start an ongoing list of Acadian and French Canadian religious and popular folk ways that I've been learning about for the last two years. My references will be at the end for further reading!

Blessing a candle on Candlemas (Feb. 2) with holy water will allow you to have a light whenever there is sickness and storms hitting your home. Traditionally on Candlemas, the light is lit and guided through every room in the house to bless all its corners for the year. It was even paraded in the farmer's fields. (Dupont)

The 25th April, on St. Mark's Day, is the ideal day to bless your fields or garden before putting in the first seeds. This ensures the growing food to be blessed by this saint. (Maillet)

Animals have been known to speak in human tongues on Christmas Eve. (Maillet)

If you feel that nothing is going right in your day, your homemade bread sours, or general bad luck assails you, simply boil some holy medals. (Dupont)

The first three days of the month of August, the ocean waters are known to have healing properties, and it wouldn't hurt to dip your feet in it. (Chiasson)

It was customary to trace crosses on windows using holy water when a storm would hit. (Lacroix)

To find a lost object, simply toss a rosary or a pocket metal rosary over your shoulder. The foot of the cross will point in the direction where your lost object might be located. (Dupont)

To have good weather on your wedding day, be sure to hang your rosary on your clothes line the day before. (Dupont)

Maillet, Antonine. Rabelais et les traditions populaires en Acadie. Les presses de l'université laval, quebec. 1980.

Lacroix, Benoit. Folklore de la mer et religion. Editions Leméac, 1980.

Dupont, Jean-Claude. Héritage d'Acadie. Collection Connaissance, editions Leméac, 1977.

Chiasson, Père Anselme. Chéticamp: histoire et traditions acadiennes. Editions des Aboiteaux, 1972.

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

‘Kill the longing, close the wound’

Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial with the prompt #FFF255 In the Heart

Fandom: Buddy Daddies

Pairing: Kazuki Kurusu/Rei Suwa, Kazurei

Word Count: 605

Warning: Not so fluffy, a bit angsty, written during the first scenes of Episode 11 : Everyone Will Be Hypocrites

~~

“I'll never know which way to flow/Set a course that I don't know.” (“Everything Flows,” Teenage Fanclub)

WHEN Kazuki took the last batch of what he owned from the loft already prepared at the foyer, he realised that Rei was not in. There was, however, a note on the dining table.

“Give me some more time,” it said. Kazuki rolled his eyes and shook his head. He angrily crumpled the paper and discarded it to the next waste bin which was at the kitchen. He missed the target. Kazuki walked on and didn’t bother to pick it up.

He headed back again to his old room to check if he forgot something, just in case, like the rest of his collection of crime fiction that he kept underneath his bed, and the empty vintage American gin bottles he got as birthday presents. For the last time, he savoured the moment to take one last look at the place he once called home for almost three and a half years, which was now devoid of his computers, clothes and other paraphernalia.

And the kitchen? It was his favourite place in the apartment. He ran his fingers onto the tabletop, glanced at the tidied jars and the cans of spices. Until his sight fell on the bottles of Balsamico and olive oil that one of them forgot to bring back to the cupboards. It irritated him that none of them bothered, i.e. leaving the condiments stay untouched since Miri had lived with her mother. Come to think of it this used to be his kingdom once, but he felt hollow now more than ever.

He let out a sigh he was keeping for so long. When he closed the door of the apartment it felt final and infallible that he never looked back. The action pierced his heart.

Time to move forward, Kazuki.

~~

The Comedian knew the way to the Fairy Lips by heart. He knew it even if his eyes were closed. He could tell the alleyways and pinpoint the correct shield. This was where he always went whenever his heart was heavy, full of sorrow. Just like tonight.

“Well, well, look who’s here? The Comedian is here, Carol, ready to make us laugh,” the violet-haired Dorothy told her girlfriend.

“What can we do for you today, Kazu-kun? Didn’t it work out with your new love?” Dorothy’s punches went straight to his guts.

“Kazu-kun, we miss your jokes! We haven’t seen you in a long time,” Carol quipped, grabbing his arm, kissing his cheeks.

After Rei had decided that they had to go their separate ways, he was without anchor. Miri pointed them to the right direction of their relationship and most of all, held them together like a glue. First it was Yuzu, then Miri was gone. Now Rei too.

~~

He was heartbroken, but what could he do? He was used to it. He was used to people “abandoning” him. Intentional or otherwise. The sound of a rush-hour traffic in downtown Fukuoka couldn’t assuage the pain he was feeling inside.

Truth to tell it baffled him the moment Rei decided it was better for them to be separated after being partners for less than four years. And in order to save face, he told Rei that he could keep his loft by himself. Besides, the apartment was too big for one person.

But the younger man was insistent on giving him a parting gift: his ST Dupont lighter and a promise that he would abandon smoking forever. It remained to be seen if he would keep it and Kazuki would pretend that he never cared.

tbc

Note: June used to be a month for Kazureiweek. So I am reliving it bc I miss it. Also, I’ve been meaning to write a story during the Episode 11 era. I’ve been thinking of other possibilities if things turn out differently: if the situation wouldn’t be resolved during the second balcony scene.

[petersvault]

Limited edition...

[demospectator]

“3003 Grand Dining Room of the Chinese Restaurant, Dupont Street, San Francisco” c. 1882.  Photo by Isaiah West Taber (from the collection of The Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley). The precise location of the interior shown in this image remains a topic of debate among architectural historians and researchers of old San Francisco Chinatown.  

On The Balcony of the Woey Sin Low Restaurant with I.W. Taber

In her pictorial book San Francisco Chinatown (published by the Chinese Historical Society of America in 2006), historian Judy Yung asserted that photo 3003 by Isaiah West Taber depicted “The top floor of Hang Far Low Restaurant – replete with inlaid panels, carved screens, and hardwood tables and stools imported from China – was reserved for the Chinese elite and their guests.”  

Later architectural historians (including Hongyan Yang), have questioned the accuracy of Yung’s caption. Other photos of the legendary Hang Far Low’s pre-1906 dining areas omit any of the lavish furniture and other furnishings seen in photo 3003.  The floral pattern on the articulated screens appear markedly different from the bamboo pattern seen on screens of the Hang Far Low dining rooms, and none of the Hang Far Low-branded boxes normally seen on the dining table tops appear.  Moreover,  The Bancroft Library’s online entry for Taber’s photo 3003 remains silent as to the location of the photo, and tourist postcard derivatives similarly omit any mention of the restaurant for which this lavish interior was constructed.  

Based on a sequential examination of Taber's other photos of the premises in question, we can more plausibly conclude that the “Dupont Street” restaurant’s grand dining room seen in photo 3003 was, in fact, located in the Woey Sin Low (會仙樓; canto: “Wui Seen Lauh”) restaurant at 808 Dupont Street.

No. 14 San Francisco, California. Chinese Restaurant. Destroyed by earthquake and fire. Apr. 18,1906.  Postcard by Charles Weidner (from the collection of Wong Yuen-Ming). The postcard derived from Weidner's photo shows the interior of the Woey Sin Low restaurant from an angle opposite to that of I.W. Taber's photo 3003 of the same dining room.  Charles Weidner (b.1867) began working as a commercial photographer in the 1890s. He first entered the postcard business in 1903 with investor William Goeggel and together, they published 111 numbered postcards as Goeggel & Weidner. In 1904, Weidner began issuing postcards under his name, including tinted halftones or Auto-Chrome, tinted collotypes, cyanotypes, and real photo postcards.  The postcard represents a small example of how San Francisco’s Chinatown was depicted during the postcard craze that peaked during 1898 – 1911 “Golden Age of Post Cards.”  (For more information, see https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ccd1198596e84019825240bcc38c956b)

The photos which Taber took both before and after his number “3003″ of the “Grand Dining Room” as provided by the Taber Photo company, however, are instructive, as the photo was apparently taken in sequence after photo 3002 and before 3004 of Taber’s pair of “Balcony of the Chinese Restaurant” photos.

“3002 Balcony of the Chinese Restaurant, Dupont Street, San Francisco,” c. 1885.  Photograph by Isaiah West Taber (from the collection of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery).  The photo by Isaiah West Taber titled: “Balcony of the Chinese Restaurant” has entranced the viewer for more than a century and a quarter.  From the photographer’s view at one end of the balcony from an upper floor, one can look south down old Dupont Street toward the downtown area of San Francisco.  No human figure appears in the frame.  Instead, an elaborately-carved large wooden medallion is seen in the center of the balcony’s expanse.  Below the ornate centerpiece, a stone panel is set into the façade at knee-height.  Large glass and paper lanterns are suspended overhead.  Potted penzai (盆栽; canto: poon joi; Jpn: bonsai) in planters are placed just beyond the low wooden railing lead to the end where a small sign which appears to advertise 包辦酒席 or banquet arrangements (canto: “bau baan jau jik”) is suspended from a pole.  The glass of the lantern appearing closest to the viewer and in the upper center of the frame provides only a partial clue as to the name of the restaurant in the form of two Chinese ideograms.

After gaining off-hours admittance to the restaurant and onto its balcony, one can deduce that Taber took his iconic balcony photo #3002 first, changed the negative plate; swiveled his lens to point back into the sunlit, top-floor interior from which he had emerged (for #3003); and then took his next shot (#3004) looking north on Dupont St. from his perch on the east side of the street.

“3004 Balcony of the Chinese Restaurant, Dupont Street, San Francisco” c. 1885.  Photograph by I.W. Taber (from the collection of the Bancroft Library). This shot depicts the view north on Dupont Street from the street’s eastern side.

Thus, one can more plausibly conclude that the “Dupont Street” restaurant’s grand dining room seen in photo 3003 was, in fact, located in the Woey Sin Low (會仙樓; canto: “Wui Seen Lauh”) restaurant at 808 Dupont St. 

Untitled photo from the collection of the California State Library.

Moreover, it appears that Taber wasn’t alone on the balcony that day when he took his photos of the ornate balcony of the Woey Sin Low restaurant; a young restaurant worker apparently stood behind him, holding a broom and providing a rare (for that era), friendly smile for the camera lens.  One can surmise that the hat on the stool in the right of the frame is Taber’s – where he had placed it before taking the iconic balcony shot.

Untitled photograph (probably by Isaiah West Taber), courtesy of The Bancroft Library, which provides no information about the photo. The young worker who joined I.W. Taber on the balcony of the Woey Sin Low restaurant is the same individual who appears in the alternate print held in the California State Library’s collection.

As an eatery, Woey Sin Low at 808 Dupont Street appears to have occupied as prominent and lengthy a place in old Chinatown’s restaurant universe as Hang Far Low (one block south on the 700-block of Dupont).

The right-to-left listing for 會仙樓 or Woey Sin Law restaurant from “Instructions to Agents and Employes of Wells, Fargo & Co’s Express with Tariffs [etc.],” April 1, 1871.

Listing for the “Wauy” Sin Low Restaurant in Wells Fargo Bank’s 1882 listing of Chinese businesses.

The lavish décor of the restaurant extended to its breathtaking exterior, particularly the façade presented on its topmost balcony.  Other photographers joined Taber in photographing the restaurant over the decades. (To see more exterior shots of Woey Sin Low, go to my related article here.)

“3120 Chinese Restaurant, Dupont Street, San Francisco.” c. 1880s. Photograph by Isaiah West Taber (from the collection of the California State Library).

“A Chinese Temple (Joss House), no date.  Photographer unknown (from the travel journal, Bits of Travel by Helen Hunt).  The elaborate exterior of the Woey Sun Low restaurant was often mistaken for that of a temple.

Woey Sin Low would maintain Langley business directory and later Chinese Exchange telephone listings (at “China 242”) from the early 1870′s until the 1906 earthquake and fire. The Woey Sin Low restaurant which had served pioneer Chinese California for more than three decades would not survive the disaster. 

[chunksupreme]

S. T. Dupont Line D Fender

[bleedingcoffee42]

Daily Home News March 27, 1915

Lewis Nixon building his plant, rumored to be backed by DuPont. Him allegedly being hard up for money after US Shipbuilding Co fiasco and having the house at 22 East Fifth St go into foreclosure.

Stanhope getting pulled out of school after attacking a guy with a pipe and getting fined $200.

Front page drama for the Nixons in 1915 in an article that was supposed to be about the factory.

[dismaltouch]

ships for lauren 2.0