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Ross Alley, pre-1906, no date. Photographer unknown (from a private collection).

Legendary Ross Alley

Telling any story about Ross Alley remains difficult because so much material has been written or produced about one of the most iconic small streets of San Francisco’s pre-1906 Chinatown. The Chinese referred to the old Stouts or Ross Alley as “old Spanish lane” or 舊呂宋巷 (canto: “Gauh Leuih Sung Hong”). The literal translation today would be “Old Luzon Lane.” This may have represented the use of a Chinese colonial name for the Philippine archipelago in referring to the Spanish-speaking residents who inhabited this part of the city before the Chinese became the dominant population of today's Chinatown neighborhood.

An urban pioneer family of four walks north on Ross Alley toward Jackson Street, no date. Photographer unknown (from a private collection). Wooden planks covered the alleyway's surface during the 1870's.

Unfortunately, the origins of Ross Alley have been muddled, even by mythologizing by Chinatown organizations in the 20th century when Ross and other alleyways were remodeled and several historical plaques were installed. Contrary to Chinatown revisionism, the Chinese did not create and construct Ross Alley.

Street in Chinatown, San Francisco. Completely Burned. No. 2168,” published c. 1906. Photographer unknown for the Photo. Co. of America, Chicago. The street is the pre-1906 pawnshop row along the north side of Washington Street at the southern entrance to Ross Alley. The pawnshop signage for the On Wing (安榮) store at 828 Washington appears in the center of the photo.

In an attempt to dispel the confusion about the alleyway's origin story, Hudson Bell writes in his walking tour blog as follows:

“While it is true that an exploration of Chinatown reveals a maze of alleys unlike other districts of San Francisco, the reason has nothing to do with the factors mentioned on Ross [Alley’s historical] plaque. The truth is that most all of the alleyways in Chinatown date back to the time of the California Gold Rush of 1849, when the exploding population was centered around and pushing out from the Plaza, that is Portsmouth Square, otherwise known as ‘the cradle of San Francisco.’ “Ross Alley is named for Charles L. Ross, one of the city’s pioneer merchants, who built a house next to where the alley is all the way back in 1847, when the town was still known as Yerba Buena. The alley itself was not instituted until the later part of 1849 however, and was originally called Stout’s Alley, as at the time Dr. Arthur Breese Stout, one of San Francisco’s pioneer physicians, had turned the old Ross residence into a hospital.”

Bell’s concise article about Ross Alley’s origins may be read here: https://fernhilltours.com/2016/06/28/ross-alley-the-truth-about-chinatowns-side-streets/

The southern entrance to Ross Alley on the north side of Washington Street, flanked by pawnshops. Photographer unknown, no date (from a private collection).

The alley was a hub of activity for Chinatown’s underground economy, with at least 21 gambling houses operating openly by the time the City of San Francisco released its “vice map” in July of 1885.

Ross Alley as depicted on the July 1885 map commissioned by the San Francisco board of Supervisors (from the Cooper Chow collection at the Chinese Historical Society of America).

“The Street of the Gamblers (by day)” c. 1896 -1906. Photograph by Arnold Genthe (from the Genthe photograph collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division). For this southerly view of Ross Alley from Jackson Street, historian Jack Tchen wrote as follows: “As evidenced by the traditional papier-mache garlands hanging above the doorway on the building to the right, this photograph was taken around New Year’s, when seasonal workers were laid off, inundating Chinatown streets with thousands of idle workers. Their cotton tunic tops and cloth shoes are Chinese, but the pants and felt homburg-style hats are strictly Western. Genthe’s title . . . is accurate insofar as Ross Alley had many gambling rooms, but it unfairly ascribes a sinister quality to these men.”

“The Street of the Gamblers (by night), c. 1896 – 1906. Photograph by Arnold Genthe (from the Genthe photograph collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division). Based on the position of the lanterns and small awning structures, the nocturnal view of Ross Alley appears to look northerly toward Jackson Street. As befitting the gambling locale in Chinatown, Genthe captured in the lower left corner of the frame small signage bearing the Chinese maxim: 接財梅引財神, literally “receive the God of Wealth” (canto: “zeep3 choy mui yan choy sun”). Historian Jack Tchen writes about this photo as follows: “Genthe tried to capture scenes of Chinatown’s active nightlife with shots like this of Ross Alley. Here he was able to photograph who were obviously in a relaxed, happy mood. In [his book] As I Remember, Genthe writes about Ross Alley’s ‘rows sliding solid iron doors to be clanked swiftly shut at the approach of the police’.”

“Dupont St. Wood Carriers of Chinatown Sf Cal.” c. 1890. Photograph by A.J. McDonald (from the Marilyn Blaisdell collection). Wood carriers appear poised to turn left onto Ross Alley from Washington Street. The signage in the upper left-hand corner of the frame advertise the location of the Hang Lee & Co. pawnshop or “Pervasive Profit” pawnshop (亨利押; canto: “hung lei aap”), at 830 Washington Street, at the northwest corner of Washington Street and Stouts (or Ross) Alley. Also, the barely discernible signage for the On Wing (安榮) pawnshop slightly down the eastern incline of the street at 828 Washington can be seen in the upper center of the photo.

The residents of old Chinatown preferred to hold liquid assets in the form of gold or gems because of the relative ease with which they could arrange loans from pawnshops when they needed cash urgently. The neighborhood’s pawnbrokers located their shops in strategic proximity to houses of gambling and/or prostitution, with particular concentrations of shops on Washington and Jackson Streets.

The below-street grade location of the Hang Lee & Co. pawnshop at 830 Washington Street on the northwest corner of the intersection of Washington Street and Ross Alley, c. 1900. Photograph by Henry H. Dobbin (from the Marilyn Blaisdell collection).

“Ross Alley from Washington Street (Arnold Genthe’s title: “The Alley”). A pawnshop’s sign appears at the right of the image. Historian Jack Tchen wrote about this image as follows:

An underground culture flourished along the narrow alleys and in the back rooms of Tangrenbu.[*] While the merchants controlled the major avenues of commerce and transportation, the tongs controlled the alleys. Ross Alley was lined with establishments for playing popular gambling games, such as pi gow* (baigepiao) – lottery tickets, or the “the white pigeon ticket,” much like the American game of keno – fantan [*], in which bets were waged on how many of a pile of beads would be left when reduced by fours; and caifa, a riddle guessing game. . . . For many outsiders, this underground culture had an air of the sinister about it. For the Chinese it was simply an everyday fact of life, bound up with the survival of the community.” -- From Genthe’s Photographs of San Francisco’s Old Chinatown, Selection and Text by John Kuo Wei Tchen. [Notes: * 牌九 = (canto) paai4 gau2; ** 唐人埠 = (canto) tong4 yan4 faauh; *** 番攤 = (canto) fan1tan1]

“Ross Alley Chinatown 1904.” Photograph by Henry H. Dobbin (from the collection of the California State Library). At right, the sign for the 巨興 (canto: “Geuih Hing”) or “Great Prosperity” pawnshop can be seen.

The sheer volume of press accounts of gambling and homicides occurring on Ross Alley complicates understanding of the alley’s history. Throughout the early 1900s, Ross Alley remained embroiled in gang-related activities, including several high-profile assassinations and robberies involving prominent members of the Chinese community. The alley was a hotspot for gambling dens and opium use, which attracted the attention of law enforcement, leading to numerous raids and arrests.

As documented in a representative sampling by Andy Chan (a former CHSA.org registrar) from news articles from the San Francisco Call newspaper between 1900 and 1906, Ross Alley became the focal point of conflicts between the Hop Sing Tong and Suey Sing Tong, two rival Chinese organizations vying for power and influence. Police collusion with the criminal combines hampered public safety management of the escalating feud, as the police were suspected of accepting bribes from Chinese men, leading to the suspension of patrolmen.

In March 1900, a high-profile murder occurred in Ross Alley when Chin Ah Suey, a member of one of the Tongs, was assassinated by a “highbinder” (a non-Chinese term for Chinese gangsters). This incident brought attention to the growing violence and crime within the Chinese community. The tensions between different Chinese factions and the police corruption issues in Chinatown came to a head in 1903 when several Chinese merchants and community members filed lawsuits against the Chief of Police, accusing him of being involved in fraudulent activities related to gambling dens.

“164 Highbinders’ Retreat SF. Calif”c. 1890. Photographer unknown (from the collection of the San Francisco Public Library).

In 1904, another major event occurred in Ross Alley when Lee San Bow, who claimed to have information about a Chinatown scandal, disappeared mysteriously. In 1905, a tong war erupted between the Hop Sing Tong and the Hep [sic] Sing Tong, resulting in several murders and a wave of violence in the area. The police were implicated in providing protection for gambling dens, thereby fomenting more distrust between the Chinese community and law enforcement. The Louie Poy homicide as reported in the San Francisco Call on September 27, 1905, typified the cases in this era (and also illuminated one of the occupational hazards to pawnbrokers who advanced bail money).

From the San Francisco Call of September 27, 1905:

Louis Poy, one of the most desperate and feared Highbinders in Chinatown, was shot and instantly killed last night in Ross Alley near Jackson Street by Highbinders. The murders had their plans well laid and made their escape without leaving a clue.

Poy was walking along Ross alley at about 7 o'clock in the evening when two highbinders stepped out of a doorway, and one of them fired point blank into the victim's head. The bullet entered his right temple and he fell face forward to the street. To be sure of their prey they stood over their victim and fired two more shots at Poy as he lay lifeless on the sidewalk. One of them entered his back and the other penetrated his hand. The highbinders made their escape through a pawnshop nearby. Detective McMahon, Sergeant Ross and Policeman George Downey were on the scene a few minutes afterward. It was evident that the plot was well laid as the homicides made good their escape. The only evidence left behind was the 44-caliber revolver which was used to do the deed. Poy lived with his mother and sister at 742 Washington street, and was 26 years old. He was considered one of the most desperate Highbinders and had been one of the ringleaders in many tong wars that have occurred in the Chinese quarter for the last eight years. He was a member of the Suey Sing Tong for many years until a few months ago, when he and twenty other Highbinders were expelled from the organization. The police believe he was murdered by Suey Sing Tong highbinders. Though they called a meeting last night and offered a reward for his layers it is though that this is done to mislead the police. He recently testified for the prosecution in a case the Educational Society was prosecuting and this is believed to have led to his death. In March 5, 1900, in the trouble with the Suey Sings and Sing Luey Yings, Poy was a ringleader. A Sing man was killed by a Ying highbinder and a suspect was arrested. He was afterward released on bail. The Suey Sings suspected Tuck Wo, a Jackson street pawnbroker, as having furnished the bail money. Wo was killed shortly afterward and Poy was suspected of having done the deed. In March 29, 1904, Poy and another highbinder, Quan Yim, fought a pitched battle with Low Ying and Low Sing on Baker alley, in which fifty shots were exchanged, but no one was wounded. Poy was accused of having shot at Yup Sing last January. The police have connected him with numerous murders in Chinatown, but were unable to convict him. Invariably when a good case was against him the witnesses were bought off and would leave the city or refuse to testify.

Despite law enforcement efforts to combat gambling and other illegal activities in Chinatown, the situation persisted, leading to further arrests and clashes between different Chinese factions. The history of Ross Alley during this period is characterized by a complex web of rivalries, violence, police corruption, and illegal activities, making it a notorious part of San Francisco's Chinatown. It serves as a reflection of the challenges faced by the Chinese community in the city during the early 20th century, as they struggled to maintain their cultural identity while dealing with exclusion, segregation, discrimination in virtually all aspects of American life, and the resulting social and political pressures.

“Ross Alley from Jackson Street,” c. 1898. Photograph by Arnold Genthe (from the Genthe photograph collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division). Historian Jack Tchen has written about this photo as follows: “The wooden box affixed to the wall on the left was for disposing of paper scraps. [Arnold] Genthe inaccurately entitled this photograph “Reading the Tong Proclamation.” According to many guide pamphlets and books written during this time, these notices proclaimed who would be the next victims of tong “hatchet men.”* In actuality, they reported a variety of community news.” [*斧頭仔; canto: “foo tau jai”]

Chinese merchant with his two children in Ross Alley of pre-1906 San Francisco Chinatown, c. 1902. Photograph attributed to Charles Weidner. This image would be often be reproduced with the growth of the tourist postcard industry.

In 1906, the San Francisco earthquake and fire devastated the city, including Chinatown. The neighborhood was slow to recover, and Ross Alley was no exception. Practically all of the buildings were destroyed. In the years that followed, the neighborhood struggled to regain its former vibrancy.

The northerly view on Ross Alley toward Jackson Street, March 28, 2024. Photo by Doug Chan.

Today, Ross Alley is not only a means for Chinatown residents to move efficiently to the neighborhood’s principal streets but also a popular tourist destination and a symbol of the vibrancy of San Francisco Chinatown's once and future street life.

Southerly view of Ross Alley, July 22, 2023. Photo by Doug Chan. Today, the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory draws visitors to the alley and Chinatown from around the world.

Coda: Ross Alley's Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory

The northerly view of Ross Alley from mid-block during tourist season, July 22, 2023. Photo by Doug Chan. Patrons line up to experience the Golden Gate Fortune Factory. At center, red-colored saw horses used for lion dance routines help maintain pedestrian circulation through the alleyway.

In his book, San Francisco Chinatown: A Guide to its History & Architecture, the late historian Philip P. Choy wrote about the precursors to Ross Alley’s most prominent business in the late 20th and 21st centuries, the Golden Gate Fortune Cookies Co., as follows:

“Today Ross Alley is famous for the Golden Gate Fortune Cookies Co. [sic], where the only remaining old-fashioned fortune cookie machine in Chinatown is still use [sic]. This is a “must-see” for tourists. “With the popularity of Chinese dining came the fortune cookie. Like “chop suey,” no one knows when it was introduced into Chinatown. Both the Chinese and Japanese take credit. Thus the legend of the Chinese fortune cookie crumbles. “Jennifer B. Lee, in her article in the New York Times (1/16/08), reported the researcher in Japanese confectioneries Yasuko Nakamachi uncovered an 1878 book illustrating a man attending multiple round iron molds with long handles resting on a rectangular grill over a bed of charcoal, much like the way fortune cookies were made for generations by small family bakeries near the Shinto shrine outside Kyoto, Japan. “Confectionery shop owners Gary Ono of the Benkyodo Co. (founded 1906) and Brian Kito of Fugetsu-do of Los Angeles (founded 1903) claim their grandfathers introduced the fortune cookie to America. Erik Hagiware-Nagata mentioned his grandfather Makato Hagiware [sic] made the cookie at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. The daughter of David Jung claims her father the cookie at their Hong Kong Noodle Co. founded in 1906 in Los Angeles."

Locals and tourist mix outside the Golden Gate Fortune Coookie Factory, the last of its kind in San Francisco Chinatown, July 26, 2023. Photo by Doug Chan.

“At one hundred years old, Eva Lim remembered that while visiting the Tea Garden in the 1920s, her father bought her a package of the cookies but they were flat, not folded, without the fortune. She was fascinated watching a woman baking the cookies with two waffle-like irons through the window of a market at the northeast corner of Dupont and Pacific Avenue. “Originally the batter was baked in individual molds made In Japan, and the cookie was folded by hand when it hardened. The late dentist Dr. Gene Poon described his father’s home operation in the early 1930s, with seven to ten electrically heated units set in a U-shaped assembly line. Each unit was like a waffle iron with two round castings. During World War II, his father, Bing Cheong Poon, went to work in the shipyard but continued making cookies at night. Gene used to deliver them Fong Fong Bakery (established 1937), Eastern (established 1924), and the sidewalk stalls. “Apparently in Chinatown, fortune cookies were a homemade commodity until the mechanized carousal [sic] machine was invented by the Japanese and manufactured in Los Angeles. Kay Heung Noodle on Beckett Alley (founded 1933) by Charles Harry Soo Hoo used such a machine, which had multiple molds placed in a roughly seven-foot-diameter circle. Workers sat outside the circle, individually picked the soft pliable cookie, and folded the fortune. Eastern Bakery bought the machine began to make its own cookies in 1940. “Coming to America in 1952, Franklin Yee worked for ten years before saving enough money to go into business for himself. Yee started his Golden Gate Fortune Cookies Co. in 1962, when most existing fortune cookie bakeries had already switched to a completely automatic system. Lacking funds, Yee stayed with the old-fashioned machine. He remembers clearly that in his initial operation, his sales were only $5.00 a day. From this humble beginning, he turned the business into a main tourist attraction. “How and when the Chinese fortune cookie remains a mystery but it is clear that the Chinese made the cookie.”

Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory proprietor Kevin Chan (in ball cap) poses with (l. to r.) CHSA president Doug Chan, Myron Lee, and documentary producer Contessa Gayles during filming of the Vox documentary about San Francisco Chinatown’s aesthetic as part of its “Missing Chapter” series. (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiX3hTPGoCg)

As old as Chinese America itself, Ross Alley remains a testament to the resilience of the city's Chinese community and a reminder of the important role that Chinatown played in the history of San Francisco.

“Ross Alley, Chinatown” 1886. Oil painting by Edwin Deakin. The painting depicts a Chinese New Year’s celebration at the southern end of Ross Alley as viewed from Washington Street and the pawnshops flanking the entrance to the alleyway. Deakin included at the top of the painting the triangular standard of the Qing emperor flying from atop a building on Jackson Street.

In its latest incarnation, legendary Ross Alley is known now as one of Chinatown's "cute date" venues. See reporter Han Li's feature here: (or go to the following URL: https://sfstandard.com/2023/08/15/chinatown-date-ideas-san-francisco-cookie-boba-art/?fbclid=IwAR2IHBKCMJff2QZWEA7_3u5m9jKcjpv-3gTnRYl8P9vhsN4EQjGqAARh1vI)

#Ross Alley #San Francisco Chinatown #On Wing pawnshop #Hang Lee & Co. pawnshop #Arnold Genthe #A.J. McDonald #Henry H. Dobbin #Suey Sing Tong #Hop Sing Tong #Louis Poy murder #Philip Choy #Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory #Edwin Deakin #Stouts Alley #Golden Gate Fortune Cookies Co.#God of Wealth #Charles Weidner

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