The Chinese Inspector, Anna May Wong and James Wong Howe

From the Los Angeles and San Pedro Shipping Gazette, 1886

Banishment and boycotts were the strategies for hating Chinese in America.

1882 was the year the Chinese Exclusion Act took effect. Ten years later the Geary Act extended the law.  Slogans like the one pictured above "No Chinese Employed" expressed a concerted anti-Chinese message. But overseas Chinese seeking work were not deterred. The law was repealed in 1943.

This blogpost highlights two well-known native Chinese Californians:  Wong Kim Ark and Anna May Wong. Also famed cinematographer James Wong Howe is mentioned.

Chinese Inspector

Exclusion enforcement required the creation of a job classification "Chinese Inspector." One was needed in every port of entry along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts; overland points like El Paso, Texas; and the Canadian and Mexican borders. Chinese Inspectors were actually needed anywhere in towns where there was a settlement of Chinese.

Here are examples of two men, who served as inspectors in southern California, who had common backgrounds: both were native-born veterans of the Civil War and then became public servants before becoming immigration officials in their fifties.

Datus Ensign Coon (1831-1893) served briefly in Los Angeles then transferred to San Diego where he stayed until he was accidentally shot dead. 

John Day Putnam (1837-1904) was active in Los Angeles from about 1890 until his death. Several newspaper articles reported on his visits to Riverside to follow up on suspects.

Runaway Chinese Women Caught in Los Angeles Chinatown

Chinese were exempted from the Exclusion Act for their entertainment use during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, 1894 San Francisco Mid-Winter Exposition and the 1895 Atlanta "Cotton" Exposition. The late great Dr. John Jung ably explored this point.

There were instances when these workers violated their temporary status, including women sent to the Atlanta Exposition who were then moved to San Francisco to become slaves. Chinese Inspector Putnam discovered two women hiding in a prostitution house near Apablasa Street and arrested them in January 1896.

An Immigrant Serves as Chinese Inspector

A Chinese Inspector for Pima County in the Arizona Territory from about 1893 was Charles Joseph Meehan (1860-1938) (sometimes spelled Mehan). He was a naturalized citizen (1878) from Quebec, Canada and had worked various trades before his federal appointment. His parents had immigrated to Quebec from Donegal, Ireland (probably to escape the early stages of the potato famine). Meehan's wife also had naturalized status, having come from England in 1881.

By the early 1900s Meehan was Chinese Inspector in El Paso, Texas. El Paso was then and for years to follow to be hotspot point of entry for Chinese coming up from Juarez, Mexico.

On October 29, 1901, he arrested Wong Kim Ark for entering and unlawfully remaining in the U.S. in violation of the Exclusion Act. By February 1902 Wong was released after it was determined that he was the same individual for which in 1898 the U.S. Supreme Court decided as born in the U.S. and couldn't be deported (today known as the landmark "birthright" case).

Wong was born in San Francisco around 1870 and would have been 8 years old by the time Meehan immigrated from Quebec. It is likely that Wong was back in San Francisco in the 1920s.

Meehan also moved to the Bay area:  Alameda, California (as listed in the 1920 Federal Census), but is placed as early as 1911 from the document seen below. Meehan was still listed (as Mehan) in the 1930 Federal Census as an immigration inspector, so he spent over forty years at it.

National Archives

Anna May Wong and James Wong Howe

Silent film actress and Angeleno, Anna May Wong, gained recognition playing the Oriental and was featured as an Eskimo in the 1924 "Alaskan." The film cinematographer was James Wong Howe who recently became in demand for his silver screen talents and visual tricks.

The National Archives has digitized a set of her and her father's travel documents in the Archives' Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files.

The papers reveal an incident when Anna's "alleged" father, Wong Sam Sing, who was returning from an overseas stay in 1938, was detained for proof of citizenship. He eventually passed inspection based on Anna's own 1924 travel documents. In that year she was going to Canada and Alaska for filming. She provided extensive authentication, and she was interrogated. She was traveling with J. Howe (likely the cinematographer).

Anna May Wong's document of return

From the Pan African Film Festival's "A BETTER WAY" to Towne Center Theatre's NANCY CHERYLL DAVIS

The magnetic pull to get to Culver City was too strong for Mildred and me.

We settled into our seats at the Culver Theatre the morning of Saturday, February 21st for the 2nd screening of "A Better Way, James Lawson, Architect of Nonviolence.” This film, directed and produced by Karen Hayes, was having its premiere at the Pan African Film & Arts Festival. 

Courtesy of Pamela Tom

In a span of two hours, Mildred and I witnessed a lifetime of accomplishments by Reverend James M. Lawson, Jr. He was a major figure in the 20th century civil rights movement alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

The film explores Lawson's path to nonviolence beginning as a youngster and his steadfast dedication in the nine decades to follow. He enthusiastically recalled the first moment he heard of Dr. King and their first meeting. The film also covered the Meredith March, a name I recognized because I blogged about James Meredith previously.

I was there too to support Pamela Tom, producer of the film.

Pamela Tom standing next to the director & producer Karen Hayes (holding microphone)
seen at the February 16th screening

Pan African Film & Arts Festival (est. 1992) and Towne Center Theatre (est. 1993)

Mildred informed me later in the day that Nancy Cheryll Davis Bellamy, who founded Towne Center Theatre, passed away in 2024. I learned that Nancy co-founded the theater to give voice to African American experiences in live local performance. I took note of the chronology of the formation of the theater and the Festival.

I met Nancy when I was hired as a temp in 1994. I was told then that I was filling in for Nancy, who was taking a leave due to a theatrical commitment. Though I was two years older, I took notice because I didn't know anyone sophisticated like that...involved with acting.

I did not see her again until 2010 when I came to a Towne Center Theatre production at The Stella Adler Theatre. 

I saved a brochure of hers promoting her stage productions of "Passing," based on the 1929 novel of the same title by Nella Larsen. Shown below are the images of Nancy from the brochure.

Nella Larsen, Librarian and Author

I, being a retired librarian, took notice that the acclaimed writer of Passing was a librarian. A short dive into Wikipedia indicated that she worked with librarian Ernestine Rose towards earning a library degree, and her employment in the New York Public Library system helped to integrate its staff.

Conclusion

Lawson and Nancy each settled in Los Angeles at different stages of their lives, and they both passed away in 2024.

Mildred said hundreds of people attended Nancy's funeral. "Doesn't always happen that quiet, consistent contributions are recognized."

"524 August Alley," Old Chinatown, L.A.

Chinese Angeleno Margaret Quon Lew began her oral history interview with this statement: “I was born in Los Angeles on 524 August Alley.” She added that she was born in the year 1917. Her recollections were recorded in 1986 by Suellen Cheng from the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.

Image courtesy Los Angeles Public Library

Where was August Alley located? How did the name originate?

Her transcript provided more clues: “The back part of the Hop Sing Tong was on the August Alley side.” “The August Alley was a narrow alley.”

This blogpost explores the area once bound along the west by North Los Angeles Street (hereafter referred as North L.A. St.); northerly Marchessault Street (today nonexistent); easterly Alameda Street; and on the south by Ferguson Alley (gone).

A Proposed Union Terminal at Plaza

Margaret’s neighborhood was doomed before she was born. A 1915 headline in the Los Angeles Tribune read “Union Station Near Plaza Endorsed by Roberts” referring to Councilman W.A. Roberts. The plaza being the city’s historic core meant there were dilapidated structures, including the 1830 Olvera Adobe which was torn down the same year of Margaret’s birth. A 1920 Times article underscored how the proposal would impact her community.

Los Angeles Times, February 22, 1920
Courtesy Newspapers.com

“August Alley” on the Map

On an 1891 Dakin map, an alley did not exist due to the configuration of the buildings, though there seemed to be pockets of interior open spaces.

From Glen Creason's Chinatown on the Map
Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library

The 1905 Baist’s atlas below showed an alleyway, unnamed. Soon two new structures would sandwich the 1838 Vicente Lugo adobe house at 520 ½ North L.A. St.: the “Fook Wo Lung Curio Co.” and the “Gee Ning Tong Block.”

Note: At least by 1908, “August Alley” was recognized by the U.S. Post Office.

From Glen Creason's Chinatown on the Map
Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library

From the 1921 Baist’s real estate atlas page, August Alley is clearly on the map.

Courtesy David Rumsey Map Collection,
David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries

The 1930 1924 Sanborn map also showed the alleyway.

From Glen Creason's Chinatown on the Map
Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library

How “August Alley” Came About – and Surrounding Buildings

A Chinese Theater

From the 1891 map, one can imagine where the “future alley” would appear, with its entrance on Marchessault Street, along the length of the Chinese theater. This theater might have been the 2nd one to operate in Old Chinatown, and this location may have begun in 1884. Though the balcony was removed sometime after 1934, the entire building stood until the 1951 wrecking.

A Curio Business Corner

The unnamed alley in the 1905 map is aligned with a red corner lot at North L.A. St. and Marchessault (526-528 North L.A. St.) for which all the historic photos I have seen it appeared to be a two-story building with a distinctive parapet sign “Fook Wo Lung Curio Co.” However, newspaper articles and city directories alternately indicate the “China (or Chinese) Oriental Curio Co.” at that location in the earliest years starting on January 27, 1900. The owner, Yip Bow Yuen, described as a wealthy merchant and resident of 20 years, died in 1908.

In 1909 the “Fook Wo Lung Curio Co.” starts appearing in historic reference sources and continuing throughout the teens, twenties and early thirties. “Suie One F. Co.” takes over the location (which I spotted in the 1934 city directory). “Suie One” stays here until the building was tagged for demolition in 1951. It is still a thriving business today.

Note: An earlier store “Tong Sang” advertised a firecracker sale of Chinese silk goods and merchandise in the Times in the summer of 1890. They were here at 526 North L.A. St. probably in an original single-story building and at least into 1897.

Lee Shing Properties

To the south of the former Lugo adobe were more Chinese businesses including a long-operating drug store, Gee Ning Tong, owned by druggist Lee Shing who was reported in the Times to have been in the city for 18 years and a total of 31 years in America. He decided to spend $12,000 for a modern structure, called the Gee Ning Tong Block, a 3-story, pressed brick building for retail and professional offices (510, 512 & 514 North L.A. St.).

The grand opening on January 25, 1906, coincided with the lunar new year. Lee’s own shop, Gee Ning Tong, resumed to operate on the ground floor. Lee died in 1912, but the business continued for decades and into New Chinatown as a tenant of Margaret and her husband.

Courtesy Herman J. Schultheis Collection, Los Angeles Photographers Collection,
Los Angeles Public Library

Lee expanded in 1907 by purchasing a single-story building on Alameda Street from the Bauchet estate so he could complete a multi-story addition to connect to the rear side of his other building. This effort likely fortified “August Alley” with a dead end. On the 1921 Baist’s map, the notation “Lee Shing Prop” can be seen.

Vicente Lugo Adobe

Lugo descended from settlers to Spain-held California. The building became an important center of Chinese community life after 1890 and housed a Buddhist temple, the Hop Sing Tong headquarters and businesses. The Hop Sing Tong (the big clue provided by Margaret) had its address at 520 ½ North L.A. St., and other numbers corresponding to the adobe were 516, 518, 520, 522, 522 ½, and 524 (shown on the 1921 map).

But individual street numbers for “August Alley” are not detailed on maps. Historical references indicate persons resided at 516, 516 ½, 518, 522-524 and 526 August Alley. Update: hold on! The numbers appear on the 1924 Sanborn (purple) map: 518, 520, 524, 526. The apartments were in the converted old theater!

In late 1950 supporters rallied to save the adobe, the last symbol and cultural monument of Old Chinatown. But they did not win against Christine Sterling (the brainchild of the 1930 tourist attraction Olvera Street). The impending erasure of nearby Ferguson Alley also captured public attention, but August Alley remained invisible in the shadow of the Lugo adobe.

Next door to the Lugo house was the Fook Wo Lung Curio Co. building. Circa 1915
"August Alley" was behind these two buildings.
Courtesy Ernest Marquez Collection, Huntington Library

Ferguson Alley, and the Dragon’s Den

The 1905, 1921 and 1924 maps all show Ferguson Alley. From about 1897 onward Chinese lived here. The property was owned by William Ferguson, an Arkansas settler from 1869.

“Nov. 8, 1946 View is West into Ferguson Alley from N. Alameda St. L.A. Calif." Courtesy L.T. Holman Gotchy Collection, Chinese Historical Society of Southern California

At the rear of the Fook Wo Lung Curio building (by 1934 occupied by Suie One F. Co.) was a basement that became social hot spot. It was next to "August Alley." See image below.

The Dragon’s Den restaurant gained popularity after opening in 1935 especially due its eye-catching artistic façade and interior murals painted by Tyrus Wong and his cohorts from art school. Stories of the restaurant and the renowned artist Wong were introduced to us through Lisa See’s On Gold Mountain, the One Hundred-Year Odyssey of a Chinese-American Family (1995) and filmmaker Pamela Tom’s documentary Tyrus (2015). Upon arriving in the city, Tyrus’ first home after reuniting with his dad was on Ferguson Alley.

1949. Courtesy Water and Power Associates

The above photo is about 1950. Courtesy Harry Quillen Collection, Los Angeles Photographers Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.

Who Owned the Land in Old Chinatown?

Covered so far have been the neighborhoods west of Alameda Street. On the east side of the street there were other parts of Old Chinatown removed in the early 1930s to establish the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, known as Union Station, which opened in 1939. Those areas became occupied by Chinese residents who moved or extended further away from the plaza. The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 prompted new Chinese arrivals to the city, too. Streets included China Alley; Marchessault Alley; Mary Lane; and Apablasa (Apablaza), Benjamin, Cayetano, Concha, Jeanette, Juan (John), and Napier streets.

Along the “Union Station” vicinity, the land was owned by the Apablasa family and the Mathew Keller estate. Deed maps indicate Caroline and Alice Shafer inherited in 1891 from their father Mathew. The Shafers were California-born 2nd generation Irish.

The above survey is from 1890. Note the Chinese theater on the corner of Marchessault Alley and Alameda. Courtesy Huntington Library.

Returning back to the vicinity of “August Alley” and the surrounding buildings, the landowner was Levi Newton Breed. He was a latecomer to L.A. (1881), served as city councilman and subdivided in Boyle Heights where today Breed Street runs. He died in 1908, and when his wife died two years later his daughter Lillian May Moore inherited the property valued at $75,000.

In 1899 and 1900, newspapers reported Breed’s building permits on Marchessault for repairs as well as $3,500 for a building in September 1899. These details play into the next section on how "August Alley" might have gotten the name.

L.A. County Public Works map CF0209, 1890. Note in yellow highlight on the right side are two properties of L.N. Breed where "August Alley" stood. Highlighted in the center is a lot for Wm. Ferguson. To the right of that, see also two unhighlighted lots of Meyer Newmark and Delphina Varelas

Did the Alley Name Originate from a Baker, a Judge or an Architect?

I learned that the name August or Augustus or Agustin was rather common among early L.A. settlers.

Was it attributed to Philadelphia-born August Ulyard who arrived at the close of 1852, rented a place near the Plaza and then opened a bakery?

Was the alley named for Judge Agustin Olvera? While he was living he was graced with the naming of Olvera Street in 1873. He acquired an 1830 adobe on Marchessault Street that was not far at all from “August Alley,” and the adobe was razed in 1917.

Or did the alley name somehow stuck because prominent architect August Wackerbarth knew a lot of people through his clients and being a Scribe (key officer) in the Masons fraternal organization?

Both Levi Newton Breed and William Ferguson were members of the Masons.

Wackerbarth practiced as an architect in L.A. since the early 1880s. Breed was a client of Wackerbarth in a 1906 property at 308 South Broadway.

Wackerbarth also had a Chinese customer: in 1900 he was the architect for Chee Kong Tong Co. (a powerful fraternal group which had the offshoot Bing Kong Tong) for a property on Apablasa Street.

He was also active in the L.A. County Pioneer Society, and in 1926 on behalf of the Society he endorsed the Union Terminal at the Plaza site. He died of a heart attack in 1931 and did not live to see the rise of Union Station.

My money bet is with August Wackerbarth.

The Legacy of Margaret Quon Lew

According to the oral history, Margaret married Tony Quon Lew at 20 years of age and started a retail business with her husband at 21. That was 1938 the year before Union Station’s grand opening. The Lews found opportunities in New Chinatown along North Spring Street. 

Their ventures, which began with a market, then included investment properties, a restaurant and a theater in 1962 called Sing Lee. The theater provided a hub for Chinese opera fans, beauty pageants, and of course, motion pictures imported from Hong Kong and Taiwan. 

Now the old theater space at 649 North Spring Street is undergoing its own stages of life and death – new generations of public historians are keeping the stories alive – especially Janet Louie, Harvard University Ph.d. candidate whose film screening series, Echoes from Spring Street, is ongoing through March 22nd at the Billy Wilder Theatre in the Hammer Museum. Read also Janet’s blog post on the history of the Sing Lee Theatre and followed by UCLA Motion Picture Curator Todd Wiener’s efforts to save hundreds of film reels from destruction.

Addendum: Commission on Housing & Immigration; WPA Census Records, 1939

Government authorities surveyed living conditions in 1915 and homed in on "August Alley" and vicinity:

The Work Projects Administration (WPA) sent out census takers in 1939. Here are several records of "August Alley" and North L.A. St. households from the WPA Household Census Cards and Employee Records, Los Angeles, University of Southern California Digital Library:

Fantastic Sources:

Chinese Historical Society of Southern California’s Digital Repository

Counter, Bill. Los Angeles Theatres Blogspot

Estrada, William David. The Los Angeles Plaza: Sacred and Contested Space (University of Texas Press, 2008)

Greenwood, Roberta S. Down By the Station: Los Angeles Chinatown 1880-1933 (Institute of Archaeology, UCLA, 1996) PDF available online

Kines, Mark Tapio. Los Angeles Street Names

Water and Power Associates Museum

Image was before 1934. August Alley on the right next to a Chinese theater along Marchessault Street.
Courtesy Chinese Historical Society of Southern California