MAKING OF C.A.C.A HEADQUARTERS

On October 18, 1915 at the Fourth Biennial Convention in Los Angeles, the C.A.C.A. members passed a resolution to purchase the empty land across the street from the Chinese Methodist-Episcopalian Church at 1009-1011 Stockton Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown for a national C.A.C.A. headquarters at 1044 Stockton Street, at the cost of $9,000 and to raise money to construct the Grand (national) Lodge, the highest governing body of the Alliance.1 Despite discriminatory real estate practices, the land was purchased. Progress on the building fund-raiser was delayed because many of the members were drafted to serve in World War I and the C.A.C.A. supported the training, provided equipment, and encouraged Chinese Americans to serve in the war. An estimated six hundred of its approximately 2,500 national members had signed up to serve.2 World War II resulted in more enthusiasm for military service and the organization now with its building supported training and equipment as it had during WWI.

Thus, while the rest of the physical Chinatown being rebuilt from the rubble of the 1906 Earthquake and Fire would celebrate a Chinatown conceived for the sake of Chinese cultural tourism the faux cultural interpretations of Ross & Burgren, these Native Sons deliberately would raise a symbol for a different perception of an American future, and the new multiple story, wood framed, steel-reinforced, brick box structure was to be a grand three dimensional expression unlike anything else in Chinatown in that era. It was to be an expression of their realizing American Citizenship by the benefit of birth and of their goal that these Chinese Americans can aspire to “being equal” in a modern America.

The Building Committee of Chinese American Citizens Alliance selected Bay Area Architect Charles E.J. Rogers to design the imposing façade that makes the Chinese American Citizens Alliance building one-of-a-kind in its neighborhood and district of Chinatown. The front of the building is in an American classical revival style of a latter 19th and early 20th Centuries, perfectly symmetrical, with strong decorative elements of Beaux Arts features, consisting mainly of concrete, wood, brick and stucco finish. The decision to proceed with the project was made in 1915.3 A vacant lot cleared of earthquake debris was chosen, the largest lot remaining on Stockton Street in that part of Chinatown. However, at 5,280 square feet of footpad with modest budget, the project put severe limits on an architect’s creativity. Particularly, when the requirement was also laid on him that “to promote the “American” identity of its occupant, the design of this building was to be devoid of any Oriental motif,” so observed architectural historian Philip P. Choy. 4 The prime period of the building on its site may be defined as 1915 to 1965 although the building continues in its original function and continued impact by its owner to the present, nearing the edifice’s centennial year. We arbitrarily choose 1965, the year of the watershed Immigration Act, as a milestone to mark the emergence of a new Chinese American national leadership as political empowerment matured.

Their decision year of 1915 is significant because it was the year of the Panama Pacific Exposition, with some wonderfully delightful experiences in architecture, faux designs or otherwise. The Palace of Fine Arts remains. The more likely inspiration for Rogers, however, was more likely the great designs of Arthur Brown for the reconstruction of the Civic Center of San Francisco.5 The City Hall and Civic Auditorium were finished; the Old Main Library followed. All surrounded the Civic Center Plaza, and all were designed consistently in a unified Beaux Arts style, embracing “classical design elements like the portico and Doric columns.”

Recent façade (2015)

Detail of façade (2015) Chinese American Citizens Alliance Archives. Photo by Sue Fawn Chung.

Demand from external organizations was great, to the extent a fee schedule for rentals had to be devised, a fateful step in Chinese American history (see for example C. Brooks6). An early design notion for a basement dancing ballroom ended up with use of the auditorium floor, leading to decisions to not install permanent seating except in the balcony and to create a high-quality hardwood dance floor. The dressing rooms for members on the second (mezzanine) level would quickly become the preparation areas for performers, as it is today. After nearly a century now in 2021, the C.A.C.A. auditorium has returned ironically to its premiere position in Chinatown, as access and other venues has terminated or only provide much smaller capacity. On the second floor were a conventional Board Room and executive offices, connected by an elegant sitting room, as shown.

2018 Chinese American Citizens Alliance, Archives

Mid-construction view c. 1920, with members of the building committee. Chinese American Citizens Alliance Archives: postcard.9

Financing was mostly self-funding. Due to the discrimination of the times in the Chinese Exclusion Act era, it was far easier to create support within the national community itself. Lodges in San Francisco ($34,640), Chicago ($25,646), Los Angeles ($15,300), Oakland ($5,740), San Diego ($5,480), Fresno ($4,160), Detroit ($3,740), Boston ($240), Portland ($200), and Pittsburgh ($40) purchased shares and thus added to the Grand Lodge’s contribution of $5,302.50 for a total of $100,488.507 as of June 30, 1921. Various loans also added to the fund and were paid off by the mid-twentieth century. The total project cost was reported in 1921 as $118,1628. Remaining minor loans took the rest of the decade to retire.

Nearest neighbor to the south has been Lung Kong Kung Saw (Four Families) Association building since 1910. In 1930, their main headquarters moved to Grant Avenue, but the group has kept this building and extended their property for their youth club across a lane, blocking C.A.C.A.’s access to Old Chinatown Lane out to Washington Street to the south. Immediately to the north is a mixed-use building, with street level jewelry store and upstairs apartments and Single Occupant Resident units. C.A.C.A. Headquarters was the last building to be built, in 1920, in this corner of the block.

Dedication of Headquarters Building, August 10, 1921—from the stage.

Façade c. 1923, Oct. 1923 9th Convention.

A year after construction began and completed at the end of 1920, the building was dedicated on August 10, 1921 in a series of events noteworthy to be reported in San Francisco newspapers, notably the dutiful Examiner, “Chinese Open New S.F. Home”. 10 Tersely, if the reporter were the architectural critic, he remarked in a manner perhaps tainted by the ethnic bias of the time, “Their new home is a pretentious, four-story structure.” Perhaps the native-born membership could conclude that their subtle goal had been accomplished, to make a definitive statement of their place in America. California Governor William Stephens (1917-1923) was keynote speaker in the auditorium,11 and then at the dedication banquet at the historic Hang Far Low restaurant,12 together with State Senator David Canepa and San Francisco Supervisors Scott, McLaren and Mulvihill, and China Consul General Woo. Grand President Leong Kow spoke in English and Chinese. bilingually. The Examiner even noted that congratulations came from Dr. Sun Yat-sen, founder and first president of the Republic of China, himself. The C.A.C.A. entourage would move to Oakland for the weekend to dedicate that new Lodge building (308 Eighth Street) and hold the Eighth Biennial National Convention. 13

Dignitaries on the stage.

Congratulations message from Sun Yatsen.

For nearly a century, the building has been the setting for national actions in civil rights, political empowerment, social justice, and even the most basic in social services for Chinese in the United States. In this building, the C.A.C.A would grow out of the era of Chinese Exclusion under societal and official discrimination to become a recognized, national leader of the Chinese American community and define and shape rights and benefits for its members and the larger community in the present century. So much so that the building itself would become a community symbol of the organization in residence for nearly a century and one of the landmarks of Chinatown itself.

Building Description: Summary Paragraph

The property is located at 1044 Stockton Street, San Francisco, CA 94108, San Francisco map reference 648-A5, Census Tract 0114.00, in Chinatown, purchased November 17, 1917 at $9,000 on a lot 44’ x 120’ with a total square area of 5,280 sq. feet. The building is a nominal 4-level rectangular box-shaped building (plus basement), with lightwells, totaling 108,729 sq. feet and completed in late 1920, dedicated August 1921. The design is by Charles E. J. Rogers using eclectic elements of American classical revival, largely Beaux Arts-influenced style and detailing, and in-theme decorations, rising from a concrete foundation on a galvanized iron structural frame supporting unreinforced brick walls and finished with wood, brick, plaster or terra cotta trims, and later, thin stucco and concrete mix layers on obstructed side walls to withstand water damage and support modern utilities. The footprint of the building covers nearly the entire narrow rectangular lot. The developer consciously selected a design departure for this institutional building away from the stereotypical “Oriental City” style then prevalent in commercial Chinatown by direction of the Board of Officers. It was meant as subtle visible declaration, through architecture, by forward looking Chinese Americans of their equal footing with the best of American society, by emulating the best of the newest Downtown or Nob Hill structures. The current use of the building includes a basement kitchen with dining area, an intermediate half subbasement, first level entry with offices, a cloak room, two restrooms, and an auditorium with performance stage and a rear balcony, a second floor with office once a reading room, bathroom, closets, large meeting room, and an upper two levels of 16 residential living spaces, eight one-bedroom apartments with kitchen and bath and eight as single-residency-occupancy units with common utilities. The interior carries the Classical revival theme for ambiance into its most public space, such as the auditorium lobby. Most of the building with its interior features and function have remained unchanged since its construction except for limited exterior modifications and interior modernization to create a small street-level retail space, a major seismic retrofit, and changes to upgrade for code compliances, users’ basic restroom facilities, and periodic maintenance. The building has been fully functional without pause throughout its 100 and more years.

The Chinese American Citizens Alliance, a 125-year national civil rights and community group, is owner of the building, designated as Headquarters, with address stated as 1044 Stockton Street, between Jackson and Washington Streets. In active use for a century, the building is in good condition and retains all aspects of integrity.

Building Description: Narrative

Exterior

The primary elevation of Headquarters faces west along Stockton Street. [See map photo to the right.] The building is rectangular in form and constructed into a hill that slopes downward towards Grant Avenue. The first story is elevated approximately twelve feet above the street level, accommodating a basement likewise lowered another twelve feet and dug westward into the hill, and it is partially visible from the building rear or east face. The building is characterized by a tall first story and upper façade. The flanges of the “I” present solid wall-to-wall faces, with an imposing frontal façade on Stockton Street demonstrating the Classical details of decoration typical of finer San Francisco buildings of that era. The building is covered by a flat roof with an Italianate style cornice and frieze, where an encased slab of white marble imprinted with Chinese script that reads 同源總會 (tong yuan zong hui), meaning Chinese American Citizens Alliance, is centered above the grand entrance. The rear façade exposes a well-rendered eastward facing pattern of red brick laid over the 1920 steel frame. The building rear was intended to provide secondary entry off a once colorful pedestrian lane accessible to Washington Street to the south.

Credit: Map Date 2021 ©Goggle United States

Caption: Overhead View of white roof of 1044 Stockton Street, outlined in white, bounded by Stockton Street front (west), Jackson Street (north), and Ross Alley rear (east). Glimpses of rear façade and adjacent buildings are seen.

The frontal facade is symmetrical in the Classical style with the exception today of the southwest storefront portion of the building which has been altered from the original perfect symmetry. Secondary entrances are present on each side of the main entrance. The north entrance leads to the rear of the building and the small utility yard. The south entrance led to a 1920’s style staircase that leads directly to the upper floors above the first floor. A three-over-one vertical light window is located above each secondary entrance, followed by an entablature that distinguishes the storefront section from the upper facade. Bronze inscriptions centrally located above the main entrance serve as signage: N.S.G.S. and C.A.C.A with flower-inspired ornamentation on each side of the inscriptions. “N.S.G.S.” represents the appellation Native Sons of Golden State, the original name of the organization envisioned as only a California entity. “C.A.C.A.” is the obvious abbreviation of the current organization.

A pair of centrally located Tuscan columns flank a white marble wide stairway that leads up to the building’s main entrance. The main entrance features black marble and a pair of wooden double doors with full lights, sidelights, and transoms. Each door features bilingual gold leaf lettering: “Chinese American Citizens Alliance Grand Lodge with Chinese script read 美洲同源總會(mei zhou tong yuan zong hui). “Chinese American Citizens Alliance” gold leaf lettering appears on the central transom. The black marble facing is repeated throughout the lower portion of the recessed entry which is otherwise clad in concrete. Decorative molded ceiling cornices in the Classical style are present, used at the exterior entry and carried into the main lobby.

The fenestration at the upper façade is symmetrical and seven bays wide. The central section is characterized by three, three-over-one double hung wood windows. Each window grouping in this section includes a balcony with metal railings and fire escape. Arranged on either side of these window groupings are two four-over-one wood double hung windows. All windows have splayed lintels with a keystone at their center, and sills of varying sizes and materials. The windows in the central section and on the third story all feature a simple brick sill. Windows to the north and south of the central section on the second story feature a balustrade design, while the fourth story sills are characterized by a stone detail featuring band with an oval at the center. A smooth belt course runs below the fourth story window arrangement.

At the main entrance on Stockton Street, hang two bronze plaques. To the north, the plaque features a grizzly bear (California) and the inscription N.S.G.S., and to the south is an eagle (United States) and the inscription C.A.C.A. Two non-original exterior light fixtures are situated to the left (north) and right (south) of each of the bronze plaques. The entire Stockton Street façade is finished with a layer of smooth pale-yellow brick.

On the basement level on the north wall, doorways were installed at some point in the modern era to provide members’ access to the recreational basement and dining areas, and to provide some handicap access. On the southside wall at street level, the south entrance entry to the staircase was altered in 1983 to provide direct Stockton Street access, with the original 1920 south entrance reconfigured to create the entry of the retail store.

The rear (east) elevation features brick masonry with irregular fenestration and a simple parapet. On the street-facing (basement) level are three double-hung wood windows deeply inset with concrete sills capped with brick masonry. The window farthest to the east has been sealed with a concrete mixture to provide an under-stage storage area for the auditorium. The lower light of the window furthest north has been replaced with a vinyl slider. Metal bars have been added to all the visible windows at the basement level. Three rear entrances are present at this level. The entrance at the southeast features a metal security gate and accessed by four concrete steps with sidewalls. Recessed and centrally located is a six-light with panel wood door partially obscured by a metal security door. The third entrance, for the enclosed passage leading to Stockton Street, is present at the northeast and accessed by a metal security door. Decorative metal scrollwork is present above the central and northeast entrances. At the second story level, two entrances are present – one at the southeast and the other at the northeast. Two double hung windows are centrally arranged. At this level, a metal balcony with attached fire escape extends from the two entrances. Seven double-hung windows with brick sills are located at each of the third and fourth story levels. Two windows at the fourth level appear to have been replaced. At the third level, the windows have metal awnings. A metal balcony with fire escape is present and centrally located on the third and fourth story levels. All doors and windows on this elevation feature a segmental arch 3-rowlock brick hood.

Yet there were surprises from recounts on the original thoughts of the Building Committee. There was to be a roof garden and tea house, for members to enjoy a fine view of Chinatown and Nob Hill! This was never executed, but the rare view of Chinatown “oriental” roofs, Telegraph Hill, Bay Bridge and Transamerica Building, and Nob Hill can be enjoyed on the utilitarian rooftop today. On the second floor would be “dressing rooms and baths for members,” also never realized, except for momentary private overnight quarters for one Grand President from Texas. Semblance of a “spacious lobby” and “reading room” were created; the reading room became an historical document room. In the days of a private fraternity, a most elegant feature envisioned was a “billiards room” for the gentlemen members, but that space quickly became and remains the board room for the Board of National Officers.

Interior

Much of the original floor plan and character-defining spaces remain largely intact, including offices, auditorium, cashier’s room, coat room, vault room, residential apartments with communal areas, and basement. Original architectural features and finishes, including wainscot, crown molding, door trim, built-ins, fireplaces, staircases, and hardware are intact. The first story is topped by the second floor for membership use including a Boardroom. Above, two residential floors are installed above the rectangular floor base but with footpad slightly smaller than that on lower floors and planform more like a figure “I,” comprising sixteen housing units.

Basement

Because the building is constructed on a 5-10 deg. slope of a hill from Stockton Street down to Grant Avenue, a full basement for half the length of the building provides a dining and recreation area and full kitchen for members and friends.

First Story

The first story is accessed up from the main entrance following a short flight of stairs with wood handrails. It opens to a central hallway with office areas and restrooms located to the north and south, and auditorium to the east. Character-defining features and finishes include a cashier’s room to the northwest, featuring a paneled wood built-in cashier’s cage with glass and metal grillwork; a coat room to south, and auditorium to the east.

The main entrance to the auditorium is accessed from double wood doors at the eastern end of the first story. A wood staircase with turned balusters is present directly to the north of the main entrance of the auditorium. The auditorium is characterized by an open floor plan with a proscenium stage and balcony at the “mezzanine.” The proscenium arch is accented with decorative trim and apron with built-in cabinets. Along the northern and southern edges of the auditorium room is a slight, step-up change in elevation, originally accommodating additional side seating. Wainscot throughout and coffered ceiling with detailed trim present. The balcony features original attached wooden theater seats with armrests arranged in three sections of two and three rows. Two secondary entrances are located at the eastern end of the auditorium.

The Mezzanine

The second level includes a hallway with offices and closet spaces to the north and south. The eastern end of the hallway features paneled double doors that open to the auditorium’s balcony. An office used as the organization’s board room is present at this level. It includes an eastern facing window that looks out to one of the building’s two lightwells. A second office for senior leaders to the south features a tiled faux fireplace and mantel.

Board Room Views: Podium

Board of National Officers in session (2015) Chinese American Citizens Alliance Archives, by M. Kwok

Traditional interior toward Stockton St. by R. Wong

Second & Third Stories (Third & Fourth Levels)

Wainscot is present at the hallways in the third and fourth residential levels. A communal kitchen and bathroom are present on both floors. Like many Chinatown buildings of the era, the first two floors and basement were used for commercial income and organizational function while the upper floors were designed as temporary single-occupancy units. In the original concept of third and fourth floors,16 units were built as a dormitory benefit for members who traveled to headquarters for meetings or lived singly. In the common design for early 20th Century Chinatown SRO’s, shared, centrally located bathroom and kitchen facilities on each floor. In time, these became general rentals because of the lack of housing due to the Chinese restricted living areas of San Francisco, even to families, as members underutilized the benefit. Him Mark Lai, known as the “Dean of Chinese American Studies,” and his wife were among the earliest renters.

Aspects About the Architect & Site History

Architect C. J. Rogers turned out to be a master of the basics and nuances in a particular style, in this case the Beaux Arts revival popular at the dawn of the 20th Century. This design style was taken as the hallmark for the rebuild of San Francisco institutional and enterprise buildings and as noted in Section 7 here, adopted by the Chinese American Citizens Alliance’s building committee as the apparent choice to declare via an architectural or art piece amid Chinatown’s otherwise “oriental” theme that a new vision by a new generation for the future of the Chinese American community was at hand. Furthermore, through the subtle relevancy of this newest Chinese institutional building to the new great buildings of San Francisco, these Chinese Americans were meaning to be perceived every bit the equal of any other Americans, even during this time of The Chinese Exclusion Act. Rogers’ proficiency, though not necessarily his innovation, is exhibited and further is recognized by another residential building he designed on Bush Street, which is recognized as an important supporting building for the Upper Nob Hill National Historic District. Finally, as a tour de force demonstrating his mastery in 1925, he would return to Chinatown to design Nam Kue School in a Ross & Burgren Oriental style!

Insufficient study exists currently to justify declaration of this site by itself as historically significant. However, some site history is known. The earthquake on April 18, 1906 and fire provides an unfortunate but useful timeline demarcation. Prior to the fateful date, Stockton Street appears to have been a series of the early clothing manufacture and shoe factories which employed numerous Chinese workers. The United States Census reveals many Chinese single men as residents, a scattering of women and families. Employable individuals all were listed as garment workers, as in “shirtmaker.” From historical and insurance maps of the era from mid 1880’s14, the Chinese American Citizens Alliance site itself appeared a U-shaped building, or three connected buildings. The base of the “U” faced Stockton Street as a whole facade, with at least two floors of three factory shops or companies, one a shoe manufacturer and two or three connected buildings shirt factories with unspecified quarters on the upper floors. Recent discovery of 19th Century sewing machines at our Headquarters’ front entrance during San Francisco Subway excavations underlined the previous site history in the urban era.

Removal of debris left a vacant lot, which the organization purchased as the most affordable and accessible in a Chinatown neighborhood on a key street. The arrival of the Headquarters building, together with the eventual growth of Chinatown, gradually turned Stockton Street into a street of prominent institutions, of churches, schools, auditoriums, offices, and more organizational headquarters. Mandarin Tower, the first significant high-rise building within Chinatown, was built in 1970 as a high-end condominium development. The city rezoned Stockton Street into the local retail market street for the community a decade later, recasting the famed Grant Avenue as solely the tourist thoroughfare of colorful cultural shops and restaurants.15 To the present day, wholesale apparel manufacturing and sewing shops still can be found along Stockton Street, quietly operating.

Appendix

Some Contractors of the Original Building Construction Project16

Architect Charles E. J. Rogers

Principal Contractor Barrett & Hilp

Subcontractor Adam & Arras

Specialized Carpentry Subcontractor Munson Bros.

Electrical Subcontractor Leo Meyerberg Company

Electrical Subcontractor Walter Bauer

Furniture Rucker-Fuller

Reference

1 Many of the specific details and data on the building are from the C.A.C.A. archives, read and translated from the Chinese by Suellen Cheng. See bibliography for sources of additional information.

2 New York Times (April 30, 1917), 7 and San Diego Union (San Diego, February 20, 1918), 2.

3 Chinese American Citizens Alliance National Archives. Archives: Proceedings of Chinese American Citizens Alliance Third National Convention, October 1914, Resolution #8, and Proceedings of Chinese American Citizens Alliance Fourth National Convention, October 1915, Resolutions #6 and #22, in Chinese translated by Suellen Cheng. San Francisco: Chinese American Citizens Alliance & Stanford University Libraries.

4 Choy, Philip P., San Francisco Chinatown: A Guide to its History & Architecture. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2012, p. 161.

5 Wikipedia article: Civic Center, San Francisco. Also Wikipedia article: San Francisco City Hall, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_Center_San_Francisco;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_City_Hall.

6 Brooks, Charlotte. Between Mao and McCarthy: Chinese American Politics in the Cold War Years. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015. p. 98-99. Also for example, Zhao, Xiaojian. Remaking Chinese America: Immigration, Family, and Community, 1940-1965. p. 121. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2002. P121-122.

7 Current 2020 values in dollars would be approximately 11.6 times one dollar of 1920. This makes the total raised slightly greater than $1.16 million raised in terms of 2020 dollars.

8 Chinese American Citizens Alliance National Archives: Building Income and Expense Report (April 1917-June 30, 1921. (Translated by Suellen Cheng.) Printed in San Francisco: Young China Press. June 30, 1921. 6pp. Chinese American Citizens Alliance & Stanford University Libraries.

9 Chinese American Citizens Alliance National Archives: collections

10 The San Francisco Examiner: “Chinese Open New S.F. Home,” Thursday, Aug 11, 1921, p. 4

11 We now can see in long photographic print that it, in the custom of the time, was a formal white-tie and tails Opening Event complete with live band, before a standing room only crowd that even spilled over on the mezzanine. Chinese American Citizens Alliance Los Angeles Lodge Archives.

12 Ibid, Chinese American Citizens Alliance National Archives, Proceedings of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance Eighth National Convention: Report on the Grand Opening of the Building.

13 Ibid. The San Francisco Examiner

14 For example, Thomas Chinn

15 Philip Choy

16 Chinese American Citizens Alliance National Archives: minutes and reports.

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