Chinatown: Shanghai Low

All the views on this page look north on Grant between Pine/California, showing Shanghai Low restaurant. City directories list Shanghai Low at 532 Grant for over 50 years, from 1927 through 1980. In Orson Welles' 1947 classic Lady from Shanghai, Michael O'Hara (Welles) passes Shanghai Low as he flees through Chinatown. reelsf.com has great photos documenting the film's locations. Some Shanghai Low ephemera is here.

The Pacific Novelty 2709 image predates the Shanghai Low marquee and large vertical "CHOP SUEY" sign seen in the other cards. The distinctive roof at right is on the building just south of Shanghai Low, as seen clearly in Smith News 4 below.
Pacific Novelty 1-138 gives a clear view of the Shanghai Low marquee and the bottom of the large vertical sign. The rectangular marquee is less ornate than the marquee in the other cards on this page, so this card must predate them. Pagoda-towered Sing Fat Co. and Sing Chong Co. are half a block down at California/Grant (SW corner and NW corner).
Smith News 35 (postmarked 11/08/1950) looks north on Grant from Pine. The credit "Photo: Redwood Empire Assn" suggests that the photo is by Zan. The Sing Fat Co. corner now has a large vertical sign for Hotel Yamoto.
Zan 1701, RPPC. The lamppost at right (northeast corner Grant/Pine) still stands in 2022.

These linen era cards all show a decorative fixture suspended over Grant Avenue near Shanghai Low.

Scenic View 30 removes the downhill grade on Grant past California.
Piltz 75 relocates the Grant/Pine corner lamppost closer to Shanhai Low.
Gilboy 23, postmarked Oakland 10/16/1941, is a modified version of the same view with no lamppost. The suspended sign reads "Welcome Nobles" (i.e., Shriners), flanked by several Shrine flags.
Kropp 30, landscape rather than portrait. The suspended sign again reads "Welcome Nobles" and the people in front of Shanghai Low match the preceding cards, but the left side of this image must be from a different picture; the perspectives do not quite match, so Grant appears to be four cards wide rather than three. The lights suspended over Grant reappear in Kropp 32 below.

These cards and the earlier cards show two way traffic on Grant; it later became one way northbound, as seen below.

Kropp 32, a night view of Dragon parade passing Shanghai Low.
Smith News 4. The photographer of this card waited for a cable car to pass between Sing Fat and Sing Chong. The large vertical Hotel Yamoto sign is no longer on the Sing Fat building.
Clements C4065.
Clements C16750: the large vertical sign reads "SHANGHAI LOW" rather than "CHOP SUEY". Both Clements cards show one way northbound traffic.

In 2022, the vertical "Lamps of China" sign at Grant/Vinton (not shown in the earlier linen era postcards above) reads "City of Hong Kong" and New Lotus Garden restaurant occupies the Shanghai Low space. The distinctive Shanghai Low marquee is gone and the very faded large vertical sign reads "Lotus Garden".