Imagine is April 1st, 1907. It's been nearly a year since the earthquake and fire

destroyed most of San Francisco, including your home and business in Chinatown.

For months after the disaster,

you and other Chinese American business leaders fought city officials

and their attempts to move Chinatown to a new location south of the city.

They finally backed down, and now... Chinatown to a new location south of the city.

They finally back down, and now you're spearheading the movement to rebuild.

Today you're meeting with your architect, a Scotsman named T. Patterson Ross, who is helping you rebuild your business

Singh Chang Bazaar at the corner of DuPont and California Street.

You lean over the desk where Ross has laid out the blueprints for your review.

Well I like how things are coming along here.

Can we make it look even more ornate, more oriental?

Where's the pagoda we talk about?

Well, that's just the thing.

A pagoda tower isn't really used on top of a Western looking building like this one.

I don't care if it's historically accurate or subtle. I want it to feel like it's part of a Chinese city

or actually a modern American city with Chinese flourishes.

I'm not sure I understand.

It's like I told the city officials last year, we're not trying to rebuild Chinatown the way it was.

I want to move past that. I want tourist

friendly flourishes, dragons, and lanterns, lots of red. I see, more red. But not

just that. I need you to understand what I'm trying to do here. Before the earthquake,

...