Growing up, there was this one movie we had on VHS that I watched over and over on the weekends.

The movie took place in Chinatown in San Francisco in the 1950s.

And for me, the most amazing part about this movie was that the cast was almost entirely Asian.

The story centered on this romance between a Chinatown nightclub owner and one of the showgirls.

There was Broadway-style dancing and singing, and it was set in these swanky rat-pack-style nightclubs.

Grant Avenue, San Francisco, California, USA, looks down from China Town.

Admittedly, it was a bit of an odd choice for a 10-year-old,

but I remember I was completely fascinated by this movie.

But I also had no idea what I was watching.

I had never met any other Chinese person even remotely close to these characters.

Well, later in life, I discovered that the movie was pretty famous.

It was called Flower Drum Song, Oscar nominated, based off of Rogers and Hammerstein musical,

and I recently found out that the movie wasn't a complete fantasy.

Around the time of World War II, Chinatown in San Francisco was actually filled with late-night cabarets,

and they were famed for their showgirls.

Today, we're going to meet some of them.

I'm Alexa Lim, and this is Atlas of Skira, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible,

and wondrous places.

We take a trip to the Showgirl Magic Museum in San Francisco, and we'll talk to some of these retired dancers

and hear how these after-hour clubs were more than just body tourist destinations.

They were also an essential refuge for the showgirls during a tough time.

More after this.

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