Portsmouth Square

Since apartments in Chinatown’s old brick buildings are small, Portsmouth Sq is the neighborhood’s living room. The square is named after John B Montgomery’s sloop, which pulled up near here in 1846 to stake the US claim on San Francisco, but the presiding deity at this park is the Goddess of Democracy, a bronze replica of the statue made by Tiananmen Square protesters in 1989.

First light is met with outstretched arms by tai-chi practitioners. By afternoon toddlers rush the playground slides, and tea crowds collect at the kiosk under the pedestrian bridge to joke and dissect the day’s news. The checkers and chess played on concrete tables in gazebos late into the evening aren’t mere games, but 365-day obsessions, come rain or shine. Chinese New Year brings a night market to the square, featuring Chinese opera, calligraphy demonstrations and cell-phone charms of the goddess Guan Yin for better reception. Bronze plaques dot the perimeter of the historic square, noting the site of San Francisco’s first bookshop and elementary school and the bawdy Jenny Lind Theater, which with a few modifications became San Francisco’s first City Hall.