The Hidden Chinatown of San Francisco

How many movies have at least one scene in Chinatown?  According to IMDB, no less than 69 . Unfortunately, some are short films, some are ancient, some are actually Chinese, and very few are well known.  In fact, a few of the more popular movies most people believed had a scene in Chinatown... Did not.  Not In Chinatown Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) did not film in Chinatown, but adjacent to it. When Scotty, McCoy, and Sulu walked by a couple arguing in Cantonese, most people assumed this was in Chinatown. But if you look more closely, they walked past 1232 Grant " The Saloon ", just before encountering the couple. The Saloon, the oldest Blues Bar in San Francisco, is in North Beach.  So which ones really did film in Chinatown?  Did Film in Chinatown Big Trouble in Little China (1986) poked fun at all the myths and legends of Chinatown underground tunnels which are fictional. The location of Grant and Commercial is still there, now home to a Bruce Lee ...

There is a concrete slab of basketball court just off Joyce Alley, between Sacramento and Clay that had appeared in multiple movies and TV series.  Cameron House Basketball Court's view of downtown courtesy Cameronhouse.org Look across from the parking lot below: This basketball court, visible on Google Maps, across the alley from the parking lot, is virtually hidden from the locals. It belongs to the Cameron House, named after Donaldina "Dolly" Cameron whom we had a whole post about.  What you may not know was it was featured in multiple movies and television series: Sister Act II (starring Whoopi Goldberg) Murder in the First (TV drama) The OA (TV drama) The Pursuit of Happyness (starring Will Smith and Jaden Smith) Muscle Milk ad with Steph Curry According to the staff as told to SF Chronicle, the playground had been in use since the 1940's, then the basketball court was moved to the top of the structure in the 1970's. All proceeds from the shoots are plowed ...