Chinese Theater on Doyers Street 1893

The California Gold Rush attracted thousands of men looking for work from Australia, Europe, Latin America, and Asia to the American West Coast in the 1840s and 50s. The growing Asian community in San Francisco soon caused racial tension, with Asian workers being accused of stealing the jobs of the white laborers who also settled there. In order to escape the violent discrimination against them, Asian workers began moving to the East Coast, where there were more job opportunities and more racial diversity. By 1880, the Lower East Side was home to a growing Chinese community.

The Chinese Theater opened at 5-7 Doyers Street in 1893 as the first Chinese theater east of San Francisco. The theater hosted traditional Chinese performances and also featured murals by Loo Gop, Chinatown’s only Chinese illustrator at the time. Though the performances were entirely in Chinese, New Yorkers visited the theater and it soon became fashionable to attend shows there.

Chinatown in the early 20th century was riddled with crime and street gangs, and Doyers Street was often referred to as “The Bloody Angle” for its sharp 90-degree angle which enabled street gangs to attack victims by surprise.

In 1905, the Chinese Theater became the site of a violent shooting between the Hip Sing and On Leong street gangs. When the Hip Sings found out that Ah Foon, an actor and On Leong gang member, was using the Doyers Street Theater stage to taunt them, they began planning their revenge. One night in the middle of a packed theater the Hip Sings fired shots through the crowd, despite it being marked as neutral ground for the two gangs. Four On Leongs were killed in the attack.

The shooting was the work of Sai Wing Mock, famously known as Mock Duck. Duck was referred to by the media as the “Mayor of Chinatown” and was said to “strut around on Pell Street covered in diamonds.” The infamous gang leader was also known to wear a chain mail vest at all times in protection against the various attempts on his life. Because he knew that he would be blamed for the crime, he made sure to be at the police station at the time that the shooting was reported. At the station, Duck reported a gambling complaint (though a prominent leader of underground gambling himself) in order to secure his alibi at the station. Because he was at the station at the time of the shooting report, he could not be pinned with the crime.

In connection to the heightened gang activity in the area, there were also a series of underground tunnels beneath the theater and most of Chinatown. It is said that these tunnels were often used for moving illegal goods and for quick escapes from the police. Conveniently enough, the entrance to the tunnels was located right next to the theater at 5 Doyers Street. The tunnels may be how Mock Duck got from the theater to the police station so quickly when attempting to create an alibi for himself. The Hip Sings also most likely used the tunnels to flee the scene after the shooting.

This event, along with other gang violence, forced New Yorkers to question the safety of the area. As the neighborhood became more dangerous, theater attendance dwindled. The theater was forced to close in the early 1910s.

Today, a small part of the tunnels is now the Wing Fat Shopping Arcade, which houses dentist offices and other businesses. Unfortunately, most of the old tunnels are sealed off. The building that once held the old theater is now a clothing store.