Chinese Exotic Architecture of the Art Deco Era /The Bitter Tea of General Al Yen

Author and Art Deco Society of California Preservation Director Therese Poletti will give an illustrated presentation on Chinese motifs as a form of exotica in architecture and design in the Golden State.

East meets West and North meets South in this survey of Chinese exotic architecture in California during the Art Deco era. Author and Art Deco Society of California Preservation Director Therese Poletti will give an illustrated presentation on Chinese motifs as a form of exotica in architecture and design in the Golden State. Works by several forward-thinking California architects will be discussed, including Julia Morgan, Timothy Pflueger and Raymond Kennedy, along with comparison photos of Chinese architecture from Beijing and Shanghai.The golden era of the Chinese American nightclub in San Francisco and Sid Grauman figure in. Hollywood’s dragon-adorned Nirvana Apartments will also be explored, as well as the Art Deco office of prominent Los Angeles immigration attorney Y.C. Hong - one of the pioneers of the “new” Chinatown in 1938 (presented by his granddaughter Celeste Hong) and much more. Some period color footage of Los Angeles' Chinatown, shot by Y.C. Hong will be included in the presentation along with some photos of his office interior.