". A father who was unable to enroll his daughter in the racist SF public school system started the school to provide educational opportunities for Chinatown youth."
That's not quite accurate: Joseph Tape (of Chinese descent) sued the SF school district and its principal because his daughter Mamie was not allowed to attend Spring Valley Grammar School. It was the School Board that leased a building on Jackson Street (called the Chinese Primary School) to keep Mamie from attending the public Spring Valley Grammar School.in 1984. (page 166)

Is this an opinion piece masquerading as a book review? While Philip Choy writes on page 150 that the theater "has been converted into a shopping area occupied by multiple concessions," Emily Hunt writes that the theater is:

"a cheap retail center, (that sells) garish home decorations..."

Some tourists, and for that matter, Chinatown residents actually enjoy buying 'garish home decorations' -- if they didn't these places wouldn't exist.

In your review of Phil Choy's book, "San Francisco Chinatown: A Guide to Its History and Architecture (City Lights Publishers), I would like to make some comments about your choice of words in certain paragraphs.

1.)"Choy pauses as we stand outside a street food stall..."

I think the phrase, "street food" stall is very different from the "Sidewalk Stalls" that Phil Choy describes on page 123.
"Street food" has a whole different context in this day and age of food trucks, etc.

2.) "ginseng root, which...became a staple Chinese delicacy."

I would point out that ginseng root was used for medicinal purposes, like valerian root, and not a "delicacy" like sea cucumbers.

3.) ""urging readers to consider its quiet alleyways and one-bedroom apartments housing six people..."

I would call the SRO (Single Room Occupancy) exactly that--these single rooms are not "one-bedrooms," which implies more room and luxury than they really are.

Thanks for catching the issue around the Chinese Primary School. Apparently there had actually been a petition to create a school for Chinese children since 1878, created by B.S. Brooks, but it had been ignored until Joseph Tape sued the district a few years later. The Board started the Chinese Primary School in order to adhere to the Supreme Court's ruling that Chinese youth had a right to an education, but stick with its agenda of rigid racism and segregation. That inaccuracy has been fixed!

I love that place, it's crowded indeed but it's a small glimpse of Asian spirit in an occidental culture, that's such an interesting mix. I am a fan of Asian cultures, everything about it fascinates me.