Chinatown Before & After the 1906 Earthquake

Local Author and Playwright Carol Marquart Presents: Chinatown Before & After the 1906 Earthquake

In this staged reading, Arnold Genthe, an immigrant to California from Germany, takes up a new hobby in 1900…photography. He wanders through the neighborhoods in San Francisco with his folding Kodak camera and stumbles upon a place called Tangrenbu, known by outsiders as the Chinese quarter. With the help of a Chinese interpreter and guide, Hong Yen, the story of the early Chinese in America begins to unfold. With Arnold Genthe, performed by actor/former Hollywood screenwriter, Mark Baer, we view these very rare and authentic photographs taken before, during and after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.

This performance is based on a book published by John Kuo Wei Tchen (copyright 1984) entitled GENTHE’S PHOTOGRAPHS OF SAN FRANCISCO’S OLD CHINATOWN.

Mark Baer as Arnold Genthe

Carol Marquart, Director

Fred Bologna, Technical Director

Carol Marquart’s staged readings have appeared in many local venues around the Monterey Peninsula. She specializes in staged readings about famous and infamous persons in the 20th Century.

Sponsored by PGPL Friends and Foundation with support from the Jean Laws Fund. This event is one of several programs created in memory of Jean Laws for her love of words, books, libraries, and learning to promote public awareness of the people and stories of Pacific Grove as recorded in the History Room of the Pacific Grove Public Library.