Locke, California
Historic Chinese Town
Locke Garden is a popular
restaurant in Locke
The three earliest buildings in Locke
were built in 1912 before the town was established. The first
building in the tiny hamlet of Lockeport, which was built in
1912 by Tin Sin Chan, is now a Chinese restaurant named Locke
Garden. It was originally built as a saloon. In 1915, additional
buildings were built and the name of the town was shortened to
Locke.
One of the three original buildings is
the one at the south end of Main Street on the west side, which
was a gambling hall built by Yuen Lai Sing. Another is the boarding
house across from it on Levee Street. This cluster of 3 buildings,
constructed by Tin Sin Chan and other men from the Chungshan
district in the Kwangtung province in China, were known as Lockeport
because the land was owned by George Locke.
The first building on the River Road
that visitors see, if they arrive in Locke from the north, is
the Yuen Chong general store and meat market. There is a place
for visitor parking across the road from the store. The name
Yuen Chong means "horn of plenty" in English.
This building was built
in 1916 and is still in use
Two story buildings
built against the levee along River Road
Building on River Road
in historic Locke, CA
The buildings shown in the photos below
were built between 1915 and 1920 at a cost of $1,200 each. They
are two-story buildings constructed against the side of the levee,
fronting on the River Road which runs on top of the levee. Bridges
connect the front doors with the road. The whole town of Locke
is a California State Historical Landmark.
Renovation of Locke's
historic buildings is restricted
The Star Theater, which formerly showed
black and white movies and also hosted live performances, is
one of the historic buildings that has been preserved in Locke.
It is a two story building with the top floor fronting on the
River Road, while the ground floor, which formerly housed a gambling
hall, fronts on Main Street below.
This view shows that
the buildings are two stories high
Buildings on the River
Road, now overgrown with weeds
People still live in
some of these buildings
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