The three-tiered, pagoda-roofed building at 743 Washington Street was built in 1909 as the China Telephone Exchange, replacing an earlier exchange lost in the 1906 earthquake and fire. The site has older history too: Samuel Brannan printed the California Star, the city’s first newspaper, on this spot in 1846.
The exchange connected calls by name rather than number, because labeling a person with a number was considered rude. Operators were expected to speak English and five Chinese dialects and to memorize the names, addresses, and occupations of every subscriber in Chinatown, since callers asked for people, not numbers. The exchange ran until 1949.
The Bank of Canton bought and restored the building in 1960, and it still serves as a bank branch. The upturned eaves, painted brackets, and three stacked roofs are intact. Look up from the corner of Washington and Grant.