City officials noted a Chinese community at Market and San Fernando streets by 1866. After a first fire in 1870 it was rebuilt, with restaurants, a theater and a temple. As anti-Chinese feeling peaked, the council declared it a public nuisance, and on May 4, 1887, it burned; the next day the council approved a new City Hall for the plaza.
Artifacts were recovered during 1980s redevelopment, and in 2021 the city formally apologized. A plaque outside the Signia hotel marks the site.