In the 1980s , Chinatown merchants were opposed to the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway , but these objections were overturned after it was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake . According to the San Francisco Chronicle , activist Rose Pak then " almost single-handedly persuaded the city to build " the $ 1.5 billion Central Subway project to compensate Chinatown for the demolition of the freeway
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Chinatown, San Francisco