Wong Kim Ark's Birthplace

One cook's five months on ships in the bay came up at the Supreme Court again in 2026.

Collection: San Francisco: More Stories · USA · Open in OpenStreetMap

Wong Kim Ark, identification photograph · Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Listen to this place’s story in Peplos.

Open this place in Peplos Install on iPhone Join the Android test

Already installed? The first button opens this exact place. After installing, return here and tap it.

Open this link on your phone to go to this place in the app.

How to install the early version through TestFlight

Get TestFlight. Tap the button, then go to the App Store from Apple’s page. TestFlight is Apple’s free app for early versions.
Come back here and tap the button again. In TestFlight, accept the invitation and install Peplos.

After installing Peplos, return to this page and tap “Open this place in Peplos”.

How the story begins

A cook came home from China to the city where he was born, and the customs collector would not let him off the ship. Wong Kim Ark was born on this block, at 751 Sacramento Street, to Chinese parents who kept a business in the city. Before he sailed for China in 1894 he swore a statement about his birth and got a notarized paper with his photograph saying he was born in San Francisco.

The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.