Medallion Gets a Concrete Pour

The old historic bluff that ran along the west side of the riverplain ran through this site, parallel with L.A. Street. One might be able to observe a discontinuity in the earth, somewhere along the Fourth Street edge of the excavation, there should be a distinct line with clay strata on the northwest side, and alluvium or mixed soil with sand, gravel, etc. on the southeast side. This bluff continued on up past the (third) central plaza. The remainder of the bluff still remains in northeast Chinatown, parallel with the remains of Zanja Madre. The 1887 Cyclorama of The Siege of Paris was located on the northern portion of this block. It was demolished in 1907 and three years later, the Adolphus Theater was constructed right there. The cyclorama as well as one constructed simultaneously in San Francisco may have been the largest ever constructed.