Chinatown icon Dorothy "Polka Dot" Quock marks 92 in style
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HBD, Polka Dot! Photo: Shawna Chen/Axios
Dorothy "Polka Dot" Quock stepped onto her own private cable car in full Lunar New Year regalia Monday afternoon, pink-and-white polka dot socks peeking out from beneath her pants as a wink to the nickname she's borne for decades.
Why it matters: Quock, a seemingly ageless icon who nonetheless turned 92 in January and has spent her years keeping Chinatown's history alive, was honored by the city in an event near Fisherman's Wharf.
- "Old age is not for sissies," she told me, her eyes sparkling. "So I'm a sassy lady elder."
Flashback: Quock was born in Chinatown in 1934, the fifth of eight children. Her family primarily lived in single-residency occupancy units in Chinatown, often sharing a bath and kitchen with other families on the floor.
- Her dad worked as a rice deliveryman while her mom found employment at Levi's sewing factory, where Quock first learned how to trim hems.
Zoom in: After her father's death when she was 12, she found refuge in Cameron House, a Chinese community nonprofit that started out as an early 20th-century safe house for trafficked Chinese girls and women.
- "I consider it my second home," she said over crab cakes at Buena Vista Cafe.
- It was there she became known as "Polka Dot." A program director coined the nickname to avoid confusion with another Dorothy. (He called the latter "Giant Dot.")
State of play: After getting married at 19, Quock took on several secretarial roles while raising three kids in Livermore — "three too many," she quipped.
- Once they were grown and out of the home, she found herself moving back to her childhood neighborhood in her 60s.
- She quickly became a local celebrity, both as a Chinatown walking tour guide and a fashion icon. (Quock told me she "finally" embraced her nickname about 15 years ago; polka dots became her signature look after she began designing her own clothes.)
What she's saying: People often think of Chinatown as a tourist destination only, ignoring the vibrant community of people that made it what it is today, she said when asked what people misunderstand about the historic neighborhood.
- From Gold Rush-era segregation to the heated mahjong games in Portsmouth Square today, Chinatown is a real story of resilience, she added — one more people should know.
What's next: Though Quock no longer leads tours due to mobility issues, you can learn more about Chinatown through tours with Wok Wiz.