I do not know why - but I keep getting asked to give walking tours of Chinatown. Have you ever BEEN to Chinatown? Sure there are some delicious dumplings and Chinese spongecakes, but for the most part it's crowded, smelly, scary, and I'm always convinced I'm going to be pick-pocketed. (And I am NOT one of those paranoid people who wears a fannypack with a padlock, I'm the disorganized girl who walks around with money basically hanging out of her bag begging people to help themselves.) Oh - and I'm a little resentful since Chinatown seemingly ate Little Italy - reducing it a few tiny square blocks. However, the point of this blog is to ask "WHY do people care about this?" So I am going in search of "why do people care about Chinatown."
First of all I suppose we should by figuring out how Chinatown even came to be.
Let's travel back in time to 1858. Ah Ken, a Cantonese businessman, arrived in NYC and began to oboe profession of selling low-quality cigars on the streets. He also opened up a boarding house on Mott Street for other Chinese immigrants. It is said that he made unto $100 a month in rent, which in the mid-19th century was enough for Ah Ken to save up and open a successful cigar shop on Park Row. (I wish $100 a month was still enough to live the high life, I'd be living in a pent-house!)
But why did the Chinese even come? NYC isn't exactly the first stop in the U.S. from China. Shouldn't they all be settling in California? Well - they DID start out in California. They got jobs building the transcontinental railroad and came seeking fortunes in the great California gold rush. Instead of giving you and entire history of the Chinese in the California gold rush - I'm just going to link you to this miraculous website: Gold Rush and Anti-Chinese Race Hatred - 1849 . Basically - Americans were resentful of the Chinese who were fabulous workers and willing to work for far less money than American workers. This caused the Chinese to be dubbed "UnAmerican" and therefore be persecuted. As a result of the "persecution" in California, the Chinese started to head east. Ah Ken was the first to permanently settle in New York.
The immigration of Chinese everywhere in the U.S. was limited between 1882 and 1943 due to the Chinese Exclusion Act. but the population of "Chinatown NYC" (mostly centered around Doyers street) grew from 2000 to 7000 during this period. Interestingly, there was only about 1 woman for every 35 men. As a result a lot of Chinese men ended up pairing up with Irish widows who had settled nearby in The Five Points.
During the days of the Chinese Exclusion Act - anti-Chinese sentiment led to the concerns of Chinese residents being neglected by the City. As a result, the "Assiciations" or "Tongs" were formed. These associations, paired up with gangs such as the "Flying Dragons" offered assistance to new immigrants. They also resulted in a lot of gang violence. Eventually they formed the Chinese Consolidated Benevolence Association, which still exists today. It was meant to stop fighting amongst the clans, but street wars still broke out. At any rate - here is the mission statement of the CCBA that still exists today:
- Provides social services
- Provides personal and commercial conflict resolution and mediations
- Promotes Chinese traditions and cultural heritage
- Serves as a bridge between Chinese American immigrants and the main stream groups
- Promotes Chinese American interests
- Engages in charitable activities
- Sponsors educational and recreational activities
- Sponsors and promotes youth services
- Provides and advocates for small businesses
Sentiments towards the Chinese in New York began to lighten, especially after a Chinese Consulate opened in 1887. It was really the Chinese exclusion act of 1943 being lifted, however, that led the population of Chinatown growing exponentially. (Especially after 1965 when ALL quotas were lifted.) By 1970 Chinatown had expanded to 2 square miles.
Yet everything wasn't sunshine and bubbles. Confucius Plaza was built in Chinatown in 1975 as an affordable housing project for Chinese-Americans. While affordable housing was welcome, not hiring any Chinese to help build Confucius Plaza was not. This caused "Asian Americans for Equality" to be formed. After 6 months of protests (and 48 protesters being arrested!) the developers gave in and hired Chinese workers. This was an important event for Chinatown because it showed that Chinese-Americans could be a powerful political force in the New York City community.
Today Chinatown NYC is the largest enclave of Chinese in the world outside of China. It has over 100,000 residents whose native languages are Mandarin, Min, or Cantonese. (This explains why it is so crowded! You try fitting 100,000 people in 2 square miles!) Chinatown is known for its tenement style housing, however due to its proximation to SoHo, several luxury apartment are making appearances as well. People flock from all over the world to visit Canal street where they can buy knock-off brands of bags, watched, iPhone cases, etc… on Canal Street. Fishmongers line the street with their slimy fish - eyes gazing at you. Delicious restaurants are around every corner. There is even a Buddhist Temple. While the Chinatown in Manhattan remains the largest, there are other Chinatowns popping up in Flushing Queens and in Brooklyn.
To give credit where credit is due - MUCH of my research for this part of the article came from this source: http://books.google.com/books?id=OTSCmU33e2oC&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=ah+ken+cigar+shop&source=bl&ots=XXOoBNLAfg&sig=3mVMlQ0yW2o8hj8aI2ofpeKLPg4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Lx2tUZP4ILa64AOf7oHIDA&ved=0CFQQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=ah%20ken%20cigar%20shop&f=false
So now that we've got some preliminary history out of the way (phew), let's move on to some Chinatown landmarks.
Chatham Square:
-Named for William Pitt - 1st Earl of Chatham and Prime Minister of England before the American Revolution.
-Originally used as an open air market for good and livestock - esp. horses.
-By the mid-1800s it became a seedy area for tattoo parlors, flophouses, and saloons in the midst of the Five Points.
-It was cleaned up during the Prohibition.
-Has a statue of Lin Zexu - a Chinese official and scholar of the Ming Dynasty. He was known for his moral high-ground and opposition to the opium trade.
-Kim Lau Memorial Arch. Has the inscription: "In memory of the Americans of Chinese Ancestry who lost their lives in defense of freedom and democracy." Lt. B.R. Kimlau was a Chinese-American bomber pilot who died defending his country in WWII.
Confucius Plaza:
-Has a large red brick building that is the aforementioned housing project that originally wouldn't hire Chinese workers.
-Contains a statue of Confucius. The statue was a gift from the CCBA in 1976. It contains sayings of Confucius in both Chinese and English.
Mahayana Buddhist Temple:
(Honestly the best thing to do is visit the "About Us" page on their website http://en.mahayana.us/?page_id=13 - there is a really fascinating history - but here are my bullet points.)
-Founded in 1962 by Annie and James Ying.
-Originally designed to be both a social club for men who had lost their families back in China due to the Communist Revolution and a temple.
-Has a 16 foot golden Buddha sitting on a lotus inside, which is also the largest Buddha in the city.
Columbus Park:
-Created by Jacob Riis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Riis (he was a social reformer and photojournalist most famous for "How the other half lives.)
-Named in 1911 after Christopher Columbus
-It sits on the area that used to be the Five Points. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Points,_Manhattan
Church of the Transfiguration:
-Roman Catholic Parish located at 25 Mott Street.
-Built in 1801as a Lutheran Church. It then converted to Episcopal. In 1853 it was sold to the Roman Catholic Church of the immigrants.
-Built from Manhattan schist. (The bedrock of the city.)
-Oldest Roman Catholic Church in the City.
-Today it serves an almost entirely Chinese congregation and services are given in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
New York Chinese School:
-On Elizabeth street.
-Established in 1909. Initially opened to 20 students, and today has more than 3000 with a faculty of around 50.
Canal Street:
-Got it's name because a canal was dug there in the early 19th century to drain contaminated water from Collect Pond to the Hudson River. After the pond was filled in 1811, Canal Street was built. It was finished in 1820 following the same path as the canal.
-Is the main Chinese jewelry district of Chinatown.
-Lots of stores selling counterfeit good and knock-off brands are the site of frequent police raids.
Mott Street:
-Chinatown's unofficial "main street."
-Chinese school is located at 64 Mott Street.
Mulberry street:
-During the American Revolution is was known as "Slaughter-house street" for Nicholas' Bayards slaughterhouse.
-The road that the feast of San Gennaro began on.
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