Chinatown is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, California, that became a commercial center for Chinese and other Asian businesses in Central Los Angeles in 1938. The area includes restaurants, shops, and art galleries, but also has a residential neighborhood with a low-income, aging population of about 7,800 residents.
The original Chinatown developed in the late 19th century, and was demolished to make room for Union Station, the city's major ground-transportation center.[2][3][4] This neighborhood and commercial center, referred to as "New Chinatown," opened for business in 1938.
Geography and climate
According to Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA), borders of (the current) Chinatown neighborhood are:[5][6][7]
in addition, there is a northern sliver along North Broadway between Radio Hill Gardens on the northwest and Los Angeles State Historic Park on the southeast
to the west and northwest, Beaudry and Figueroa streets and the greater Echo Park neighborhood
Chinatown can refer to one of three locations near downtown Los Angeles. What is now known as Old Chinatown refers to the original location on Alameda and Macy (1880s–1933). Old Chinatown was displaced by the construction of Union Station, and two competing Chinatowns were built in the late 1930s north of Old Chinatown to replace it: China City (1938–1948) and New Chinatown (1938–present). China City was rebuilt just one year after opening due to a suspicious fire, but another fire in 1948 put it out of business for good.
In the 1930s, under the efforts of Chinese-American community leader Peter Soo Hoo Sr., the design and operational concepts for a New Chinatown evolved through a collective community process, resulting in a blend of Chinese and American architecture.[10] The neighborhood saw major development, especially as a tourist attraction, throughout the 1930s, with the development of the "Central Plaza,"[11] a Hollywoodized version of Shanghai, containing names such as Bamboo Lane, Gin Ling Way and Chung King Road (named after the city of Chongqing in mainland China). Chinatown was designed by Hollywood film set designers, and a "Chinese" movie prop was subsequently donated by film director Cecil B. DeMille to give Chinatown an exotic atmosphere.[12]
Central Plaza
The dragon mural painted by Tyrus Wong and restored by Fu Ding Cheng (1984)
The Hop Sing Tong Society is situated in Central Plaza, as are several other Chinatown lodges and guilds.[13] Near Broadway, Central Plaza contains a statue honoring Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Chinese revolutionary leader who is considered the "founder of modern China". It was erected in the 1960s by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. A 7-foot tall statue of martial artist Bruce Lee was unveiled at Central Plaza on June 15, 2013.[14][15]
Gateway at Southern California Teo-Chew Association (2016)
During the 1980s, many buildings were constructed for new shopping centers and mini-malls, especially along Broadway. Metro Plaza Hotel was opened in the southwest corner of Chinatown in the early 1990s. A large Chinese gateway is found at the intersection of Broadway and Cesar Chavez Avenue, funded by the local Teochew-speaking population.[16][17]
In 1996, Academy Award-winning (for The Killing Fields in 1985) Cambodian refugee, physician and actor, Haing S. Ngor, was killed in the Chinatown residential area in a bungled robbery attempt by members of an Asian gang.[18]
On June 28, 2008, a celebration of the 1938 founding of New Chinatown was held with the L.A. Chinatown 70th Anniversary Party.[20] "Though lacking the hustle and bustle of San Francisco's Chinatown, Los Angeles' version has charms of its own."[21]
Revitalization with new development
The 2010s and 2020s have seen the completion of several large mixed-use and multifamily residential buildings like other neighborhoods in and around Downtown Los Angeles.[22] Activists and city council members were concerned about rising rents and displacement of long time residents, many of them low-income as these revitalization projects were approved.[23] City officials and housing activists have debated how much affordable housing should be included amidst the market rate apartments and condominiums.[24] Since 2019, the neighborhood has lacked a centrally located grocery store with a large selection, affordable prices and consistently high quality that opens early and closes late.[25]
Demographics
The 2020 U.S. census counted 7,798 residents.[26] The 2010 U.S. census counted 20,913 residents in the 0.91-square-mile Chinatown neighborhood, excluding the population of the Los Angeles County Jail complex. That made an average of 9,650 people per square mile, which included the empty Cornfield area.[27]
The ethnic breakdown in 2010: Asian, 68.8%; Latino, 14.7%; blacks, 6.7%; whites, 8.7%; mixed race, 0.8%; and others, 2.3%.[28]
The median household income in 2010 dollars ($29,000), was the third-lowest in Los Angeles County, preceded by Watts ($28,200) and Downtown ($24,300). The percentage of households earning $20,000 or less (53.6%) was the third-largest in Los Angeles County, preceded by Downtown (57.4%) and University Park (56.6%). The average household size of 2.8 people was just about the city norm. Renters occupied 91% of the housing units, and home- or apartment owners the rest.[27]
Economy
Retail
Small, specialized grocery stores are important to the aging population but few remain as gentrification impacts the neighborhood.[29] The Chinese-Vietnamese residents own many bazaars. The stores sell products such as soap, toys, clothes, music CDs at low prices. Several restaurants in Chinatown serve mainly Cantonese cuisine but there are also various Asian cuisine restaurants such as Teochew Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Thai, which reflects the diverse character of Chinatown. Few boba cafes have opened in Chinatown, but a large number are to be found in the Chinese enclaves in the San Gabriel Valley.
Dynasty Center, Saigon Plaza, and the Chinatown Phuoc Loc Tho Center feature many Vietnamese-style bazaars with people engaged in bargain shopping for items such as clothing, toys, Chinese-language CDs, pets, household items, funerary products, and so on. Its entrepreneurs are ethnic Chinese from Vietnam.
There are over 20 art galleries to see, mostly featuring non-Chinese modern art, with works from up and coming artists in all types of media.[11]
Restaurants
Philippe's sign, 2010Little Joe's was demolished and the site was redeveloped as Blossom Plaza
Chinatown is in the process of becoming an entirely new place. Chinatown at the height of popularity was filled with bustling Chinese restaurants that included barbecue delicatessens with glass displays of roast duck and suckling pig and Cantonese seafood restaurants with dim sum.[30][31][32] As the action in Chinese cuisine became centered in the San Gabriel Valley, there were also places that offered Vietnamese pho noodle soup and banh mi.[33] As downtown revives, Chinatown has been sparked into life by cheap rents, the gallery boom in the 2000s and deep-rooted sense of community.[34] Chinese bakeries and other shops continue to serve the area.[35] Traditional Chinese restaurants that have remained are being joined by a variety of new restaurants as the opportunities Chinatown offers is recognized by additional restaurateurs.[36] The area is better served by transit than many areas with Union Station so close by. Even though low-income seniors remain, college graduates can find their first apartment here and condos are becoming available for the affluent. This economic diversity encourages a diversity of places to serve the area.[35]
Two of Chinatown's restaurants highlight the history and diversity of this neighborhood.[37]
Little Joe's, demolished in January 2014, had long stood at the corner of Broadway and College Street. It closed in December 1998 due to the expense of retrofitting the building to meet earthquake standards.[39] The interior was left unchanged and it has been used as a filming location.[40]
Alpine Recreation Center, at 817 Yale Street, has a combined and multipurpose room with a capacity of 250. Two indoor gymnasiums have capacities of 450 each. There are also basketball courts (lighted/indoor/outdoor), a children's play area and volleyball courts (lighted).[42]
Nomenclature
Chinese translation on a street sign at College Street and Broadway. This sign reads in CantoneseDai hok gai and in Mandarin as Da xue jie (da xue means college or university).
According to U.S. Census data, 20.2% of Chinatown residents aged 25 and older possessed a four-year degree in 2023.[47] There are three schools operating within Chinatown. They are:[48]
Endeavor College Preparatory Charter School, middle, 126 Bloom Street
Castelar Street Elementary School,[49]LAUSD, 840 Yale Street; second oldest school in the district
Chinatown is served by the A Line of the city's Metro Rail. The station was formerly serviced by the, now defunct, L Line; parts of Old Chinatown were uncovered during excavation for another portion of the L.A. subway (the Red Line connection to Union Station). The Metro Rail station in Chinatown has been described as a spectacular pagoda-themed facility and as a cliché of neo-pagoda architecture by Christopher Hawthorne, the Los Angeles Times architecture critic.[51][52][53]
Chinatown has served as the setting for many Hollywood films. The conclusion of the film Chinatown was filmed on Spring Street.[54] The movie Rush Hour was filmed on location in Chinatown.[55]
^Mallory, Michael (December 2, 2002). "They're empty, but full of promise; Renting out vacant buildings as film locations can fill the needs of owners, production companies and the community". Los Angeles Times. p. E.6. ProQuest421749405.
Ki Longfellow, China Blues, Eio Books 2012, ISBN0-9759255-7-1. Contains detailed history of Chinese immigration to California and other historical information relating to Chinatown. Also, how the Chinese were treated in California.
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