Chinatown, Los Angeles

Coordinates: 34°03′46″N 118°14′16″W / 34.062888°N 118.23789°W / 34.062888; -118.23789
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Chinatown
323

Chinatown is a neighborhood in

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]

Climate data for Chinatown, Los Angeles
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 68
(20) 		70
(21) 		70
(21) 		74
(23) 		75
(24) 		80
(27) 		85
(29) 		86
(30) 		84
(29) 		80
(27) 		73
(23) 		69
(21) 		76
(24)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 47
(8) 		49
(9) 		51
(11) 		53
(12) 		57
(14) 		61
(16) 		64
(18) 		65
(18) 		64
(18) 		59
(15) 		51
(11) 		47
(8) 		56
(13)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.47
(88) 		3.81
(97) 		3.24
(82) 		0.85
(22) 		0.31
(7.9) 		0.07
(1.8) 		0.02
(0.51) 		0.14
(3.6) 		0.35
(8.9) 		0.39
(9.9) 		1.16
(29) 		1.98
(50) 		15.80
(401)
Source: [8]

History

Further information:
History of the Chinese Americans in Los Angeles
Map
300m
330yds
none
10
Chinese American Museum, site of Old Chinatown
9
El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument
8
Philippe's
7
6
Chinatown Gateway Monument
5
Thien Hau Temple
4
Chinatown station
3
2
1
Cathedral High School
Chinatown, Los Angeles 
  •  Points of interest 
  •  Transit 
  •  Parks 
  •  Medical 

1
Thien Hau Temple
6
Chinatown Gateway Monument
7
China City (1938, former site)
8
Philippe's
9
El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument
10
Chinese American Museum
, site of Old Chinatown

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.

Old Chinatown

Main article: Old Chinatown, Los Angeles

China City

Main article: China City, Los Angeles

China City was a short-lived China-themed district developed by Christine Sterling in 1938.

Little Italy

The neighborhood that has become Chinatown was formerly

Old Plaza. Many built businesses, including wineries (San Antonio Winery is still in existence).[9] The Italian American Museum of Los Angeles in the El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument
opened in 2016.

New Chinatown

In the 1930s, under the efforts of Chinese-American community leader

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]

The

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

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]

By 2000 many people had left the Chinatown for the

Chinese community in the San Gabriel Valley. In 2000 AsianWeek said that the Los Angeles Chinatown was "troubled."[19]

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.

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:

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

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, 2010
Little 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

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]

  • French Dip sandwich.[38]
  • 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]

Parks and recreation

  • Los Angeles State Historic Park, also known as the Cornfield,[41] consists of a long open space between Spring Street and the tracks of the Metro A Line.
  • 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 Cantonese Dai hok gai and in Mandarin as Da xue jie (da xue means college or university).

The words Los Angeles Chinatown are written and pronounced as follows as (traditional Chinese: 洛杉磯唐人街; simplified Chinese: 洛杉矶唐人街; pinyin: Luòshānjī Tángrénjiē; Cantonese Yale: Loksāamgēi Tòhngyàhngāai) in Cantonese, (traditional Chinese: 洛杉磯中國城; simplified Chinese: 洛杉矶中国城; pinyin: Luòshānjī Zhōngguóchéng; Cantonese Yale: Loksāamgēi Jūnggwoksìhng) in Mandarin Chinese or officially known as (simplified Chinese: 洛杉矶华埠; traditional Chinese: 洛杉磯華埠; pinyin: Luòshānjī Huábù; Cantonese Yale: Loksāamgēi Wàhfauh).

Events

Thien Hau Temple, another popular attraction in LA Chinatown.

Events that have been held or are planned in Los Angeles's Chinatown include:

• Chinese New Year Parade[43]

•

Lantern festival at the Chinese American Museum[44]

• The Firecracker Run and Fun Walk[45]

• Mid-autumn

Moon Festival

• Miss Los Angeles Chinatown Pageant[46]

A midnight firecracker display occurs every Chinese New Year's Eve at

Thien Hau Temple
and Xuan Wu San Buddhist Association.

Education

Cathedral High School, next to Dodger Stadium

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,
    LAUSD
    , 840 Yale Street; second oldest school in the district
  • Cathedral High School, a private Catholic boys' school, just down the hill from Dodger Stadium, is located on the north side of Chinatown. [5]
  • ESL adult school in the nation[50]

Los Angeles Public Library operates the Chinatown Branch.

Transportation

Chinatown station on the A Line (2014)

Chinatown is served by 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]

Filming

East Gate, 1939 (photographed in 2012)
West Gate, 1938 (photographed in 2011)
East Gate (on Broadway) in New Chinatown's Central Plaza is Historic-Cultural Monument No. 826. West Gate (on Hill Street) is No. 825.

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]

Feature films

Notable people

See also

References

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  2. ^ Angels Walk–Union Station/El Pueblo/Little Tokyo/Center, published by Angels Walk LA, 2000
  3. ^ "Chinatown Los Angeles California, Restaurants in Chinatown, Pictures of Chinatown". Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2010.
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  5. ^ "Chinatown map", CRA/LA
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  7. ^ The Thomas Guide, Los Angeles County 2006, page 634
  8. ^ "Zipcode 90012". www.plantmaps.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
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  23. ^ Zahniser, David (February 11, 2021). "Looking to avert evictions, L.A. seeks $46 million to buy Chinatown apartment building". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
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Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chinatown, Los Angeles.

34°03′46″N 118°14′16″W / 34.062888°N 118.23789°W / 34.062888; -118.23789

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