Chinatown­International District Walking Tour

Directions for Chaperone/Tour Guide: Please read background information on the International District and the field trip instructions to your group before arriving in International District (such as on the ferry). Once you get there, y our group may visit the spots marked on the map in any order they wish. However, please attempt to minimize our impact on merchants and sites by moving on from crowded areas and returning later. Please read information aloud at each site. This is how students will learn about the district and what makes this field trip e ducational! At each spot, there are also questions for you to ask the students. In addition, a student in your group will need to take a photo which they will be uploading to Google Classroom. You are welcome to frequent other places within the International District as well, and students may want to purchase some items. S tudents are not allowed to visit any “weapons” store or purchase any item which may be considered a weapon. Many groups choose a restaurant to go to for lunch, while others prefer to buy various foods along the way. We encourage all students to try something new.

Background about the International District: ( Consider reading on the ferry over. Otherwise read up aloud upon arrival to the International District.) The history of the neighborhood begins with the Chinese. They arrived in the 1860s to mine gold and build the Northern Pacific railroad, settling first near the waterfront in Pioneer Square and gradually pushed southeast.

The Japanese came in the 1880s and quickly surpassed the Chinese in numbers, largely because of a law prohibiting Chinese laborers—but not other immigrants—from sending for their wives. The Japanese would remain the largest minority group until World War II. During the war, the US government imprisoned the entire Japanese community in internment camps.

Due to its relatively cheap housing, grocery stores, and citizenship classes, the International District remains a destination for new immigrants. According to the 1990 Census, there are 2,358 people living there, largely single Filipino men. More than half of those who live there live below the poverty level; 40 percent of the population is elderly. If you include the area known as Little Saigon around 12t h and Jackson, there are approximately 500 businesses. Most are owned by Chinese or ethnic Chinese from Vietnam.

Today, as its name suggests, the International District is made up of people from many different cultural groups. However, its name remains controversial. Many members of ’s Chinese community prefer it be called Chinatown. Its official name is Chinatown­International District.

A. Nippon Kan Theatre (628 S Street)

The Nippon Kan Theatre has served as a gathering place for Japanese Americans since 1909. A variety of cultural events were held there, as well as discussions on community and political issues. The upper floors of the building were the Astor Hotel, which offered inexpensive housing to new immigrants. In the 1980s, it was completely renovated by Seattle architect Ed Burke, with special care taken to preserve the original features. This marks the highest spot in the International District.

What can you see from this spot?

Take a photo of the view.

B. Park ( 6 50 S Main St)

Kobe Terrace Park w as built after citizens were displaced to build the King Dome in 1976. Kobe, Japan and Seattle are sister cities.

What did Kobe give Seattle in 1976? Why?

Take a photo of this gift to Seattle.

C. Danny Woo Community Gardens ( 6 20 S Main St)

Created at the same time as the park were the Danny Woo Community Gardens. Volunteers built a terraced “P­Patch” piece of land donated by a local restaurateur named Danny Woo. Feel free to take a walk along the path through the terrace gardens.

What vegetables being grown are Asian specific? What do you think is the benefit of a community garden?

Take a picture of any plants or vegetables which are Asian specific.

D. The Panama Hotel ( 6 05 1/2 S Main St)

The Historic Panama Hotel was built in 1910 by Sabro Ozasa, a Japanese Architect and graduate of the . Through the years it has served as a home for generations of Japanese immigrants, Alaskan fisherman, and International travelers. The building houses the only remaining Japanese Bathhouse (Sento) left intact in the United States. The hotel is known for housing the belongings of the Japanese families in Seattle once Executive Order 9066 was enacted and Japanese­Americans were forcibly evacuated to internment camps. After the Japanese internment, most of the Seattle­based families were not able to return back home and their belongings still reside in the basement of the hotel.

The Panama Hotel is also known as the source for a novel by Jamie Ford. Can you name it?

In the corner of the lobby, there is a plexiglass window on the floor which allows you to get a glimpse of the basement and some of the belongings which were stored there.

Take a picture of some members of your group looking at these belongings.

E. The North Pacific Hotel (N.P. Hotel)/Maneki (3 04 6th Ave S)

Nihonmachi (Japantown) was a thriving residential and commercial area prior to World War II. The North Pacific Hotel (built in 1914) was an early cornerstone of the District. The Interim Community Development Association renovated it into low­income housing in 1994.

Maneki, Seattle’s oldest Japanese restaurant, is located on the street level of the building. E stablished in 1904, the first sushi bar, tatami rooms (private matted rooms) and karaoke bar were created. The original Maneki was built on the hill on 6th Ave. S and Main St in the heart of Nihonmachi or Japantown. The white building was 3 stories and looked just like a Japanese castle. On weekends it served 500 plus customers in the “tatami rooms” or private matted rooms. It served the Japanese community with its many theatrical plays, weddings and funerals.

When World War II broke out everyone that was Japanese were interned in camps. The beautiful castle was ransacked and became a ruin. This space in the NP Hotel was used for storage for all the internees that were forced into camps. It was after the war in 1946 and when the internees returned and claimed their belongings that the space became available. The present Maneki has been operating and serving loyal regulars for over one hundred years.

Selfie time! Take a group selfie in front of the restaurant!

F. Hing Hay Park ( 4 23 Maynard Ave S)

Hing Hay Park is a central gathering point for the District. The park was constructed in 1975 with a grand pavilion that was designed and constructed in Taipei, Taiwan. The park also features a memorial dedicated to local Chinese­American veterans killed in World War II. The mural, designed by Seattle native John Woo, dates to 1977 and depicts the struggle of Asian pioneers in America.

According to the mural at Hing Hay Park, what jobs were Asian Americans involved in?

Take a picture of members of your group under the mural. (Bonus points if you act out the jobs in the mural!)

G. The Wing Luke Museum (7 19 S King St)

The Wing Luke Museum was named in honor of Seattle City Councilperson Wing Luke, the first Asian American elected official in the Pacific Northwest. The Wing Luke Museum presents a variety of cultural exhibits contributed by Asian communities in the Northwest. Examples of folk art, calligraphy and photography are displayed, as well as historical items and changing exhibits. While we are not able to visit today, we encourage you to check it out the next time you are here.

Take a picture of a sign which indicates at least one specific exhibit presently on display at the museum.

H. The Eastern Hotel ( 506 ½ Maynard Avenue South)

The Eastern Hotel was once home to thousands of Filipino men who came to Seattle during the 1900s. The lobby features a mural by Eliseo Silva, entitled “Can You Read the Secrets of History in my Face.” The title is taken from a line of a poem by , a cannery worker who Bulosan was a pioneer in getting conditions improved for cannery workers. If possible, step inside lobby and look at pictures/displays. If not, peak in from the outside. Today this hotel features 46 units of low­income housing.

Carlos Bulosan wrote a book about his life. What was the title of Carlos Bulosan’s book?

Take a picture of this book and/or the Mural by Eliseo Silva.

I. The Chong Wa Benevolent Association ( 5 22 7th Ave S)

The Chong Wa Benevolent Association is one of many extended family associations you will see throughout the International District. (Across the street is the Gee How Oak Tin Family Association.) Each was built for a particular family and provided the extended family a place to gather.

What benefits do you think these associations offered immigrants?

The Chong Wa building also houses the state’s oldest Chinese school, providing language and cultural programs for youth and adults.

Take a picture of your group standing on the stairs in the front of this building.

J. Tsue Chong Fortune Cookie Company­­Rose Brand ( 8 00 S Weller St)

The Louie's family started its Chinatown business in 1917 by making noodles and expanded into the fortune cookie market in the 1950s. They now make about 400,000 cookies per week. During the summer, the third floor of the Tsue Chong factory can reach about 90 degrees, as machines hum and churn out cookies that are dropped into bags in boxes. Buckets hold the cookie batter with the family recipe of flour, sugar, butter­vanilla powder, eggs, water and coconut oil. A gas flame cooks the batter that is dropped in 3­inch platters on a circular track. An automated arm folds the cookies. Fortunes dropped into the cookies from a tray attached to the machine. Decades ago, workers sat next to older­style grills, pulling cookies from them and using their hands to make folds and insert fortunes. Over the years, the company has added new twists on the cookies, including dipping them in chocolate, and new flavors, such as pina colada, strawberry, lemon, orange, ginger, cinnamon and mocha. At the retail store, next to the factory, they also sell the "unfortunates," which are flat or broken cookies that did not fold properly, a favorite purchase of Woodward 8th graders!

Take a picture of someone in your group with a fortune cookie (or a whole bag)!

K. The International Children’s Park ( 7 00 S Lane St)

The International Children’s Park was built around 1980. As more people were displaced from their homes and were living in apartments, the city recognized the need to provide children with some open space. The bronze dragon sculpture is the work of Gerard Tsutakawa, the artist who designed the glove outside Safeco Field. His father, George Tsutakawa, was also a Seattle artist and perhaps the most famous Japanese­American sculptor. His family used to spend summers on Bainbridge Island, and he also built the fountain near the entrance to the Seattle ferry terminal.

Take a picture of your group with the sculpture and/or playing in the park!

Walking north from the children’s park, notice the 3 houses on the right. These are some of the only houses which remain, providing a glimpse of what this area looked like when it was a neighborhood.

L. Uwajimaya ( 600 5th Avenue S)

In 1928, Fujimatsu Moriguchi, a native of Yawatahama, Japan, began business in Tacoma, Washington. Moriguchi sold fresh fish cakes from the back of his truck to Japanese laborers working in logging and fishing camps in the Puget Sound area. Moriguchi named his business Uwajima­ya, after the town in Japan where he learned his trade ("ya" means "store" in Japanese). In 1942, Moriguchi, his wife Sadako, and their children were sent to an Internment Camp at Tule Lake, . After the war the Moriguchi Family, with its seven children, relocated to Seattle. Here they opened a retail store and fish cake manufacturing company on South Main Street, in Seattle's Chinatown International District.

In 1962, Seattle hosted the World's Fair and during this period, Mr. Moriguchi's ideas blossomed. Uwajimaya began its outreach to non­Japanese clientele, offering fine gift products, kitchenware and delicacies from Japan. Since then, Uwajimaya has continued to provide Asian foods and gifts to an ever­increasing diversity of shoppers. In 1970, Uwajimaya moved to a new 20,000 square feet store at 6t h Avenue South and South King Street, becoming the first Asian store of its size in the Pacific Northwest and the first full­service supermarket for Asian products in the region. In 2000, the store moved again, causing controversy when it took over an entire block and created Uwajimaya Village, which includes several restaurants and 176 apartments. The store also now has branches in Bellevue and Beaverton, Oregon. Wander around inside and take note of the wide range of products sold here.

Take pictures of 5 different items in the store that you would only find in a store which serves the Asian­American community. If possible, also take a picture of someone in your group trying something new!

M. International District/Chinatown Gate (5 th Ave S and S King St)

The Historic International District/Chinatown Gate marks the west end of the Chinatown neighborhood. The gate, designed by Paul Wu and Ming Zhang of M ulvanny G2 Architecture of B ellevue, Washington, was built over a period of several months in late 2007 and is composed of a s teel structure and c eramic ornaments, including 8,000 ceramic tiles made in southern China. The $500,000 construction cost was paid for by the Historic Chinatown Gate Foundation, a n on­profit organization established in 1999 to build the archway. The Historic Chinatown Gate was dedicated on February 9, 2008 during a ceremony attended by local officials, including S eattle mayor G reg Nickles and G overnor C hristine Gregoire. Plans for a second gate at the eastern end of the district, to be located on South King Street at either 8th Avenue South or at 12th Avenue South in Little Saigon , have been on hold since 2010.

Along 5th Avenue South, as well as Jackson and D earborn Streets, you will see a series of dragon sculptures. A group of International District leaders arranged for a total of 11 dragons to be built and installed at different street corners throughout the district. The dragon is recognized in many Asian cultures as a symbol of tenacity, change, and happiness. The dragons range from 12­20 feet tall and weigh about 300 pounds each. They look delicate, but have been built out of a fiberglass material and soaked in resin, making them able to withstand winds up to 90 mph.

Take a picture of someone from your group standing under at least one of these dragons.