THRIVE OR SURVIVE: EVOLUTION AND PRESERVATION OF CHINATOWNS IN THE UNITED STATES by FANGLAN CHEN (Under the Direction of MARK REINBERGER) ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to explore the evolution of built environments in American Chinatowns under influence of a hybridized culture and examine local efforts in Chinatown preservation. Chinatown is an integral part of Chinese Americans’ cultural heritage and an important page of American public history. As urban renewal and economic development programs transformed downtowns in the global era, many Chinatowns are on the verge of disappearing. Using a methodology that combines archive research and field observation, the author chose three Chinatowns located in the metropolitan cities New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, District of Columbia as case studies. Their different circumstances indicated that there is no single Chinatown model but rather multiple Chinese-American immigrant neighborhoods with various experiences of spatial evolution and ethnic preservation. Their comparison contributed to the understanding of current preservation issues. It also provided insights into how to maintain the place-identity of ethnic places as Chinatowns. INDEX WORDS: Historic preservation, Chinatown, Ethnic place, Place-identity THRIVE OR SURVIVE: EVOLUTION AND PRESERVATION OF CHINATOWNS IN THE UNITED STATES By FANGLAN CHEN B.Arch., Wuhan University of Technology, China, 2011 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION ATHENS, GEORGIA 2015 © 2015 Fanglan Chen All Rights Reserved THRIVE OR SURVIVE: EVOLUTION AND PRESERVATION OF CHINATOWNS IN THE UNITED STATES by FANGLAN CHEN Major Professor: Mark Reinberger Committee: James Reap Sungkyung Lee Pratt Cassity Electronic Version Approved: Suzanne Barbour Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My research interests in American Chinatowns started in the summer of 2013 when I interned at the Octagon Museum in Washington, D.C. Two of my friends came for a short visit and we decided to meet in the city’s Chinatown. A gigantic Chinese archway, architectural facades with oriental-style motifs, storefronts marked by Chinese characters, bustling streets, all of these elements made Chinatown both familiar and unfamiliar to me. Since then, a question kept haunting my mind: what made Chinatown a Chinatown? Digging through all kinds of sources, I stepped into the history of American Chinatowns and felt connected with the stories of many Chinese Americans. Even after this thesis is finished, I will still try to picture the future of Chinatowns. During my research and writing, I received much assistance and support from professors in the University of Georgia’s College of Environment and Design. My advisor, Professor Mark E. Reinberger, owns my deepest appreciation for his diligent guidance and continual encouragement throughout the entire process. I would like to express my respect and gratitude to all the members of my thesis reading committee, Professor James K. Reap, Professor Sungkyung Lee, and Pratt Cassity. I got much inspired by conversations with them. This thesis would not have been possible without their insightful comments and sharing of knowledge. Special thanks to Professor Yi Zhang, who is a scholarly mentor and beneficial friend since my undergraduate studies. I also offer my great thanks to my parents for encouraging my academic pursuits in the United States. Their unconditional love and support is the wealth of my lifetime. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...........................................................................................................iv LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................1 2 ETHNIC PLACES AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION ..............................................8 The Concept of “Ethnic Places” ...............................................................................9 Place and Identity ....................................................................................................11 Historic Preservation and Ethnic Communities in Urban History ..........................13 Significance of Ethnic Places ..................................................................................18 3 CHINATOWNS NOW AND THEN ............................................................................19 Historic Contexts ....................................................................................................19 Segregation of Chinatowns .....................................................................................22 Historic Resources and Characteristics ...................................................................27 4 CASE STUDIES ...........................................................................................................38 A City within A City: Manhattan’s Chinatown ......................................................38 A Neighborhood in Transition: Philadelphia’s Chinatown ....................................62 A Community under the Friendship Archway: Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown ...85 v 5 THE DEATH AND LIFE OF AMERICAN CHINATOWNS ...................................103 Issues in Chinatown Preservation .........................................................................104 Closing Thoughts ......................................................................................................109 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................120 APPENDICES....................................................................................................................................123 A HISTORIC PRESERVATION INCENTIVES AT THE LOCAL LEVEL ...............123 vi LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1.1: Chinatowns in the United States of America .................................................................2 Figure 2.1: Dens of Death, New York City, circa 1889 ................................................................15 Figure 2.2: The sweatshop in a Ludlow Street tenement, New York City, circa 1905..................15 Figure 3.1: Massacre of Chinese at Rock Springs, Wyoming, September 2, 1885 ......................21 Figure 3.2: Storefront of 38 Mott Street in historic Chinatown, New York City, circa 1903 .......29 Figure 3.3: Mixed-use structures on Pell Street in Chinatown, New York City, 1900 ...................31 Figure 3.4: Spatial organization of Shan Shan West Hui Guan, Wuhan, China ...........................33 Figure 3.5: Northeast elevation of historic Chinatown Young Man’s Christian Association (YMCA) building, Philadelphia ................................................................................34 Figure 3.6: Lakefront Pailou at Summer Palace, Beijing, China ..................................................37 Figure 3.7: Dragon Gate on Grant Avenue at Bush Street marking the entry to Chinatown, San Francisco .............................................................................................................37 Figure 4.1: Mott Street between Canal and Bayard Streets, New York City, 2014 ......................39 Figure 4.2: Mott Street in the historic core of Chinatown, New York City, 1900 ..........................39 Figure 4.3: Historic Core of Chinatown, New York City，1898 ...................................................42 Figure 4.4: Hip Sing Tong headquarter at 16 Pell Street, New York, City, 2015 .........................45 Figure 4.5: Structure of Chinese-American associations in Chinatown, New York City ............47 vii Figure 4.6: Proposed plan for the Lower Manhattan Expressway ................................................49 Figure 4.7: Drawing by Harold Thompson that shows an oriental look of the China Village ........49 Figure 4.8: On Leong Merchants Association building, 2015 ......................................................53 Figure 4.9: Chinatown boundary in Lower East Manhattan, New York City ..............................55 Figure 4.10: Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) main entrance on Centre Street, New York City, 2015 .................................................................................................58 Figure 4.11: A corner of MOCA’s core exhibit With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America, 2015 ............................................................................................................58 Figure 4.12: Chinatown and Little Italy Historic District map .....................................................61 Figure 4.13: Chinatown streetscape at 10th Street between Vine and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, 2014 .....................................................................................................62 Figure 4.14: Chinatown boundary, Philadelphia, circa 1900 ........................................................64 Figure 4.15: Painting by Frank Hamilton Taylor that shows Far East Restaurant at 907 Race Street, Philadelphia, 1923 ..........................................................................................66 Figure 4.16: Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church in Philadelphia’s Chinatown, 2015 ...........................................................................................................................68