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Chinatown



  

History of Chinatown


Chinatown is an area located in Downtown Los Angeles that was founded in the late 19th century and was later rebuilt in 1939 following the previous demolition to create what is now Union Station. In the early years, Chinatown was centered around the streets Alameda and Macy but over time residents of the area were relocated in order for the Union Station to be built. The result was the building of what is now known as New Chinatown.
 
Over the years, in the late 19th century Chinatown quickly grew from a relatively small area into an area that spanned over 15 streets and contained more than 200 buildings. The Chinese Opera theater was located in the Old Chinatown as were three temples. The Chinatown area in Los Angeles even had it's own newspaper in the early 20th century. Eventually, impeding development of the Union Station would run out the tenants of Chinatown and the area was forced move about a mile over from where it originally was and the New Chinatown was then developed.

Description

 
Collective community process paired with the efforts of a Chinese American community leader known as Peter Soo Hoo Sr. would soon develop a unique blend of Chinese American architecture that is now known as Chinatown.
 
Today, Chinatown has streets that run through Broadway, Spring and Hill. The area is located north of Downtown Los Angeles just between Dodger Stadium and the Los Angeles Civic Center. The area is somewhat segmented based much on how long businesses have been around with the northwest to southeast direction of College Street being the primary boundary between the old businesses which were built prior to the the 1940s and the newer businesses which have developed since the 1980s.

Chinatown continues to be a primary site for movie filming due to the exotic atmosphere and architecture throughout the neighborhood. Much of the southwest area of Chinatown is owned by Southeast Asian immigrants while the majority of the northwest and southeast area is populated by American born Chinese families of Taishanese and Cantonese descent.

Chinatown is marked by various specialized grocery stores that cater to the Chinese, Vietnamese and Asian cultures. Many of the Chinatown restaurants cater specifically to the Cantonese culture or one of many Asian cuisine styles such as Thai or Indonesian foods. Various stores sell ginseng and other herbs as well as household merchandise that are common to the Chinese or Asian culture. The Chinatown area also has many small Vietnamese style bazaars where people shop for bargain items including clothing, children's toys and other items.

Residents of Chinatown

Although the neighborhood of Chinatown only spans an area of .0383 square miles more than 5,500 people call Chinatown Los Angeles home. Residents of Chinatown are generally of a varied age range with residents both young and old calling Chinatown home. The majority of residents of Chinatown are of Asian descent with about 15% of residents being Hispanic and less than 1% of Chinatown residents being of white or Caucasian descent. The median household income of Chinatown is significantly lower than the Los Angeles median income with Chinatown residents earning an average of $18,430 per year in comparison to the Los Angeles median household earnings of $48,882.

Chinatown Rentals

Chinatown rentals are typically multi family apartments. Most of the Chinatown rentals were built during the boom from 1980 to the early 1990s. Chinatown apartments range in price from under $500 per month to over $1,000 but the majority of rentals in Chinatown have a median rent price of around $600 making Chinatown a relatively affordable place to rent in Los Angeles.

Fun Stuff in Chinatown

Chinatown is a tourist attraction and site to see for anyone thinking about relocating to the Los Angeles area. Popular attractions in the area include the Thien Hau Temple, the Wishing Well, and of course the restaurants that feature all types of Asian cuisine from around the world. Chinatown also has more than 20 different art galleries that feature mostly non Chinese modern art that is from up and coming artists in various media types.