Chinatown, Philadelphia
Encyclopedia
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
neighborhood located within the Center City
Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC, T: 費城華埠發展會, S: 费城华埠发展会, P: Fèichéng Huábù Fāzhǎn Huì) supports the area.
History
In the mid-19th century19th century
The 19th century was a period in history marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Holy Roman and Mughal empires...
, Cantonese
Cantonese people
The Cantonese people are Han people whose ancestral homes are in Guangdong, China. The term "Cantonese people" would then be synonymous with the Bun Dei sub-ethnic group, and is sometimes known as Gwong Fu Jan for this narrower definition...
immigrants to Philadelphia opened laundries and restaurants in an area in close proximity to Philadelphia's commercial wharves. This lead to the start of Philadelphia's Chinatown. The first business was a laundry owned by Lee Fong at 913 Race Street; it opened in 1871. In the following years, Chinatown consisted of ethnic Chinese businesses clustered around the 900 block of Race Street. Before the mid-1960s it consisted of several restaurants and one grocery store.
In the mid-1960s large numbers of families began moving to Chinatown. During various periods of urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
, starting in the 1960s, portions of Chinatown were razed for the construction of the Vine Street Expressway and the Pennsylvania Convention Center
Pennsylvania Convention Center
The Pennsylvania Convention Center is a multi-use public facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which is designed to accommodate conventions, exhibitions, conferences and other events.-History:...
. The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation was formed in 1968. This gave community and business leaders more say in matters of local development.
In years leading up to 1998, businesses catering to other immigrants from East Asian countries, like Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, opened in Chinatown.
In the late 1990s the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
baseball team was hoping to build a new ball park in downtown Philadelphia to replace the aging Veterans Stadium
Veterans Stadium
Philadelphia Veterans Stadium was a professional-sports, multi-purpose stadium, located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...
in South Philadelphia. Several locations were considered, including 12th and Vine Streets, just north of the Vine Street Expressway
Interstate 676
Interstate 676 is an Interstate Highway that serves as a major thoroughfare through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where it is known as the Vine Street Expressway, and Camden, New Jersey, where it is known as the northern segment of the North–South Freeway, as well as the Martin Luther King Jr....
. The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation mounted an intense opposition to the ballpark plans. Residents were concerned that the ballpark would destroy Chinatown. The PCDC staged protests and rallies that united neighborhood groups, religious, labor, ethnic, and political groups. Eventually the Phillies built Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park is a 43,647-seat baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, and home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004, and hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 12 of the same year, with the...
at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex
South Philadelphia Sports Complex
The South Philadelphia Sports Complex is the current home of Philadelphia's professional sports teams. It is the site of the Wells Fargo Center, Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park...
, which opened in 2004.
Cityscape
Vine StreetVine Street
Vine is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California that runs north-south from Melrose Avenue up past Hollywood Boulevard. The intersection of Hollywood and Vine was once a symbol of Hollywood itself...
is the northern boundary of Chinatown. Restaurants and shops, with apartment units located above, are in the buildings south of Vine street, within Chinatown. Factories and other industrial properties are located on the other side of Vine Street. Filbert Street serves as the southern border. Chinatown includes a core area that has seven city block
City block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
s. Many of the residents of the block were, as of 1998, recent immigrants.
Developments in the 20th century formed the current boundaries of the Philadelphia Chinatown. In the 1920s ramps leading to the Ben Franklin Bridge were constructed at Chinatown's northern edge. At another point, the city condemned an area east of what is now Chinatown so that the new headquarters of the Philadelphia Police Department
Philadelphia Police Department
The Philadelphia Police Department is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, Independence Mall
Independence National Historical Park
Independence National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in Philadelphia that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the National Park Service, the park comprises much of the downtown historic...
, and a hospital could be constructed. At one point the city proposed building an eight lane highway that would divide the Philadelphia Chinatown into two parts and eliminate the Holy Redeemer Church and School. The church and school remained, while the Vine Street Expressway
Interstate 676
Interstate 676 is an Interstate Highway that serves as a major thoroughfare through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where it is known as the Vine Street Expressway, and Camden, New Jersey, where it is known as the northern segment of the North–South Freeway, as well as the Martin Luther King Jr....
, smaller than its original proposed size, was built. Cecelia Yep, one of the founders of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Coalition, said "I think we saw it as a plan to get rid of Chinatown. [The church and school] was the only thing good in Chinatown at the time. We thought it was a fight for survival." The construction of the Market East Station in the 1970s and 1980s established Filbert Street as Chinatown's southern border. As a result of the construction of the Pennsylvania Convention Center
Pennsylvania Convention Center
The Pennsylvania Convention Center is a multi-use public facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which is designed to accommodate conventions, exhibitions, conferences and other events.-History:...
, which opened in 1993, the Chinatown buildings located on Arch Street, up to the intersection of 13th Street, were demolished. In addition, a federal prison, the Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia
Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia
The Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia is a United States Federal Bureau of Prisons administrative facility, housing male and female pretrial inmates for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, all of Delaware, and southern New Jersey. It is an administrative level security facility that...
, opened in the area. AsianWeek
AsianWeek
AsianWeek was a widely circulated publication of Asian American news, across all Asian ethnic groups, providing coverage of Asian-American issues such as the killing of Vincent Chin, Asian American college admissions, and quotas on Chinese students in competitive San Francisco examination schools...
said "Each was built with much compromising, and now they form a circle around Chinatown’s current core of about five city blocks."
By 1998 community leaders had taken a property bounded by 8th Street, 9th Street, Callowhill, and Vine in order to establish a $7 million townhome complex called Hing Wah Yuen (T: 興華園, S: 兴华园, P: Xīng Huá Yuán, "Prosperous Chinese Garden").
Demographics
As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the service area of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation had 1,362 residents in 459 households. Of the residents, 1,085 were Asian AmericanAsian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 152 were White American
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
, 71 were African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 31 were of other races, and 23 were Hispanic American
Hispanic American
Hispanic American may refer to:*An inhabitant of one of the countries of Hispanic America *A person of Hispanic ancestry who is citizen, resident or other in the United States of America...
. During that year the community had 509 housing units, with 50 of them being vacant and 85 of them being owner occupied.
As of 1998 the wider Chinatown area had about 4,000 residents. Many of them worked in fifty clothing assembly companies, restaurants, and related suppliers located in the area. As of that year, most residents were Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
. As of the 1990 U.S. Census the median income of Chinatown was under $15,000. The median income of the 47,000 residents of Center City Philadelphia as a whole was $60,000. As of 2000, of the 4,000 residents of the wider area, about 70% have no English fluency.
The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation said that the area also serves about 250,000 Chinese Americans residing in Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Landmarks
The Gate is the first authentic Chinese Gate built in America by artisans from China. Weighing in at approximately 88 tons and standing 40-feet high, the Gate's bright colors and elaborate design reflect traditional ancient color combinations used in early Chinese imperial construction. Themes of mythical creatures and graphic patterns typical to Ming and Qing Dynasties were used. A procession of mythical animals is featured on tiles, each with its own significance: the phoenix ensures good luck, and the dragon, with the magical power retaining water in its mouth, protects the structure of the Gate and the community from Fire. The four traditional Chinese characters on both sides of the Gate are, "費城華埠" (Fèichéng huá bù), which means Philadelphia Chinatown. Traditional characters are commonly seen outside of Mainland China.
After twenty-four years of climate, wear and tear, the Friendship Gate of Chinatown got a new coat of paint. Once again artisans from the Sister City of Tianjin, China, came to Philadelphia to take on this project in conjunction with the City of Philadelphia and the help of Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. Using ancient techniques and traditional materials they revitalized the Friendship Gate. The Gate was rededicated on November 19, 2008.
Culinary Attractions
Chinatown features a large number of restaurants featuring East Asian cuisines. 10th Street and Race Street host nearly a dozen different Hong Kong-style bakery cafes. Furthermore, there are restaurants serving Cantonese, Fujianese, Northern, Sichuan, and Taiwanese cuisine. There are also a number of restaurants in Philadelphia's Chinatown serving other Asian cuisines, such as Burmese, Japanese, and Vietnamese.Transportation
The Chinatown station on SEPTA's Broad-Ridge Spur is located at 8th and Vine streets, and Market East Station is only a block from the Chinatown Friendship Gate. SEPTA also provides local bus transportation to the area.In addition, China Airlines
China Airlines
China Airlines is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of Republic of China . Although not directly state-owned, the airline is owned by China Airlines Group, which is owned by the China Aviation Development Foundation...
provides a private bus service to John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
from the Holy Redeemer Church in the Philadelphia Chinatown to feed its flight to Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
Public schools
The School District of PhiladelphiaSchool District of Philadelphia
The School District of Philadelphia is a school district based in the School District of Philadelphia Education Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that includes all public schools in the city of Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the eighth largest school district in the nation.The School...
operates area public schools. Residents of much of the Chinatown area are zoned to General George A. McCall K-8 School (S: 麦考小学, T: 麥考學校, P: Màikǎo Xiǎoxué), located in Society Hill, 1 miles (1.6 km) south of Chinatown. As of 2005 most residents who are unable to afford tuition to send their children to private school send their children to McCall.
For high school, most area residents are zoned to Horace Furness High School in South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...
. In another section, residents are served by Benjamin Franklin High School
Benjamin Franklin High School (Philadelphia)
Benjamin Franklin High School is a public high school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.The school, located north of Center City, is a part of the School District of Philadelphia. Franklin serves several areas, including Fairmount, Spring Garden, the section of Northern Liberties...
.
Folk Arts - Cultural Treasures Charter School (FACTS, T: 民藝特許學校, S: 民艺特许学校, Mín Yì Tèxǔ Xuéxiào), a K-8 public charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
, is located in Chinatown.
In 1993 the school district began a school bus route between Chinatown and McCall. The district was not required to install the route, but parents advocated for the route because they believed that traffic at Market Street and Washington Square endangered their children. When the district proposed cutting the route in 1994, parents complained. In a two year period until 1998, the number of Chinese students at McCall doubled. In 1998 Chinese students were 25% of McCall's 650 person student body. As of 1998 there were no public schools within Chinatown. In 2005 the Philadelphia School Reform Commission approved the creation of FACTS. At the time the Chinatown Community Development Corporation opposed the creation of the charter school, saying that it was not necessary and that it would hurt enrollment figures at McCall and Holy Redeemer.
Private schools
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of PhiladelphiaRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. The diocese was...
operates Catholic schools. The Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church and School (T: 費城華人天主教教堂暨培德學校, S: 费城华人天主教教堂暨培德学校, p: Fèichéng Huárén Tiānzhǔjiào Jiàotáng jì péi dé Xuéxiào) was constructed in 1941. David J. Wallace of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said that it was "a leading Chinatown institution." Historically many Chinatown residents enrolled their children in the school, and the community used the church and school complex as a meeting place and a community center. In the 1990s the school lost much of its schoolyard due to expansion of the Vine Street Expressway. In 2005 it was the only school in Chinatown.
Colleges and libraries
The Free Library of PhiladelphiaFree Library of Philadelphia
The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:History of the Free Library of Philadelphia: Initiated by the efforts of Dr...
operates area public libraries. As of 1998 there are no public library branches within Chinatown. The Independence Branch (T: 獨立宮圖書館, S: 独立宮图书馆, P: Dúlì Gōng Túshūguǎn) serves residents living in Chinatown.
The Philadelphia Community College system serves Chinatown.
External links
- Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation
- Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation
- "Chinatown Housing Site Upgrade Hing Wah Yuen Housing Development A sense of place inspired by the heritage of the residents." Synterra Ltd.
- "Building the Gold Mountain: Philadelphia's Chinatown", Historical Society of Pennsylvania
- Weyrich, Noel. "Northern Blights." Philadelphia City PaperPhiladelphia City PaperPhiladelphia City Paper is a free alternative news weekly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in November 1981 as a spin-off of the now defunct WXPN Express newsletter. New issues are released every Thursday....
. July 6-13, 2000. - Holy Redeemer Catholic Church and School /
- Historic Photographs of Chinatown, PhillyHistory.org