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| Map 1 - Map Outline of Chicago's Chinatown |
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| Map 2 - Map of Chinatown |
Chicago is home to many cultures and even more
neighborhoods. One neighborhood that is filled with culture is Chicago’s
Chinatown. Chinatown is home to almost 50,000 residents [1] and more
than 200 businesses [2]. While Chinatown is a thriving and growing neighborhood
today, this was not the case in the late 19th to 20th
century. In the 1860’s, Chinese immigrants were coming to America to work on
the transcontinental railroad [3]. Upon its completion, the Chinese
immigrants migrated to different parts of America to find work, some of which
came to Chicago. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 brought about violent racism
and discrimination against the Chinese immigrants in America. It was because of
the prejudice they faced that Chinese immigrants relied on urban clusters. The small clusters they formed developed over time to a small community. As their
community developed, despite the ongoing discrimination, businesses began to
flourish. And to aid with the growth of the community, family associations were
established to aid incoming immigrants. The pride and dedication Chinese
immigrants had in their culture was what allowed Chinatown to develop into the
thriving neighborhood it is today.
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Fig. 1 - Plaque of Chinatown's
Nine Dragon Wall |
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| Fig. 2 - Chinatown's Nine Dragon Wall |
Today, I took in some of the culture Chinatown has to offer.
The very first sight I saw coming out of the Chinatown Red Line stop was the
Nine Dragon Wall. The way the ferocious looking dragons pop out and the
beautiful tile material it’s made out of is what caught my attention. Upon reading
the plaque of the wall, I learned that the number nine, in Chinese culture, is
believed to be a prestigious number. The reason it's believed to be prestigious is because its pronunciation is similar to other words that have positive meanings. I also learned that the dragon is an
emblem of national spirit and power, which is why it’s also believed that many
Chinese emperors were acclaimed reincarnations of dragons. While this piece of
art is unique to Chinatown, it’s not the only one in existence; There are three
more walls located in Datong, Shanxi Province, and Beijing. Lastly, Chinatown’s
Nine Dragon Wall is a resemblance of the one located in Beihai Park in Beijing.
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| Fig. 3 - Chinatown Gate (front) |
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| Fig. 4 - Chinatown Gate (rear) |
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| Fig. 5 - Plaque for the Chinatown Gate |
Continuing my exploration of Chinatown, the next piece of
art that caught my attention was the Chinatown Gate. The gate has four Chinese
characters, Gung, Wei, Sha, and Tien that mean “The World is a commonwealth”.
According to the plaque, Dr. Sun Yet-Sen, Founder of the Republic of China,
hand-wrote the Chinese characters, which originate from an essay he wrote in the
‘‘BOOK OF RITES’’. In his essay, Dr. Sun Yet-Sen elaborates on the meaning of
his characters by describing his idealistic views on harmony; he believes that
everyone should be taken care of regardless of whether they share family ties. I
believe his characters, and from what I observed exploring Chinatown, perfectly
represent that community. Ironically, while the gate promotes unity, it really
represents separation. While I was first exploring Chinatown I didn’t
realize it, by the time I finished, I had seen the difference between the
Chinatown that lies entering the gate, or the “Old Chinatown”, and the
Chinatown that lies in-front of the gate, or the “New Chinatown”. The Old
Chinatown is filled with buildings whose architecture was inspired by the
Chinese culture and is thriving with people. The New Chinatown, however, is
filled with more modern-style buildings and did not have as many people as Old
Chinatown did. While the contrast in the infrastructure does show separation, it also shows the continuing growth of Chinatown. And taking into consideration other Chinatown's around the U.S., like the ones in Manhattan or San Francisco, the continuing growth is what makes Chicago's Chinatown unique[9][10].
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| Fig. 6 - Chinatown's Pui Tak Center |
The first stop on my exploration of Chinatown was the Pui
Tak Center. Unfortunately, when I tried to enter, I was told I could not, but
was not given a reason why. The architecture of the building gives the
impression that the building is come kind of Chinese castle. After reading up
on the history of the Pui Tak Center, I discovered that not only is it a
historical landmark, but it is the only one in Chinatown. The name, Pui Tak, means
to build character or cultivate culture. The building was constructed in
1926-28 for the On Leong Merchants Association [4]. The association served the community by
offering Chinese language school for children, helped incoming immigrants,
organized activities and celebrations, and even acted as an informal judicial
system that settled disputes between members. In 1993, the Chinese Christian
Union Church (CCUC) purchased the building from the federal government [5].
The CCUC, which was found in 1915, also continued to help the development of
the community; they provided English classes for adults, assisted children with
tutoring and Chinese language classes, allowed residents to use their gym, opened
a preschool in 1953, and hosted monthly volunteer medical clinics in the 60’s
and 70’s. And to this day, the Pui Tak Center continues to serve its community
by offering various educational services to children and adults, assisting
immigrants with various workshops, and many more programs that are listed on
their website [6].
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Fig. 7 - Chinatown's Chinese-American
Museum of Chicago |
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Fig. 8 - Guardian Lion Statue
outside of the Chinese-American Museum |
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| Fig. 9 - Long Green Dress donated by Rita Moy |
My second stop was the Chinese-American Museum. Outside of
the museum, there are two lion statues. The “Guardian Lions” symbolize peace,
prosperity, and good fortune. On the first floor, there is an exhibit of
Chinese fashion heritage. A lot of the clothes I saw were made from silk and
had elegant designs on them. For example, the long green dress in Fig. 9 is
filled with Chinese scenery of Pagodas, men carrying carriages, and Chinese
houses and wisteria. I was surprised when I found out that the dress was
donated by Rita Moy, the daughter of Frank Moy, who was known as the unofficial mayor of Chinatown.
One interesting fact that I learned was the significance behind children’s
clothing; children were dressed in clothes and accessories that had auspicious
patterns and symbolic designs that were believed to bring good health, good
fortune, repeal evil spirits, and bring blessings and protection. The colors
red and pink were considered good luck. My favorite article of clothing was an
Imperial Manchu Dragon Robe, Fig. 11. The robe has a total of nine front
facing dragons throughout the entire robe and has eight Buddhist symbol emblems: The conch shell, a lotus
flower, the wheel of dharma, a parasol, an endless knot, the golden fish, a
victory banner, and a treasure vase. The eight emblems symbolize thoughts
of Buddha, purity and enlightenment, knowledge, crown and protection from elements,
harmony, conjugal happiness and freedom, victorious battle, and treasure and
wealth, respectively. The robes were worn only by five court officials and the
color and design indicated the different degrees of formality.
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| Fig. 10 - Display case of assorted children's clothing |
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| Fig. 11 - Imperial Manchu Dragon Robe |
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Fig. 12 - Poster for My Chinatown: Stories
from Within Documentary |
On the second floor, the museum offers an exhibit about
some of the history of Chinatown and a 16-minute documentary called My Chinatown: Stories from within. The
documentary showed various interviews of individuals living in Chinatown and
they talked about their experience growing up in Chinatown. One interviewee
talked about Dim sum, which also means touch the heart, and how it was always
served in the morning and could even be bought from rolling carts throughout
Chinatown. This stuck with me because of the connection it made to my culture,
which is Hispanic; tamales are also always served in the morning and can also
be bought from cart vendors throughout my neighborhood, Albany Park. She also
mentioned the importance of food and how it was always shared and brought
everyone together. One of the key highlights in the documentary was the
importance of family. When Chinese immigrants were first coming to America
during the Gold Rush, families weren’t allowed to travel, it was only the men.
It was because of this that family associations, usually named after the last
name of the family like Lees, were established to help immigrants by providing
aid, protection, and a place to socialize with those who have the same surname,
ancestors, or place of origin. Another highlight that stuck with me was the
significance of herbs in Chinese culture. In their culture, herbs are used
to cure all types of ailments as well as keeping the bodies Yin and Yang
balanced. Some examples of medicinal herbs and their purpose are white flower
oil, which cures cold symptoms and diarrhea and Ginseng, which is said to
prevent diseases and preserve life. Herbal medicine is also popular in my
culture; I have family members in Mexico that occasionally send my mother
herbal medicine such as oils that help with hair strength or a special tea that
helps with kidney stones. The exhibit also has a very cool looking dragon that
is used during festivals, but unfortunately, that part of the museum does not
allow pictures.
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Fig. 13 - Store Fronts along Wentworth Ave.
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| Fig. 14 - Entrance to Grace Grocery Store |
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| Fig. 15 - Strawberry Flavored Ramune |
Exiting the museum, I headed towards Chinatown Square.
Before that, given all the stores that were on my path there, I wanted to stop
inside one. I chose to enter Grace Grocery Store, located at 2236 S Wentworth
Avenue. The first thing I noticed immediately upon entering the store was who
was behind the cash register; it was a family of three, the father, mother, and
their young daughter. I thought it was cute that they were all taking care of
their store and it reminds me of a lot of the “corner stores” here in Albany Park
because they are also run by families. The store sold simple foods like milk or
microwavable noodles, it wasn’t like a Tonys or an Aldi that has various food
aisles, and they also sold miscellaneous items like hats or umbrellas, which
also reminded of the corner stores around my neighborhood. I purchased a drink
called “Ramune”. Ramune is a Japanese drink and has a really interesting
bottling design; the glass bottle uses the pressure created by the carbonation
of the drink to seal the top of the bottle with a marble. And as cool as the
bottle design was, the drink was just as refreshing.
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Fig. 17 - Front of St. Therese Chinese
Catholic School |
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Fig. 16 - Guardian Lion Statue in front of
St. Therese Chinese Catholic Church |
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| Fig. 18 - Yuen's Family Association |
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| Fig. 19 - Dragon Reliefs along sidewalks |
Upon exiting the store, I made a quick detour to go see what
building also had the two statues of the Guardian Lions. It was the St. Therese
Chinese Catholic Church & Mission located on 218 W Alexander Street. Aside
from the lion statues, the church did not have a lot of Chinese architectural
features and nor was I able to enter it because the doors were locked. After looking into it, I discovered that St. Therese's Church was built for Italian immigrants in the late 19th to early 20th century and was named Santa Maria Incoronata[11]. The demographics for the church began to change during World War II and finally pushed all Italians out of that area when the Dan Ryan Expressway began construction. While catechism was taught to the children of the incoming Chinese, it wasn't until 1940 when Reverend T.S. Mao appeared that the Chinese Catholic community would begin to grow. By October of 1947, St. Therese Chinese Mission was formally erected. What was
interesting was that right across the street was St. Therese Chinese Catholic
School, which did have Chinese architectural features. The school was originally founded as a mission school in 1941[12]. It only had two classrooms and during that time, it was the only Catholic school for Chinese children in the Midwest. And adjacent to the church
was the Yuen’s Family Association, one of the many associations in Chinatown
that assist residents or incoming immigrants of the community. One thing I
noticed on my way to Chinatown Square were the sidewalks. Aside from them being
well taken care of, there are reliefs of what I’m assuming is a dragon spread
throughout the sidewalks of Chinatown.
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| Fig. 20 - Chinatown Square sign and plaques |
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| Fig. 21 - Zodiac Statues at Chinatown Square |
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| Fig. 22 - Lamp Statue at Chinatown Square |
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| Fig. 23 - 1 of 4 Chinatown Square Gates |
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Fig. 24 - Pagoda Style Structure at
Chinatown Square |
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Fig. 26 - Chinatown Square Store
Directory |
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Fig. 25 - Store Fronts of Chinatown
Square Outdoor Mall |
The first thing I noticed arriving at Chinatown Square, were
the silver plaques underneath the Chinatown Square sign. The plaque honors the
officers, directors, and shareholders of the Chinese American Development Corporation
for their commitment and support towards the development of Chinatown Square
Mall. The entrance to the Square is one of the four gates that are at each of the entrance points to the square. Each gate has the four greatest inventions of China,
which are gunpowder, the compass, papermaking, and printing. Continuing onto
the Square, there are several stone statues of the Guardian Lions and lanterns,
which symbolize a bright future. The Square is also home to 12 statues of the
Chinese Zodiacs. I was a little confused by my zodiac statute because I know I
am an Ox, but there was no Ox statue, instead there was a Bull statue. Unfortunately,
only the statues of the Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Ram, and Monkey had plaques
describing their attributes. The Square also has these tall Chinese Pagoda
style structures, but they only take you up to the second floor of the outdoor
mall. As seen from Fig. 28, the outdoor mall has various businesses from
accountants and herbalists to bakeries and wedding services. A majority of the
stores there do use English and Chinese lettering for their business names, but
a lot of the advertisements they post on their windows are only in what I
assume is Chinese. I also noticed that a lot of the restaurants located in the outdoor mall were very modern looking yet they didn't stray from using Chinese cultural symbols like dragons, pagodas, or lanterns. There was one restaurant that I wanted to try out, but looking through the window I saw that it was packed. And if I'm being honest, I did feel a little intimidated about going in because everyone there was Chinese American. I was worried that I wouldn't know what or how to order or if I wasn't using proper etiquette when I was eating.
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| Fig. 27 - Chinese in America Mural Near Chinatown Square |
While Chinatown Square has many works of art, none compare to
the Chinese in America mural. The mural
was designed by two Chinese artists, Zhaou Ping and Yan Dong, and uses
approximately 100,000 mosaics tiles to tell the history of Chinese Americans in
the United States. The left of mural contains images of Chinese immigrants
coming to America to work on the railroads. The middle of the mural depicts
unity in America through the multiracial characters all coming together with
the Statue of Liberty behind them. The right of the mural continues with the
message of unity and development by having a family standing next to the Chinatown
gate and part of the Chicago skyline behind them.
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| Fig. 28 - Front of Chicago Public Library Chinatown Branch |
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| Fig. 29 - First Floor inside the Chicago Public Library Chinatown Branch |
The next stop on my visit to Chinatown was the Chicago
Public Library Chinatown branch. The library, which is 16000 sq. ft. and two
stories, was opened on August 29, 2015 [7]. The library was designed
by Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM), designers of the One World Trade
Center in NY and the Centennial Tower in San Francisco, and incorporates Feng
Shui principles. The library attracts around 1500 visitors a day and helps the
community by providing English classes and many other events. Upon entering the
library, I was breath taken by how modern and welcoming it is. I think its best feature is definitely the glass construction; it allows natural sunlight in and gives visitors a great view from inside. I have only been
in one other library, the Independence branch, but that was when I was in
middle school and it burned down later in 2015. I didn’t stay long, but during
my time there I saw a big group of parents and their young children
participating in some kind of class. I also saw a couple of senior citizens
around the library reading but couldn’t see the cover of the books they were
using. I think the library is a huge asset to the community and worth the $19.1
million it cost.
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| Fig. 31 - Bust honoring Ping Tom |
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Fig. 30 - Two Stone Columns and Wooden
Pagoda-Style Pavilion in Ping Tom Park |
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Fig. 32 - Side of Ping Tom's Bust Describing
Who He Was |
The last stop on my visit to Chinatown was Ping Tom Park. The
first thing I saw upon entering the park was a pagoda-style pavilion. The park
runs along the Chicago river and has plenty of green space and plenty of walking
paths. Next to the pavilion, there is a bust honoring Ping Tom. Ping Tom was a
very accomplished civic leader in Chinatown. He earned a degree
in Economics and Law from Northwestern University and soon became the president
of several businesses in the community. In 1984, Ping Tom and other business
leaders formed the Chinese American Development Corporation. Together, they worked
towards transforming a 32-acre rail yard into Chinatown Square. Ping Tom was
also the founding president of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, former
president and director of the Chinese American Civil Counsel, advisory board
member of the Chinese American Service League, trustee for various civic and
cultural institutes, and advisor to U.S. Senators, Illinois Governors, and
Chicago Mayors. Ping Tom Park also has a field house that offers a gymnasium,
an indoor pool, two meeting rooms, a fitness center, a patio on the second floor,
a green rooftop, and a full-service kitchen [8]. Ping Tom Park also has
a children’s playground, located near the pavilion. Ping Tom Park also offers
various special events like Night Out in the Park or the Dragon Boat Race and
offers spaces for rent. As I walked around the park, the one detail I
noticed was the design for the park lights; they were in the shape
of lanterns. I was going to try and visit the fieldhouse but didn’t know which
direction to head in because my phone ran out of battery, so I couldn’t search it
up and I also couldn't find a map of the park layout near me. On my way back to the red line, I noticed that all apartments around that area looked very modern and gave that area a kind of suburb feel to it. And despite all those apartments and cars parked on the street, there was not one person walking around on both my way to and from the park.
Overall, my visit to Chinatown was very informative and enjoyable.
I think the experience could’ve been more enjoyable if the weather was warmer.
I do look forward to visiting Chinatown in the summer, especially because I forgot
to stop by this one gift shop in Old Chinatown with interesting looking statues.
While Chinatown takes pride in its culture and traditions, it still has a very
welcoming aurora to all those who visit.
Sources:
Map 2, Fig. 1 through 7, 9 through 13, 15 through 30, and 32 through 33: taken by Kevin Gonzalez Lopez
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