Chinatown, Boston
Encyclopedia
The only historically Chinese
area in New England
, Chinatown, Boston is a neighborhood located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts
. Centered on Beach Street, the neighborhood borders Boston Common
, Downtown Crossing
, the South End
, and the Southeast Expressway
/Massachusetts Turnpike
.
Part of it occupies a space reclaimed by filling a tidal flat; the newly-created area was first settled by Anglo
-Bostonians. After residential properties in this area became less desirable due to railway developments, it was settled by a mixed succession of Irish
, Jewish, Italian
, Syria
n, and Chinese
immigrants. Each group replaced the previous one to take advantage of low-cost housing and job opportunities in the area. During the late-nineteenth century, garment manufacturing plants also moved into Chinatown, creating Boston's historic garment district. The garment district was active until the 1990s.
Negotiations resulted in the provision of funds for the construction of new community housing in Chinatown. During this period, city officials also designated an area adjacent to Chinatown as Boston's red light district
, also known as the Combat Zone
. However, the Combat Zone virtually disappeared by the 1990s, due to city pressure and a general increase in property values, encouraging building sales and the removal of former tenants.
, and Vietnamese restaurants and markets. Chinatown is one of Boston's most densely-populated residential districts, with over 28,000 people per square mile in the year 2000. Nearly 70% of Chinatown's population is Asian, with a median household income of $14,289.
The traditional Chinatown Gate (paifang
) with a foo lion on each side is located at the intersection of Beach Street and Surface Road. Once a run-down area housing little more than a ventilation-fan building for the Central Artery Tunnel
, a garden was constructed at this site as part of the Big Dig project. The Gate is visible from the South Station
Bus Terminal and is a popular tourist destination and photo opportunity.
The World Journal Chinese Daily Newspaper Journal Boston" is the largest and most read daily newspaper by the Chinese community. The non-profit community newspaper http://www.sampan.org/Sampan, is published twice a month and provides English-language news and information about Chinatown.
As of 2000 the Chinatown is also a red light district
. It is located at the mouth of an expressway tunnel.
. Large luxury residential towers are built in and surrounding an area that was predominantly small three-to-five-story apartment buildings intermixed with retail and light-industrial spaces. A property developer has purchased the Dainty Dot Hosiery building, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
, with plans to transform it into condominiums. Chinese community organizations such as the Asian Community Development Corporation are also building housing developments which offer mixed- and low-income housing.
's Red Line
, Silver Line
and Commuter Rail
at South Station
, and the Orange Line
at Chinatown Station
. Interstate 93
and the Massachusetts Turnpike
are also in close proximity. Two Chinese-owned bus services
(Fung Wah
and Lucky Star/Travelpack) provide hourly connections with New York's Chinatown
.
dominates part of the area and includes a full service hospital
and various health-related schools of Tufts University
including Tufts University School of Medicine
, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences
, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
and Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
.
In addition, South Cove Community Health Center operates the Chinatown Clinic at 885 Washington Avenue. Volunteers founded South Cove in 1972 to provide better health care for Asian Americans in the Chinatown area.
is a historic building at 681-683 Washington Street constructed in 1875 designed by Henry Hobson Richardson
. It was added to the National Historic Register in 1980. It is the last remaining commercial retail building built by Richardson in Boston.
Chinatown has been emerging on Hancock Street in the neighboring city of Quincy
, about 10 miles (16 km) to the south of the original Chinatown, due to the rapid influx of Hokkien
-speaking Mainland Chinese
immigrants from the province of Fujian
, as well as a large and growing ethnic Vietnamese population. There are already several large Asian supermarket
s such as the Kam Man Foods and Super 88 supermarket chains, and other businesses that are competing with Boston's Chinatown. Several businesses operating in Chinatown now have branches in Quincy.
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...
area in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, Chinatown, Boston is a neighborhood located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Centered on Beach Street, the neighborhood borders Boston Common
Boston Common
Boston Common is a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts. It is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Boston Commons". Dating from 1634, it is the oldest city park in the United States. The Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street,...
, Downtown Crossing
Downtown Crossing
Downtown Crossing is a shopping district in Boston, Massachusetts, located due east of Boston Common and west of the Financial District. It features large department stores as well as restaurants, music stores, souvenir sellers, general retail establishments, and many street vendors...
, the South End
South End, Boston, Massachusetts
The South End is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.-Geography:The South End lies south of the Back Bay, northwest of South Boston, northeast of Roxbury, north of Dorchester, and southwest of Bay Village...
, and the Southeast Expressway
Interstate 93
Interstate 93 is an Interstate Highway in the New England section of the United States. Its southern terminus is in Canton, Massachusetts, in the Boston metropolitan area, at Interstate 95; its northern terminus is near St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at Interstate 91...
/Massachusetts Turnpike
Massachusetts Turnpike
The Massachusetts Turnpike is the easternmost stretch of Interstate 90. The Turnpike begins at the western border of Massachusetts in West Stockbridge connecting with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway...
.
Part of it occupies a space reclaimed by filling a tidal flat; the newly-created area was first settled by Anglo
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant or WASP is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry. The group supposedly wields disproportionate financial and social power. When it appears in writing, it is usually used to...
-Bostonians. After residential properties in this area became less desirable due to railway developments, it was settled by a mixed succession of Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Jewish, Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Syria
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
n, and Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
immigrants. Each group replaced the previous one to take advantage of low-cost housing and job opportunities in the area. During the late-nineteenth century, garment manufacturing plants also moved into Chinatown, creating Boston's historic garment district. The garment district was active until the 1990s.
Negotiations resulted in the provision of funds for the construction of new community housing in Chinatown. During this period, city officials also designated an area adjacent to Chinatown as Boston's red light district
Red Light District
Red Light District may refer to:* Red-light district - a neighborhood where prostitution is common* The Red Light District - the title of the 2004 album by rapper Ludacris* Red Light District Video - a pornography studio based in Los Angeles, California...
, also known as the Combat Zone
Combat Zone (Boston)
The "Combat Zone", in Boston, Massachusetts, was the name given to the adult entertainment district in downtown centered on Washington Street between Boylston Street and Kneeland Street. It extended up Stuart Street to Park Square...
. However, the Combat Zone virtually disappeared by the 1990s, due to city pressure and a general increase in property values, encouraging building sales and the removal of former tenants.
Modern day
Chinatown remains a center of Asian-American life in New England, hosting many ChineseChinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
, and Vietnamese restaurants and markets. Chinatown is one of Boston's most densely-populated residential districts, with over 28,000 people per square mile in the year 2000. Nearly 70% of Chinatown's population is Asian, with a median household income of $14,289.
The traditional Chinatown Gate (paifang
Paifang
Paifang, also called pailou, is a traditional Chinese architectural gating style as an archway.The word paifang originally was a collective term used to describe the top two levels of administrative division and subdivisions of ancient Chinese city. The largest division within a city in ancient...
) with a foo lion on each side is located at the intersection of Beach Street and Surface Road. Once a run-down area housing little more than a ventilation-fan building for the Central Artery Tunnel
Central Artery
The John F. Fitzgerald Expressway, known locally as the Central Artery, is a section of freeway in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, designated as Interstate 93, U.S. Route 1 and Route 3. It was initially constructed in the 1950s as a partly elevated and partly tunneled divided highway...
, a garden was constructed at this site as part of the Big Dig project. The Gate is visible from the South Station
South Station
South Station, New England's second-largest transportation center , located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest train station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston, a prominent train station in the northeastern...
Bus Terminal and is a popular tourist destination and photo opportunity.
The World Journal Chinese Daily Newspaper Journal Boston" is the largest and most read daily newspaper by the Chinese community. The non-profit community newspaper http://www.sampan.org/Sampan, is published twice a month and provides English-language news and information about Chinatown.
As of 2000 the Chinatown is also a red light district
Red Light District
Red Light District may refer to:* Red-light district - a neighborhood where prostitution is common* The Red Light District - the title of the 2004 album by rapper Ludacris* Red Light District Video - a pornography studio based in Los Angeles, California...
. It is located at the mouth of an expressway tunnel.
Housing development and gentrification
Currently, Chinatown is experiencing gentrificationGentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
. Large luxury residential towers are built in and surrounding an area that was predominantly small three-to-five-story apartment buildings intermixed with retail and light-industrial spaces. A property developer has purchased the Dainty Dot Hosiery building, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, with plans to transform it into condominiums. Chinese community organizations such as the Asian Community Development Corporation are also building housing developments which offer mixed- and low-income housing.
Transportation
Chinatown has excellent local and regional transportation connections. It is served by the MBTAMassachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
's Red Line
Red Line (MBTA)
The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the MBTA running roughly north-south through Boston, Massachusetts into neighboring communities. The line begins west of Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Alewife station, near the intersection of Alewife Brook Parkway and Route 2...
, Silver Line
Silver Line (MBTA)
The Silver Line is the only bus rapid transit line currently operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . It operates in two sections; the first runs from Dudley Square in Roxbury to downtown Boston, Massachusetts and South Station, mostly via Washington Street, with buses...
and Commuter Rail
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail serves as the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, in the United States. It is operated under contract by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company a joint partnership of Veolia Transportation, Bombardier Transportation and Alternate...
at South Station
South Station (Boston)
South Station, New England's second-largest transportation center , located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest train station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston, a prominent train station in the northeastern...
, and the Orange Line
Orange Line (MBTA)
The Orange Line is one of the four subway lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. It extends from Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, Boston in the south to Oak Grove in Malden, Massachusetts in the north. It meets the Red Line at Downtown Crossing, the Blue Line at State, and the Green...
at Chinatown Station
Chinatown (MBTA station)
Chinatown is an MBTA subway station on the Orange Line, located at the intersection of Washington and Boylston Streets, roughly at the northwestern corner of Boston, Massachusetts' Chinatown neighborhood....
. Interstate 93
Interstate 93
Interstate 93 is an Interstate Highway in the New England section of the United States. Its southern terminus is in Canton, Massachusetts, in the Boston metropolitan area, at Interstate 95; its northern terminus is near St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at Interstate 91...
and the Massachusetts Turnpike
Massachusetts Turnpike
The Massachusetts Turnpike is the easternmost stretch of Interstate 90. The Turnpike begins at the western border of Massachusetts in West Stockbridge connecting with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway...
are also in close proximity. Two Chinese-owned bus services
Chinatown bus lines
Chinatown bus lines are discount intercity bus services that have been established in the Chinatown communities of the East Coast of the United States since 1998. Similar Chinese American-run bus services are cropping up on the West Coast...
(Fung Wah
Fung Wah Bus Transportation Inc.
Fung Wah Bus Transportation Inc. is a bus company that operates between Boston and New York City. Founded in 1997, Fung Wah operates more than 20 buses a day with hourly scheduled service...
and Lucky Star/Travelpack) provide hourly connections with New York's Chinatown
Chinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
.
Health care
Tufts Medical CenterTufts Medical Center
Tufts Medical Center is a medical institution in Boston, Massachusetts occupying space between Chinatown and the Theater District....
dominates part of the area and includes a full service hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
and various health-related schools of Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
including Tufts University School of Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine
The Tufts University School of Medicine is one of the eight schools that constitute Tufts University. Located on the university's health sciences campus in the Chinatown district of Boston, Massachusetts, the medical school has clinical affiliations with thousands of doctors and researchers in the...
, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences
Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences
The Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences is one of the eight schools that comprise Tufts University. It is located on the university's health sciences campus in the Chinatown district of Boston, Massachusetts.-Organization and Degree Programs:...
, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
The Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University brings together biomedical, clinical, social, and behavioral scientists to conduct research, educational, and community service programs in the field of human nutrition...
and Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine is a private dental school and one of the eight schools that comprise Tufts University. Located in downtown Boston in the Chinatown district, it is one of three dental schools in the Boston area. The building is adjacent to Tufts Medical Center...
.
In addition, South Cove Community Health Center operates the Chinatown Clinic at 885 Washington Avenue. Volunteers founded South Cove in 1972 to provide better health care for Asian Americans in the Chinatown area.
Historical Buildings
The Hayden BuildingHayden Building
The Hayden Building is a historic building at 681-683 Washington Street in Boston, Massachusetts.The building was built in 1875 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Designed to act as commercial retail space, this four story brownstone building shows little of the...
is a historic building at 681-683 Washington Street constructed in 1875 designed by Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent American architect who designed buildings in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and other cities. The style he popularized is named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque...
. It was added to the National Historic Register in 1980. It is the last remaining commercial retail building built by Richardson in Boston.
Chinatown South
A new satelliteSatellite town
A satellite town or satellite city is a concept in urban planning that refers essentially to smaller metropolitan areas which are located somewhat near to, but are mostly independent of, larger metropolitan areas.-Characteristics:...
Chinatown has been emerging on Hancock Street in the neighboring city of Quincy
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
, about 10 miles (16 km) to the south of the original Chinatown, due to the rapid influx of Hokkien
Hokkien
Hokkien is a Hokkien word corresponding to Standard Chinese "Fujian". It may refer to:* Hokkien dialect, a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken in Southern Fujian , Taiwan, South-east Asia, and elsewhere....
-speaking Mainland Chinese
Mainland Chinese
Mainland Chinese or Mainlanders are Chinese people who live in a region considered a "mainland". It is frequently used in the context of areas ruled by the People's Republic of China, referring to people from Mainland China as opposed to other areas controlled by the state such as Hong Kong or...
immigrants from the province of Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
, as well as a large and growing ethnic Vietnamese population. There are already several large Asian supermarket
Asian supermarket
An Asian supermarket, sometimes called an "Oriental supermarket", is a grocery store in non-Asian countries that stocks items imported from the many countries in East and Southeast Asia. They carry items and ingredients generally well-suited for Asian cuisines and not found in most Western...
s such as the Kam Man Foods and Super 88 supermarket chains, and other businesses that are competing with Boston's Chinatown. Several businesses operating in Chinatown now have branches in Quincy.
See also
- Chinatowns in North AmericaChinatowns in North AmericaThis is a list of Chinatowns located in Canada and the United States.-Edmonton:There are actually two Chinatowns in Edmonton: the newer Chinatown North and the older Chinatown South. Chinatown North stretches on 97 St from 107A Ave to 105 Ave and boasts mostly of shops, restaurants, and supermarkets...
- Chinatown bus
- Stacey G.H. Yap, Gather Your Strength, Sisters: The Emerging Role of Chinese Women Community Workers (New York: AMS Press, 1989): Study of women community organizers in Boston's Chinatown
External links
- http://www.gonomad.com/features/0805/boston-chinatown-food.html New Guide to Boston's Chinatown
- http://blog.cosmocatalano.com/post/78530807/bostons-chinatown-then-and-now Overlay of modern and historical images at Washington and Essex Streets in Chinatown.
- Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center
- Asian American Civic Association
- Asian Community Development Corporation
- Chinatown Main Street, a Boston Main Streets initiative
- Chinatown Heritage Project
- The International Society records, 1978-2002 (bulk 1984-1998) are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
- The Chinese Progressive Association records, 1976-2006 are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
- Patriot Ledger Special Report: Chinatown South
- Boston Chinatown Pics
- Chinese Newspaper in Boston and Chinatown