File

Chicago’s Chinatown
Max Mifsud, Jessica Xi, Sophia
Seeberg
How do I get there?
The History of Chinatown
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Before the 1870s, there were not many, if any, Chinese in Chicago, most were on the West Coast or
somewhat inland working on the transcontinental railroad
The Anti-Chinese act that was put in force stopped the immigration of Chinese from the Pacific Coast to the
east and discrimination against the Chinese increased during 1861. This left many without jobs.
Some Chinese took refuge in other places throughout the United States; one of these places being Chicago.
The first claimed Chinese immigrant to arrive in Chicago was T.C. Moy who arrived in 1878. When he
arrived, he found little prejudice, and encouraged others to join him.
There was man to woman ratio of 100 to 1. The population grew steadily, but at slower speeds.
During the time of 1890, there were around 560 Chinese in the city of Chicago. They took on their own
businesses such as small shops, restaurant, and laundry areas.
Around the 1900’s, there were 430 laundry areas, around 160 restaurants, and they were all operated by
the Chinese.
The largest immigration of Chinese came in the 1950’s through the 1960’s. During this time, Chicago ranked
fourth on the list of Chinese population throughout America. Chicago was home to between 7,000 to 14,000
Chinese immigrants. The first Chinese community was placed around Van Buren and Clark Streets in
Chicago.
The History of Chinatown cont.
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The first Chinatown was raised to allow room for a new State
Detention Center in the 1970’s. This meant that the Chinese
had to relocate.
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The Argyle and Broadway sections of Chicago were chosen
for the new location of Chinatown. Entrepreneur Jimmy
Wong started of the buying of the land by purchasing 60% of
the properties on both sides of the block. He also helped
those who wanted to start up businesses in the area.
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This portion of Chinatown is now known as the ‘Small
Saigon’ because it does not house the majority of Chinese
immigrants.
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Southern Chinatown is still home to incoming Chinese, and
when they adapt to their new surroundings and learn English
eventually move away from Chinatown.
Annual Events
Chinatown 5K:
Held in July
New Year’s Festival:
Held in February
Mid-Autumn Festival:
Held in September
More Events:
Dragon Boat Races:
Chinatown Fair
Held in June
Held in July
Miss Friendship Ambassador Pageant
Held in November
Joy Yee’s
Joy Yee’s opened in
Evanston in 1994, but this
location opened in 1996.
They were the first to offer
bubble tea in the midwest,
which is great.
We got watermelon boba and
strawberry lemonades
between the three of us!
Zodiac Square
Statues commissioned by Xiamen
University in Xiamen, Fujian,
China
Sponsored by private donors
Put in in 1993
Zodiac statues take three sides of
the square to allow for
performances and festivities
Zodiacs base off of Lunar year of
birth
Nine Dragon Wall
Miniature duplicate of wall in Beihei Park, Beijing
Finished in 2003
over 500 smaller dragons
helps with the feng shui because it takes away the
bad energy from the I-55
Lao Sze Chuan
Opened in 1998
Rated by ‘Travel + Leisure’ magazine as
best Chinese restaurant in the US
Rated by many online sources as the best
non-upscale restaurant in Chicago
Owner Tony Hu owns seven other Chinese
restaurants around the US and is known as
the “Mayor of Chinatown” for his
community involvement and one of the
“100 most influential Chicagoans” by
Chicago Magazine
Demographics
Total Population: 48,447
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Male Population: 23,547
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Female Population: 24,900
Median Age: 36.24
White Collar: 16,611
Median Income per Age Group
Blue Collar: 9,129
Total Households: 21,717
Average People Per Household: 2.11
Never Married: 15,184
Married: 12,003
Separated: 1,994
Widowed: 845
Divorced: 3,542
Amount of Formal Education
Reflections
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Interesting to see the two different sides of Chinatown
Seeing the school was a reminder it is a neighborhood and not just a
tourist attraction
Personal highlights:
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Zodiac Square
trying the drinks
the pastry shop
Citations:
“Chinatown Demographics.” Point 2 Homes. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.point2homes.
com/US/Neighborhood/IL/Chicago/Chinatown-Demographics.html>.
“Chinatown History.” Chicago Chinatown. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://chicago-chinatown.info/chinatown-history/>.
"Joy Yee." Joy Yee. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.joyyee.com/>.
"Nine Dragon Wall, Chicago." Chicago Architecture Info. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.chicagoarchitecture.
info/Building/1342757120/Nine-Dragon-Wall.php>.
"Tony Gourmet Group." Chicago Top-Rated Chinese Restaurants with Authentic Szechuan Cuisine – Tony Gourmet Group. N.p., n.d.
Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.tonygourmetgroup.com/>.
"Welcome to Chicago Chinatown." Welcome to Chicago Chinatown. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.chicagochinatown.
com/>.