May 28, 2009 by Chinatown Blogger.

(Poster depicting the events to save the former I-Hotel, Manilatown, San Francisco, circa 1977. Near the middle, there is a sign for the Chinese Progressive Association, a community agency which still exists today.)

The Chinatown Blogger just came back from visiting the Bay Area. While there, he visited San Francisco Chinatown, Oakland Chinatown and Berkeley. While in SF Chinatown, the Blogger visited the redeveloped New International Hotel. But before we talk about 2009, let’s go back in 2003 when the Blogger was last there. At that time in 2003, the site of the former I-Hotel was located in what was then known as Manilatown, was under construction. Manilatown no longer exists but Chinatown still remains. Below is a photo of the construction site the Blogger took in 2003.

(Construction on the site formerly known as the I-Hotel, 2003)

When the Blogger took this photo, the construction workers took a break to admire this mural. On the mural is an Ode to Al Robles, who recently passed away on May 2, 2009. Robles was a community activist who fought to save the I-Hotel from demolition and narrated in the documentary film Fall of the I-Hotel. In honor to Al, here is the text of Ode to Al Robles as painted on the mural:

Ode to Al Robles
“Coming down from the brown
mountains - where the dreams
cry of laughter and lonliness
back home to a warm bowl
of rice - back home to this place
back home to this hole - where the Manillatown
seeds will once again grow…

Curtis Choy’s 1983 film Fall of the I-Hotel and narrated by Al Robles, is a classic and is widely used in Asian American studies programs as an example of Asian American activism. The film examines the history and migration of Filipinos workers called Manongs who settled in Manilatown, San Franciso and documents the struggles by the remaining Manongs to preserve their community from urban revitalization

Some more background history from the Wikipedia:
The I-Hotel, officially known as the International Hotel, was built in 1907 and was a low-cost residential hotel located at the corner of Kearny and Jackson Streets in the Manilatown section of San Francisco. It was home to many Asian Americans, specifically a large Filipino American population. The primarily Filipino population of immigrants living at the I-Hotel represented an area of Kearney Street in Chinatown known as San Francisco’s Manilatown. Despite its full occupancy, during the urban renewal and redevelopment movement of the mid-1960s, the International Hotel was targeted for demolition. The first eviction notices were issued to residents in 1968, and began an almost 40 year battle spurring disagreements and debate among activists and public officials… The final residents were evicted on August 4, 1977.

Today, the site is home to a new development completed in 2005 and consists of 105 affordable/low-income housing units. Our tour guide, David Ho from the Chinese Community Development Center, said that about 10 of the original tenants from the 1977 evictions were located and agreed to move back in.

Today, here is a picture of the lobby of the New International Hotel:

Pictures from the roof of the New International Hotel:

Photo of San Francisco Chinatown from the top of the New International Hotel

David the tour guide said that some of the major issues facing San Francisco Chinatown is rehabbing the older buildings and preservation of the community. He pointed out that the community was fortunate to have a community master plan in place since 1985. The SF Chinatown master plan established zoning and land use restrictions that was instrumental to preserving the community during the dotcom development boom. There may be lessons that Boston Chinatown can learn from San Francisco Chinatown and the Chinatown Blogger is anxiously hoping he can get a copy of the 1985 SF Chinatown master plan.

Over the weekend, photos of Oakland Chinatown will be posted.

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May 6, 2009 by Chinatown Blogger.

This post is a continuation of the theme, “What are Chinatown’s boundaries?” Above is a map of the South Cove/Chinatown Neighborhood Council boundaries (download a larger Chinatown Neighborhood Council Boundary here) taken from the Chinatown Master Plan 2000. The Chinatown Neighborhood Council was formed in the late 1980s during the creation of the Chinatown Community Plan, 1990. This map extends south of the I-90 Mass Turnpike to East Berkeley Street. The boundaries of the CNC are broader than the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s zoning boundaries for Chinatown and which we had posted here earlier.

While zoning boundaries sets the legal code for an area’s use, density, and height, the Chinatown community has gradually moved south of the I-90 Turnpike over the years. The CNC map reflects the large number of Chinese Americans living south of the I-90 Turnpike in the Castle Square apartments as well as businesses such as C-Mart (former Super 88) and Ming’s Market.  What do you think? Are the CNC boundaries you see above more representative of the Chinatown community or is the City’s zoning boundaries?

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May 5, 2009 by Chinatown Blogger.

Every now and then, people ask, “What are the borders of Chinatown?” Above is a map of Boston Chinatown’s boundaries from 1890 to 1990’s zoning district from The Chinatown Community Assessment Report, 1994. The Chinatown Blogger drew in the color lines to highlight the changes in Chinatown’s boundaries over the years.

The map illustrates the growth of the community from a small community centered around Harrison Avenue, Beach Street, and Oxford Street to what the community is today. The Chinatown community has not always grown during these years. From 1958 to 1970,  the community lost land to the Southeast Expressway I-93 and the Mass Turnpike I-90 Extension (the yellow outline) from Albany Street to Hudson Street while gaining a the Josiah Quincy School over Washington Street (green).

In the late 1980’s, the City of Boston initiated a master planning process for Chinatown and the result was the Chinatown Community Plan 1990. The Chinatown Community Plan 1990 (aka Chinatown Master Plan) established the zoning boundaries for the area which is highlighted in red. In the next post, this blog will post a map of the South Cove/Chinatown Neighborhood Council which differs the zoning boundaries.

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