As you can see from this photo, taken over 145 years ago, the neighborhood has gone through a few changes over time. No more elevated trains, horse drawn wagons and dirt roads.
Manhattan's Chinatown is home to the largest concentration of people of Chinese ancestry in the Western Hemisphere, with a population numbering over 90,000. Its borders are Essex and Rutgers Streets to the east, Grand Street to the north, Broadway to the West and Madison and Worth Streets to the South (see Map).
History
A man named Ah Ken, a Cantonese businessman, is generally recognized as the first Chinese person to inhabit Chinatown. His presence dates to the period just before the American Civil War. Ah Ken became a successful cigar merchant. Later Chinese immigrants also found work as "cigar men" and settled at first in an area centered around a boarding house on Mott Street possibly owned by Ah Ken himself. Others also came to New York from California and the West Coast, attempting to escape discrimination. By 1900, the US Census counted 7,170 Chinese Americans in the area. Interestingly, only 142 of these were women. This ratio was maintained until 1943, when the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed, a side benefit of the US alliance with China during World War II. Immigration restrictions were further loosened in 1965 when the Immigration and Nationality Act was passed, allowing an influx of people of from Asia.
Thanks to the recent Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York, many people have heard about the Five Points neighborhood, now occupied by Columbus Park, where various ethnic gangs and tongs competed for influence during the early history of Chinatown. This episode is now ancient history, and despite the fact that virtually every country and ethnicity is represented in the neighborhood, relations are decidedly amicable.
Today
Today Chinatown is one of the most diverse and dynamic neighborhoods in New York (and the world!), a sought after real estate district, and a great small business incubator where people can enjoy a real New York experience browsing along our busy streets.
So, welcome to Chinatown!
More information on Chinatown is available from a wide range of sources, such as the Wikipedia, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, or, contact us at the Chinatown Business Improvement District.
© 2015 Chinatown Business Improvement District