Chinatown

Savannah Armer

November 4, 2012

Signage in S.F.

Stacy Asher

Chinatown

            In 1848, the first two Chinese immigrants landed on the coast of San Francisco in order to seek out new opportunities for themselves, and established Chinatown, an area that would be changed forever. Today Chinatown is one of the most densely populated areas with 15000 residents living in only 20 square blocks, a density seven times the San Francisco average. Chinatown is a Chinese paradise located in the center of the city having a great blend of ethnic foods, temples, clothing, stores, and more.

            In the 1850s- 1900s San Francisco was the port for entry into the United States for Asian immigrants. Most were shopkeepers or worked for Central Pacific on the railroad and predominately males. Men too lazy to do their own laundry would send their clothing out to China to be washed and returned because the price was less than just having someone do it in your area.  With the panic of 1873, ethnic tensions boiled over and there were riots throughout the city. In response the Chinese community created Chinese Six companies so the community could have one unified voice. Also in the same time era, there was a major rise of tong wars between conflicting criminal enterprises. Twenty-thirty different tong groups ran gambling houses, opium dens, slave trade and brothels. These groups terrorized the community until the 1906 earthquake, which leveled most of the neighborhood.

            The signage in the area has changed greatly from the 1900s to today’s society. Before the area had more of a Chinese’s influence to the architecture and not as cluttered. When walking around Chinatown now, the landscape is more uniform and commercial, not very folk with lots of Asian influence. I think that technology and the advancement of modern society and bought to the end of diversity and contributed to building all looking the same.