Ei13 C iLJG1B1L1T

National Register of Historic Places National Park Service

Project Name:

Location: Philadelphia County Stater PA

Request submitted by: DOT/FHWA Louis M. Papet

'ceivø-. Addit;-a-al information .c.iv.d:

3c .-, ., %J 0'.

tf -- Eligibility

Name of property SH P07 Secretary of Hi. Criteria opinion Interior's opinion,

Roman Catholic High chooT Eligible ETigibTe o7's7

Benjamin Franklin Bridge o7'S Monument (Plaza)

Chinese Gospel Temple O

Chinatown Historic District

Benjamin Franklin Pkwy Distrfct

Block 1 (Riverfront Settlement) u --

Block 15 (Moravian Cèmetcr'

Block 18 (Fit African Baptist Church Cemetery)

Block ZO (19th Century Black Enclave) Eligible Eligible

Keeper of the National Register terniined. M4.gibis

WASO-27 Date: fl1PrCH !?83

/4

M0~16!593 RECE1VJ an

DETERMINATION OF EUG1BILI1Y NOT1 F1CAT1ON APR 27 3 National Register of Historic Places

PAC National Park Service lIORIc PRESERVTJg

Project Name: Vine Street Expressway (1-676)

Location: hiladelphia County State: PA

Ruesubnitt y: DOT/FHWA Louis ! Pa-pat

Date Received: 3-1-83 Additional information received:

Name of property SHPO opinion

Eligibility

Secretary of the Interior's opiniort

Criteria

Benjamin Franklin Bridge Eligible Eligible OT47I7- - -:

Free Library o Dhlladei ph iCL "

Boy Scouts of America Admin. Bldg." J.

Franklin rnstitute loto7 5

Family Court Bldg /

Bishop's Place ' O7SS

104---114 N Mole St c 117--129 N_ MoTe St " II

Friends Meeting House

Friends Center, o3Z7

Town Hall " I'

Hires/Sacks Bldg (Z1Q-214 N. Broad St.)

Philadelphia Technical tnatitute "

Keeper of the Natiojiqi Resister tariflied..

ThAC jq3 WASO-27 Date: F

Chinatown-

Chinatown, bordered by 8th, 13th,Callowhill, and Arch Streets has

been part of Philadelphia's cultural heritage for more than 100 years.

It is the 12th largest Chinese community in the nation and presently

has a population close to 1,000. Chinatown serves as a market place and

cultural center for not only those who live there, but also for a sub-

stantial number of Asians in the Delaware Valley Region. Besides playing

a sinificant role in Philadelphia's history, Chinatown also has a signif-

icant history of its cwn zrowch.

In 1784 the American Commercial Commission from New York landed

in Canton to initiate trade between the two countries. Although

Philadelphia became one of the earliest ports involved in the trading,

it was not until the mid 1800's that emigration became significant,

and then it came from the Western United States. The Chinese emigration

to the western states arose from the economic pressures in China and the

discovery of gold in the United States. They had come seeking wealth

in America and then intended to return to China with their new wealth.

Possibly the first Chinese settler in Philadelphia was a laundryman

c.lrio arrived as early as 1845 and located on Race Street. In 1869, fifty

Chinese were brought east to work in a laundry store in New Jersey.

Foe Chinese then realized the great opportunity for work in the east.

Most of the Chinese who emigrated to Philadelphia were Cantonese from

a section in China of about 100 square miles in Kwangchow, on the

southern coast of the province of Kwangtung.

Chinatown's history developed in three stages. The first stage

was the establishment of individual laundries throughout the city. The

second stage was the organization of recreational activities in certain

laundries, including food services for special celebrations. As the

Chinese colony grew and special services became profitable, restaurants

became a separate enterprise. The restaurant became a place where friends

and relatives could meet to eat, drink, and talk. About 1880 the first

restaurant was established over a laundry store. The third stage was

the establishment of grocery stores to supply foods not available in

the American markets. These grocery stores became the centers of

community affairs.

At first the Chinese stayed separate from the American culture,

because they had originally planned to become wealthy and then return to

China. Americanization of the Chinese started in the 20th Century. The

Chinese associations, which are a cultural trait, helped to maintain the

isolation. yany associations are still in existence today and represent

the traditional part of the present Chinese community. The western

influence came mostly in the form of religion; three Christian churches

are presently located in the community. World War II was also a major

turning point for the Chinese. As more Americans went to war, the

Chinese were able to take over their jobs and become a part of the

American labor force. With this move into the labor force there was a

tremendous increase in Chinese contact with the American lifestyle. At

first the Chinese community was basically a bachelor society because

the men would come to America first and later attempt to bring their

hinatown ?hiade1phia Vrban Design Plans and Policy recommend tcs

Glurck Chadbourne Associates, Inc. with Edgar Lampert, April, 1975

families to join them after they established themselves. The immigration

LdWj were very strict at first, therefore mostly limiting the immigration

to men. In 1962 and 1965 the immigration policies were eased and there

was a great influx of Chinese families into America, and the Chinese

community grew tremendously.

There were basically two categories of Chinese people who came

to America. The first were those who were professionally trained and

mixed easily into the American life. Their dependence on Chinatown was

minimal. The second group was composed of technicians who emigrated

from Hong Kong with hopes of economic advancement. Some of them were

family members of older Chinatown laborers. Most of these people spoke

little or no English and had no finances. These people depended on

Chinatown for employment and for living accommodations. The profes-

sionals have a desire to retain their cultural heritage, so many of

them come to Chinatown to shop, attend church, use the restaurants,

and to attend family functions and festivals. Chinatown is where

traditional culture is preserved and ethnic identify perpetuated.

Chinatown is the cultural and institutional center of the Chinese

community, not only for those who live there, but for all Asian groups

throughout the Delaware Valley. Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Church is

a very key facility in the community. It provides a school for China-

town, a cultural center, and the only major recreational resource in the

community. Holy Redeemer is "irreplaceable not only for its educational

value, but because it is the physical focus of community life".

THE HEART OF CHINATOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT

Classified as a Cultural District only.

The Heart of Chinatown Cultural District is bound on the east by the cleared land of the Center City Commuter Rail Connection tunnel project as it parallels North Ninth Street. On the south, the Cultural District is defined by the property lines of the lots on the south side of 900 and 1000 blocks of Race Street. On the west, North Eleventh Street is the boundary for the cultural district. On the north, the boundary is established as along the open space provided for the right-of-way for the Vine Street improvement. The area is comprised of the two city blocks between Vine and Race Streets, 9th to 11th Streets, and portions of the city blocks along the south side of Race Street between 9th and 11th Streets.

S

Heart of Chinatown, page 5

The First Chinese Baptist Church was established here in October of 18, and among the first members were Horn Hop and Lee Hing, baptized in 1887, and Xu Ling and Lee

John, baptized in 1895 (MacKenzie 1970).

Some of the earliest of such real estate transfers relate today to the headquarters

of major community associations. In 1908, Lee Duk bought 927 Race Street, now the

headquarters of the Leung Chinese Merchants Association. Number 925, the present home

of the Lee Association, and 927 Race Street, the headquarters of the Leung Chinese

Merchants Association, became Chinese owned in the 1920's (Philadelphia Land Records).

In addition to Race Street, 9th Street north of Race became a strong model of Chinese ownership beginning in 1912. In 1927, 208 North 9th Street (now owned by the Hor Shan Lun Hing Association and the location of the office of Andrew J. Lee, attorney) was

sold to Harry Lee. In the 1940's, more Chinese ownership was concentrated in the area.

In 1941, there were approximately twenty families in the core area (MacKenzie, April

l82). Cuincidont3lly, only 922 Chinese were recorded in all of Philadelphia in 1940 (Cheng 1946, p. 74). Chinatown was defined as the block between 9th and 10th and

Race and Spring Streets (Cheng 1946, p. 72). By then, a family oriented community

had prompted the Catholic archdiocese to build a mission church and a school north

of the core area, north of Vine Street. While the Church of the Holy Redeemer,

built in 1941, served the Catholic families of the community, the auditorium was opened to the entire community and the school served any children of the neighborhood who chose to attend. English language instruction was, and is, a major part of the

curriculum.

The war in China in the 1920's and 1930's and the economic depression which hit

the local small businesses in the 1930's took a toll on the population of the

local Chinese community. Before the exodus began, the population in the 1920's was

predominantly alien; by the 1940's, however, the Chinese-Americans surpassed the

alien count (Cheng 1947, p. 77) attesting to the stability of the family unit in the

two decades of change.

In 1944, the families lived in the area bounded by Spring Street and Winter

Street (Cheng 1946, p. 73, identifies this at Block 12 of Census Tract IA). While

Heart of Chinatown, page 6

•the vitality of the commercial strip at this time was experiencing a high point, the

social effects of World War II also resulted in two changes, each of which was to have

permanent effects on the degree to which long-time cultural isolation of Chinatown

would be sustained.

During the war, several Chinese left the community workforce either to work in ship-

yards in Wilmington, Chester, or Camden, or to replace the labor force of other in-

dustries affected by mobilization. The Chinese-Americans entered the military. At

the end of the war, the servicemen brought home brides from Hong Kong, urbane young

women whose education and cosmopolitan background added a new perspective to a com-

munity previously occupied by people from more rural regions of China. The newcomers

came to a Chinatown where wooden boards embellished with Chinese characters served

as store signs and neon lights identified the restaurants. Strips of red paper in

the shop windows advertised the exotic merchandise inside (Cheng 1946, p. 72).

The community extended from 8th to 11th Streets, with its east/west edcies markedly

visible. The Salvation Army junk station was at Race and llth Streets;

east of 8th Street.

By the 1950's, the war industries no longer drew the local manpower, and there was

increased economic growth in the locale. This brought the population of the community

to 1,242 (Stanley 1975, p. 50). Areawise, the community extended from 8th to 11th

and from Race to Vine Streets. The tongs were less concerned with vice and more with

real estate (Stanley 1975, p. 50). New types of associations were formed to encourage

the overall cultural health of the community. Activity took place at both the com-

mercial and the spiritual levels. When the Merchants Association was established in

1954, the occasion was marked by feasting and dancing, and the Chinese Consul from Taiwan attended (Stanley 1975, p. 50). The Philadelphia Chinatown Redevelopment

Corporation was founded in 1966 (Stanley 1975, p. 56), a group geared to formulating

a comprehensive plan for Chinatown, including housing needs. This action preceded

by three years the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority's condemnation of thirty

area houses (Stanley 1975, p. 58).

In 1953, Protestant denominations combined to build a Christian Church on 10th Street

between Spring and Winter Streets. The work of the Philadelphia Baptist City Mission

continued its outreach program at 1006 Race Street, becoming the weekday Chinese

Christian Church and Center.

Heart of Chinatown, page 7

is In the last generation, immigrants from Taiwand and Vietnam have poured into China-town; further, the area serves as a base from which newcomers make contacts or learn

trades.

By 1968, the Inquirer identified the bounds of Chinatown as between 19th and 11th

Streets and Cherry and Vine Streets (Philadelphia Inquirer 7/28/1968). While this

corresponds to the area identified in 1982 as the heart of Chinatown, a larger,

less dense Chinese community exists on the periphery of this intense cultural node.

This extension is bounded essentially by 13th Street on the west, Arch Street on the

south, and Callowhill Street on the north; but like other clusters of Chinese who

live closeby or in New Jersey or Delaware, the residents in this peripheral area

refer to the heart of Chinatown as the principal place where tradition and ethnic

identity are perpetuated. The lesser areas, therefore, by reason of continuous his-

tory dating prior to 1900 and strong present day viability appears to meet the cri-

teria for a ethnic cultural National Register District.

Bibliography:

Cheng, David Te-chao.

1948 Acculturation of the Chinese in the United States: A Philadelphia Study. Foochow, China: The Fukien Christian University Press.

Culin, Stewart

1887 China in America. New York.

1891 The Social Organization of the Chinese Series, vol. IV:, 4 (October) p. 348.

Darling, Henry R.

1969 Urban Squeeze Presses on Chinatown Here.

16, 1969.

Drumgold, Lisa J.

American Anthropologist, Old

The Sunday Bulletin, November

1974 Philadelphia's Chinatown: An Historical Study of a Neighborhood.

Unpublished term paper, West Chester State College, West Chester, Pa.

Heart of Chinatown, page 8

0 Bibliography (continued): Jeffers, Hilde, et al.

1974 Philadelphia's Chinatown: A Study. University, Philadelphia, Pa.

Hsu, Francis L. K.

Unpublished term paper, Temple

1971 The Challenge of the American Dream: The Chinese in the United States. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

MacKenzie, Mirabella

1970 Our Heritage (Chinese Christian Church and Center).

1982 Interview with Alice Kent Schooler, April 14, 1982. (Ms. MacKenzie is the Director of the Chinese Christian Center.)

Meanker, Drusie

1975 Chinatown's Famous Food Attracts Hungry Tourists. The Daily Pennsylvanian, January 24, 1975.

Novack, Janet

1975 Chinatown Threatened by Urban Renewal. The Daily Pennsylvanian, January 24, 1975.

Perkins, Helen C. (compiler)

1902-1912 Historic Philadelphia

1971 Philadelphia Chinatown Centennial, September 14-December 12, 1971.

Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation

1977 Response to Draft EIS for the Proposed Vine Street Expressway Interstate 76.

Philadelphia Inquirer

1968 Chinatown is Way Station En-Route to the Occident. July 28, 1968.

Philadelphia Land Records

Selected Sites.

*Scharf, J. T. and Thompson Westcott

1875 History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, volume II.

Heart of Chinatown, page 9

Bibliography (continued):

Stanley., John

1975 A History of the Chinese Presence and Influence in Philadelphia. Ms., Oriental Studies 30, April 21, 1975 (institution unidentified).

Smith

1908 Atlas of Philadelphia.

Webster, Richard J.

1976 Philadelphia Preserved. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Map Reference: 16

Block: 20

Resource: 10th Street - 200 Block East

Address: 227-239 North 10th Street

Classification: Building

Owners: 227 - Wing Sang Leong, 227 N. 10th St., Phi Ia., Pa. 231 - Tsung Ngar Assoc. , 231 N. 10th St. , Phila. , Pa. 233 & 235 - Leo Choi, 233 N. 10th St., Phila., Pa. 237 - Fong Wing Chong, 237 N. 10th St., Phila. , Pa. 239 - Herbert S. Lee, 239 N. 10th St., Phila. , Pa.

Proximity to Modified arterial: 300' Project: Scaled down: 250'

Status: None known (PHRS)

Period or Dates:

Description:

A row of seven attached brick buildings,six of which are set in Flemish bond. The group is morc diverse Lhdrl unified. Six structures (229-239) are three-and-one-

I& half-story; one (227) is five-story and face brick. Side bay entrances are common

to six of the seven and one (231-233) features two side-bay entrances which flank a central window detail. Italianate detail (moulded brownstone) is evidenced here and

also in the architrave of the door of 235. One original dormer, featuring corner-block fluted pilasters, exists at 229. The corner buildings have not survived.

Significance:

The group is divorced from the corners which anchored it and is so diverse a group of ordinary building types that is seems not to be eligible for the National Register, in its own right; they do, however, relate to Chinatown.

Bibliography:

Clio Group, Inc. Survey (PHRS 1981)

n. Block: 20

Location: Bounded: North - Vine Street -

(Figure 3) South - Race Street -

East - North 9th Street

West - North 10th Street - --

Potential Sites: 32 historic properties developed by 1860 as residential sites or residential sites with an industrial/commercial component.

1 clay pit, mid-nineteenth century. 1 steam marble works, mid-nineteenth century. 1 fire engine company, mid-nineteenth century.

Existing Conditions:

Block 20 is an intensively developed urban block of mixed land use associated with

Philadelphia's "Chinatown" district. The south part of the block between Race Street

and Winter Street (Figure 61) has retained much of its historic character (i.e.,

structures, property lines, the pattern of internal courts, small streets and alleys)

despite its ethnic associations with the Chinese community. The area between Winter

Street and the present south line of the Vine Street Expressway is an area of marginal

land use, including a paved parking area and an area used for vegetable gardens by the

Chinese community.

Civil History:

Block 20 was included within the original bounds of the City of Philadelphia, and until

1785 was not included in any ward divisions. In 1785, this block was included in the

Mulberry Ward, and from 1786 until city-county consolidation in 1854 it was located in

the North Mulberry Ward. In 1854, Block 20 became part of the 10th Ward and remained

there until 1965, when ward divisions were redefined and the block became part of the

5th Ward.

Historical Development:

Block 20 was initially included in a grant of land on term to Thomas Coates in 1737,

and has been tentatively identified as a clay pit site (Figure46 ). There was apparently

no further development of this block until the late eighteenth century, when the Suprerre

Executive Council divided the block into large lots which were sold at public auction.

All of the historic properties in the area of anticipated impact at the north end of

the block were developed c.1820-1840. (Figure 61, Area A & B). This was apparently an

area of mixed development with some developed rows fronting North 9th Street and Norn

Historical Development (continued):

lOthStreet, interior court development, and two heavy industrial sites (Figure 61,

A and B). - -

As-Jate as 1939 (Franklin, Plate 12) no substantial redevelopment had been undertaken

on the east end of the area of anticipated impact, while virtually no historic open

space survived intact in- the- st end (Figure 61 , A and B).

In- 1948i thenorthend of the block (Figure 61-A) was subsumed by the widening of

Vine Street to accommodate the present Vine Street Expressway.

Socio-Economic Development:

Thejarger streets of Vine, Morgan, North 9th and North 10th were dominated by occupa-

*ons:in Categories. 1 and. 2. These were followed by Category 3 until 1870, when

ttgbries 4; 5, and 6, unskilled workers replaced them. Within the model, the

largest ethnic group represented was native-born Americans. Only a small percentage

of Irish, German, or other foreign households were represented.

In 1841-1850, the two alleys were inhabited largely by Category 3, with unskilled

workers--Categories 4, 5, and 6--predominating in 1860 and 1870. Jackson/Java Court

had. .a large Irish population which was followed closely by native-born Americans. A

100 percent black/mulatto population was noted on Liberty Court from 1850, the earliest

recorded ethnic data available, through 1870, the last year in the model.

Anticipated Resources:

Potential subsurface remains include possible resources associated with an eighteent

century clay pit, as well as privy wells and associated artifact assemblages, sratied

backyard deposits, and filled cellars. The tj large mid-nineteenth century incustrai

sites may also provide resources associated with the marble works and the fire angina

factory. Of primary importance is the documented existence of a black enclave n

Liberty Court.

- - - - 7 2:: 77 '.__ - :_ - --- - -

- - • '--::-- ---:: - -•---- 5-- - ---5----- S --

SITE NO:

RESOURCE:

Historic Name:

Common Name:

LOCATION:

CLASSIFICATION:

OWNER:

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION:

OTHER SURVEY LISTINGS:

41

Chinatown Historic District

Chinatown Historic District

Generally bounded by Winter Street to the north, 9th.Street to the east, Race Street to the south, and 11th Street to the west

Cultural District only

Multiple ownership

A

As a district, none known; some individual structures, PHC, PHRS; 907 Race Street, HABS

PERIOD OR DATES: Before 1830 to th€ oresent

DESCRIPTION: Thr oroposed district is composed of two city blocks and par s of four other city blocks. The core community, Block 20, bounded by 9th, Race, 10th, and Winter Streets, encom-passes more than 60 properties. This is a cultural node more than 90 percent Chinese owned and/or occupied since the 1940s and evidences a major survival of the mixed residential/commercial neighborhood of late 19th C. Philadelphia.

The south side of Race Street exhibits vestiges of narrow residential and commercial structures built as early as 1829. On 11th Street, a loft erected c.1900 exists in the east corner of Race Street.

Rows of brick dwelling units built c.1830 have survived in part on the north side of Spring Street as well as on the south side of Winter Street. Chinese restaurants, grocery stores, and gift shops are concentrated on Race, 9th, and 10th Streets, and service organizations occupy several intervening addresses. A noodle factory and a fortune cookie bakery occupy 19th century storefronts on the north/south streets.

51

Two "Welcome to Chinatown" signs define the edges of the district on the west side of the viaduct on Race Street and at the corner of Vine and 10th Streets. Tenth Street includes one row of the restaurants and specialty stores of the area. The gable end of a building displays a twenty panel mural of a dragon.

In the partial block immediately to the south side of Race Street,high brick lofts of narrow widths stand west of a Bell Telephone building built after World War II. In the next block west is an eight-story brick loft built before 1908, a Romanesque Revival terra cotta and brick structure. Now used in part as a Chinese restaurant, the loft has recently been faced at sidewalk level with red ceramic brick, a walling which terminates in a demi-roof (pent roof) of ornamental tiles which imitate a pagoda eave. Such architectural incongruity adds to the sense of place. The historic anchor property of the districL stands at 907-909 Race Street. This refers to two 1820's dwellings which were modified in 1906 to accommodate the first public restaurant in Chinatown.

Block 22, bounded by Vine, Race, 10th, and 11th Streets, includes more than 35 improved properties; there are some lots along Race Street, however, that are now vacant. Several generations of historic resources in the core no longer exist. The property is now vacar.t. Generally, while urban redevelop-ment is taking place along the north side of Spring Street through to Winter Street, the block emphasizes a significant survival of the residential component of the mixed use community which existed here by 1862.

The new residences, aimed at providing affordable housing for the community, are two-and-a-half-story brick-faced row structures comprised of single and duplex houses and apart-ments.

The proposed District is that area which most consistently has been an Oriental enclave within Philadelphia. It serves as a marketplace and meeting place for a larger established Oriental community and is also a refuge for the newly arrived. Parts of this district have referred to the cultural center of the Delaware Valley's Asian community for more than a hundred years.

Chinatown celebrated its centennial in 1971, referring to the long accepted tradition that the first Chinese tradesman to settle in the area and set up his business was Lee Fong, a laundryman who established himself near Race and 9th Streets, probably at 913 Race Street (Culin 1891:347; Ching 1975:70; PCDC 1971).

52

By 1880, Mei Hsiang Lee opened a restaurant above his cousin's

laundry at 913 Race Street, providing a center where the dis-

persed population could congregate (Chinese Centennial 1971).

Other necessary services were established along Race Street,

and, as early as 1891, Culin identified the Race Street area

close to 9th Street as the cultural center of Philadelphia's

Chinese community (Culen 1891:347:348).

By 1911, the Chinatown community had expanded along Race Street

between 9th and 10th (Cheng 1946). The earliest public

restaurants had opened before 1910 on the north side of Race

Street at numbers 907, 921, and 931 (Campbell vol. 73). The

earliest of these, 907-909 Race Street, survives as the

architectural anchor of the ethnic district, a strong visual

reference to the Victorian oriental overlay which then identified

a commercial ChindLown.

Confirming the role of Race Street as the historic spine of

the community, a Chinese Baptist Church was organized by

1887, and social services were organized by 1898 when the

Philadelphia Baptist City Mission was established at 1022

Race Street (MacKenzie April 1982). The vitality of the

Chinese community continued to the 1920's when both social

discrimination and self-imposed isolation encouraged the

Chinese to continue gathering together and to perpetuate

Fdmily associations or tongs, which provided an incentive to

congregate.

The war in China in the 1920's and 1930's drew some Chinese to

the homeland, and the economic depression in America in the

1930's took a further toll on the population of the local

Chinese communty. Before the exodus began, the population in

the 1920's was predominately alien; by the 1940's, however,

the Chinese-Americans surpassed the alien count (Cheng 1947:

77).

In 1941, there were approximately twenty families in the

core area (MacKenzie April 1982). Coincidentally, only 922

Chinese were recorded in all of Philadelphia in 1940

(Cheng 1946: 74) and Chinatown was defined as the block be-

tween 9th and 10th Streets and Race and Spring Streets

(Cheng 1946: 72). By 1940, the Catholic archdiocese had

built the church and school of the Holy Redeemer, which while

outside of the heart of Chinatown, was the only indoor

recreational facility in the overall neighborhood. The school

served any children of the neighborhood who chose to attend.

The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation was founded

in 1966 (Stanley 1975: 56) to formulate a comprehensive

plan for Chinatown, including housing needs. By 1968, the

Inquirer identified the bounds of Chinatown as between 9th

and 11th Streets and Cherry and Vine Streets (Philadelphia

Inquirer 1968). While this corresponds to the area identified

in 1982 as the heart of Chinatown, there is a larger, less dense

53

Chinese community which exists outside the edges of the cultural node. The extension is bounded essentially by 13th Street on the west, Arch Street on thesouth, Callowhil1 Street on the north and 8th Street on the east. Like the Chinese who live in other parts of Philadelphia or closeby in New Jersey or Delaware, the residents in this peripheral area refer to the heart of Chinatown as the principal place of their commerce and tradition and ethnic identity. In the last generation, immigrants from Taiwan and Vietnam have poured into Chinatown, emphasizing the area's service as a base from which newcomers make contacts or learn trades.

SIGNIFICANCE: "The proposed district roughly defined by Winter Street (north), 9th Street (east), Race Street (south), and 11th Street (west) has been the center of the local Oriental community since the arrival of the first Chinese in Philadelphia in the latter half of the 19th century. Although the district is a mix of commercial and residential structures of varying scale and age (from early 19th to early 20th century), their use and ownership by the Oriental community has continued to the present day. In addition, several important cultural and social institutions dating from the late 19th century (Chinese Baptist Church - 1887; Philadelphia Baptist City Mission 1898) remain as active organizations in the community.

The properties at 910-924 and 1012-1024 Winter Street and 227-239 10th Street contribute to the Chinatown Historic District although they are not, in our opinion, individually eligible for the Register.'

SH P0 CONCURRENCE: *Letter of November 18, 1982 (page A-37)

54

01 01

PLATE 19. Chinatown Historic District, aerial view from north

(outline encompassing heights of buildings). 1932

PLATE 20. Chinatown, S. side of Race St. 1982.

56

PLATE 21. Chinatown, 907-909 Race St. 1982.

57

ap Reference: 49

Blocks: 20, 22, and parts of corresponding blocks immediately

to the south of Race Street.

Resource: Heart of Chinatown Historic District

Address: Multiple

Classification: Cultural District only

Owners: Multiple ownership

Proximity to Modified arterial: 1.50 feet-550 feet from center of corridor

Project: Scaled down: 150 feet-550 feet from center of corridor

Status: As a district, none known; some individual structures, PHC;

PHRS; 907 Race Street, HABS (all noted on separate sheets).

Period or Dates: Before 1830 to the present.

Description (Plates 20, 21 , 22)

The Heart of Chinatown is bounded on the east by the cleared land of the Commuter

Tunnel project as it parallels North 9th Street, on the south by property lines

of the lots referring to the south side of the 900 and 1000 blocks of Race Street,

and on the west by the rusticated stone viaduct which carries the Reading Rail-

road tracks to and from the terminal built on Market Street in 1893. On the north,

the district is bounded by the open space relating to the right-of-way of the

Vine Street Expressway. The area is comprised of two city blocks and parts of

four other similar units (Figure 8).

In this core community, Block 20, that area bounded by 9th, Race, 10th, and

Winter Streets,is a city block which encompasses more than sixty properties

within the heart of Chinatown. This is not only a cultural node more than ninety

percent Chinese owned and/or occupied, it also evidences a major survival of

the mixed residential /commercial neighborhood in which Philadelphia's Chinatown

began in the late nineteenth century. On the south side of Race Street, new

construction exists adjacent to the vestiges of the narrow residential and

commercial structures, which were built as early as 1829 (Plate 20) ,

On 11th Street, a loft erected c.1900 exists in the east corner of Race Street

a church built in 1953 occupies the northeast corner at Spring Street,

adding to the strong sense of continuum which exists today.

114

w Rows of brick dwelling units built c.1830 have sur

vived in part on the north

side of Spring Street as well as on the south side

of Winter Street

Chinese restaurants, grocery stores, and gift shop

s are concentrated on Race

and 9th and 10th Streets, and service organization

s occupy several intervening

addresses . A noodle factory and a fortune cookie bakery occup

y nineteenth

century storefronts on the north/ south streets.

Two "Welèome to Chinatown" signs define the edges of the district on the west

side of the viaduct on Race Street and at the corner of Vine and 10th Streets.

Tenth Street introduces the traveller from Vine Street to the first row of

restaurants and specialty stores .of the area. A s

pecific 'sign" declaring a

hjnatown image make use of the gable end of a buil

ding to display a twenty

panel mural of a dragon.

In the partial block immediately to the south side

of Race Street (no number

assigned), the northeast quadrant is dominated by

one of two major Bell Telephone

buildings which exist in center city. High brick l

ofts of narrow widths stand

west of this post-World War II building. In the next block west is

an eight-story brick loft built before 1908, a Rom

anesque Revival terra cotta

and brick structure. Now used in part as a Chinese

restaurant, the loft has

recently been faced at sidewalk level with red cer

amic brick, a walling which

terminates in a demi-roof (pent roof) of ornamenta

l tiles which imitate a agoda

eave. Such architectural incongruity adds to the sense of place. The histori

c

anchor property of the district stands at 907-909

Race Street. This refers to

two 1820's dwellings which were modified in 1906 t

o accommodate the first public

restaurant in Chinatown (Plate 21).

Block 22, bounded by Vine, Race, 10th, and 11th St

reets, addresses more tan

35 improved properties; there are some lots along

Race Street, however, ---at

are now vacant. Several generations of historic re

sources in the core no Thnger

exist; as an example, a Public Normal School which

once stood on the soutn side

of Spring Street in 1860 was long ago replaced by

structures which themseTies

no longer exist. The property is now vacant. Gener

ally, while urban receveloc-

ment is taking place along the north side of Sprin

g Street through to Wi:er

Street, the block emphasizes a significant surviva

l of the residential c:mconet

of the mixed use community which existed here by 1862.

115

The new residences are two-and-a-half-story brick-faced row structures corn-

prised of single and duplex houses and apartments (Plate 22). These are aimed

at providing new affordable housing for the community. The police station

which serves the community stands on the southeast corner of Winter and 11th

Streets close to the c.1830 housing which survives on Winter Street.

Immediately outside of the district and on the east are several new landmarks.

These include Metropolitan Hospital, the Police Headquarters Building, and 'Market

Street East,' a commercial entity which stands two blocks to the south of Blocks

20 and 22. The latter includes current construction relating to the extension

of Market Street East.

Historical Background:

The Heart of Chinatown is that area which most consistently has provided strong

historic reference to an isolated Oriental - enclave within Philadelphia. This re-mains the marketplace and the meeting place for a larger established Oriental

community; it is also a refuge for the newly arrived. In this relatively small',

dense neighborhood the majority of the properties have related to Oriental owner-

ship and/or residence at least since the 1940's. As a viable continuum, parts

of this district have referred to the cultural center of the Delaware Valley's

Asian community for more than a hundred years.

Chinatown celebrated its centennial in 1971, referring to the long accepted tradi-

tion that the first Chinese tradesman to settle in the area and set up his busi-

ness was Lee Fang, a laundryman who established himself near Race and 9th Streets,

probably at 913 Race Street (Culin 1891:347; Ching 1975:70; PCDC 1971). It

was an economic as well as a social factor which set this oriental-operated

shop apart from similar such establishments in Philadelphia. Fong's busi-

ness also prompted the establishment of other enterprises, set up to serve

a Chinese community dominated by male laborers who had settled in various

parts of the city.

By 1880, Mei Hsiang Lee opened a restaurant above his cousin's laundry at 913 Race

Street, providing a center where the dispersed population could congregate

(Chinese Centennial 1971). Other necessary services were established along Race

116

Street, offering Oriental foods and imported supplies not available in American

stores. As early as 1891, Culin identified the Race Street area close to 9th

Street as the cultural center of Philadelphia's Chinese community (Culen 1891:

347:348).

When Lee Fong first set up shop in this core community, he did so in a mixed

residential-commercial neighborhood which had developed as such between the

1820's and the 1880's. Even before the Civil War, parts of this district evi-

denced pocket neighborhoods of blacks living in inner-block courtyard comolexes

such as Leyden's Court and Liberty Court between 10th and 11th Streets (U. S.

Census 1860). Between 1880 and 1920, industrial expansion along the Vine

Street corridor and a new transportation corridor identified by the Reading

Railroad viaduct changed the scale of the built environment of the Race

Street area as brick lofts punctuated the older residential rows, and rose

high above the south side of Race Street and the north side of the section close

to the viaduct. New land use caused the residential population to shift west,

leaving in its wake older, affordable housing to lure the laboring immigrants

then streaming into the city. This included the Chinese.

By 1911, the Chinatown community had expanded along Race Street between 9th and

10th (Cheng 1946). The earliest public restaurants had opened before 1910 on j

the north side of Race Street at numbers 907, 921, and 931 (Campbell

vol. 73). The earliest of these, 907-909 Race Street, survives as the architec-

tural anchor of the ethnic district, a strong visual reference to the Victorian

oriental overlay which then identified a commercial Chinatown.

The buildings at 907-909 Race Street were originally two adjoining, two-story

brick houses built before 1829 by Thomas and Joseph Walter, brickmasons, as

homes (Webster 1978: 128; Insurance Survey 1836; Desilver 1829). Thomas

Walter was later to become a prominent architect, known best for his desi;n

for Girard College and the dome and wings of the United States Capitol. ere

is little of the original exterior fabric remaining in either of these bu:i;s;J

909 was raised two stories and covered with a mansard roof in the late nie-

teenth century, - while 907 was raised one story after 1889 (Webster l978:',7_-:". These alterations to an otherwise straightforward vernacular row house fc

of Philadelphia's Federal era were then provided with, more of an eclectic :x

117

A

in 1906 when Oriental details, including an ornamental iron balcony and p'rte

coch're affecting Oriental Motifs, were added. These changes referred to the

altering of the interior second stories of both houses to accommodate a public

restaurant (City Building Permit 7469, October 16, 1906). A stained glass sign

"Chinese Restaurant" was incorporated in the new image. The Far East Rest-

aurant was a long-lived business at this address, closing in 1932 (Philadelphia

Business Directories 1908-1952). Coincidentally, Number 907 also served as the

headquarters of the Leong Tong Society during some of this time (Campbell n.d.,

vol. 115).

Confirming the role of Race Street as the historic spine of the community,

a Chinese Baptist Church was organized by 1887, and social services were or-

qani zed by 1898 when the Philadelphia Baptist City Mission was established

at 1022 Race Street (MacKenzie April 1982). The vitality of the Chinese community

continued to the 1920's when both social discrimination and self-imposed iso-

lation encouraged the Chinese to continue gatherihg together and to perpetuate

family accnritinn or tongs, which provided an incentive to congregate.

Some of the earliest real estate transfers relate today to the headquarters of

major community associations. In 1908, Lee Dick bought 927 Race Street or tax

parcel 2N8-189, now the headquarters of the On Leung Chinese Merchants Association.

Number 925, the present home of the Lee Association, became Chinese owned in the

1920's when John Livesey sold to Lee Dour Ping, et al. (Philadelphia Department

of Records n.d.; Philadelphia Public Ledger, February 4, 1908; cited in Cheng 1948).

In addition to Race Street, 9th Street north of Race became a strong'model of

Chinese ownership as early as 1912. In 1927, 208 North 9th Street (now owned

by the Hor Shan Lun Hong Association and the location of the office of Andrew

J. Lee, attorney) was sold to Harry Lee. By the 1940's, more Chinese ownership

was concentrated in the area.

The war in China in the 1920's and 1930's drew some Chinese to the homeland,

and the economic depression in America which hit the local small businesses

in the 1930's took a further toll on the population of the local Chinese community,

and also changed the social context of the neighborhood. Before the exodus began,

I

118

the population in the 1920's was predominately alien; by the 1940's, however,

the Chinese-Americans surpassed the alien count (Cheng 1947: 77) suggesting

the stability of family units over the two decades of change.

In 1941, there were approximately twenty families in the core area (MacKenzie

April 1982). Coincidentally, only 922 Chinese were recorded in all of Phila-

delphia in 1940 (Cheng 1946: 74) and Chinatown was defined as the block be-

tween 9th and 10th Streets and Race and Spring Streets (Cheng 1946: 72). By

then, family-oriented community had prompted the Catholic archdiocese to build

a mission church and a school north of the core and north of Vine Street. (For

the community, the auditorium and gym of the church the Holy Redeemer, while

outside of the heart of Chinatown, was the only indoor recreational facility in

the overall neighborhood. The school served any children of the neighborhood

who chose to attend and English language instruction was, and still is, a major

part of the curriculum.)

In 1944, the families of Chinatown lived in the area bounded by Spring Street

and Winter Street. Cheng (1946:73) identifies this as Block l2 of Census rac

bA. While the vitality of the commercial strip at this time was experiencing a

high point, the social effects of World War II also resulted in two changes, each

of which was to have permanent effects on the degree to which long-term cultural

isolation of Chinatown would be sustained.

During the war, several Chinese left the community workforce either to work in

shipyards in Wilmington, Chester, or Camden or to replace the labor force of c:r€

industries affected by mobilization. - Chinese-Americans also entered the miiiry

At the end of the war, the servicemen brought home brides from Hong Kong, urbane

young women whose education and cosmopolitan background added a new perspective

to a community previously occupied by people from more rural regions of Ciina.

The newcomers came to a Chinatown where wooden boards embellished with Chinese

characters served as store signs and neon lights identified the restauran:s.

Strips of red paper in the shop windows advertised the exotic merchandise ins -':e

(Cheng 1946 : 72).

The community extended from 8th to 11th Streets with its east/west edges arke-j

visible. The Salvation Army Junk Station was at Race and 11th Streets; S<id cw was east of 8th Street.

119

By the i950s, vhen the war industries no longer drew the local manpower, there

was increased economic growth in the locale, brigig the popuiatior of the

community to 1,242 (Stanley 1975: 50). Areawise, the community extended from

8th to 11th Streets and from Race to Vine Streets. The Tongs, then less concerned

with gambling and rivalry, invested in real estate (Stanley 1975 : 50) and other

types of associations were formed to encourage the overall cultural health of the

community. Coincidentally, considerable activity took place at the commercial

level which also sparked an ethnic reaction. As an example, when the Merchants

Association was established in 1954, the occasion was marked by feasting and

dancing, and a visit from the Chinese Consul from Taiwan (Stanley 1975 : 50).

The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation was founded in 1966 (Stanley

1975 : 56) to formulate a comprehensive plan for Chinatown, including housing

needs. Three years later, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority condemned

thirty area properties, prioritizing plans for redevelopment. Churches have also

been long involved in social action. After the Catholic Church was built,

Protctant denominations, in 1953, uuuibined to build a Christian Church on 10th

Street between Spring and Winter Streets. In response to this ecumenical move,

the work of the Philadelphia Baptist City Mission continued the outreach program

it began in the 1890's at 1006 Race Street; the mission became the Chinese

Christian Church and Center.

In the last generation, the immigrants from Taiwan and Vietnam have poured into

Chinatown, emphasizing the area's service as a base from which newcomers make

contacts or learn trades.

By 1968, the Inquirer identified the bounds of Chinatown as between 9th and 11th

Streets and Cherry and Vine Streets (Philadelphia Inquirer 1968). While

this corresponds to the area identified in 1982 as the heart of Chinatown, there

is a larger, less dense Chinese community which exists outside the edges of the cultural node. The extension is bounded essentially by 13th Street on the west, Arch Street on the south, and Caflowhill Street on the north and 8th Street on

the east. Like the Chinese who live in other parts of Philadelphia or closeby

in New Jersey or Delaware, the residents in this peripheral area refer to the

heart of Chinatown as the principal place where their commerce is centered and

120

where tradition and ethnic identity are perpetuated.

Significance:

The heart of Chinatown responds to a fifty year history and a century long

continuum refering to an ethnic node of significant cultural and social

character which provides the City of Philadelphia with a culture beyond

its own English-oriented history. -

By reason of continuous history dating prior to 1900 and strong present day

viability, the heart of Chinatown embodies the distinctive characteristics

of an oriental community in its shops, its signage, and the make-up of its

population. It appears to meet the criteria for eligibility for a National

Register district which emphasizes the cultural impact of ethnicity concen-

trated in one area for more than 50 years.

121

IV. RESULTS OF STUDY

A. Considerations for Determining the Significance of Historican Architectural

Resources. Section 106 of the National Historical Preservation Act assures

that the planning stages of any federally sponsored project will identify

listed properties as well as those properties which seem to meet criteria of

significance. Relative to such identification and in consultation with the

office of the State Bureau for Historic Preservation, all sites eligible for

the National Register will be defined. Determinations either to avoid or

mitigate adverse effects on such properties will be sought.

Nine criteria have been used to rank resources inventoried in the course

of the project. Structures which have many of the characteristics in the

questions below have been included in the inventory.

Is the property presently on the National Register?

Is it included in any other administrative list?

Is the resource in its original location?

Has the integrity of its original design and materials been

maintained?

Is original workmanship apparent?

Does it embody the characteristics of a building type, period, method

of construction, or work of a respected architect?

Is it a rare survivor of building type or period?

Does it represent a significant, distinquishable entity whose components

may, by themselves, lack distinction? (Streetscapes, especially, apply

here.)

Is it associated with events (or persons) that have contributed signifi-

cantly to broad patterns of history?

The question of significance relative to individual buildings was discussed

in the Inventory of Resources (section III D.). The following section summarizes

those discussions.

122

th

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

4W.

PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM COMMISSION

WILLIAM PENN MEMORIAL MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES BUILDING

BOX 1026

HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120

November 18, 1982

Louis M. Papet Division Administrator U.S. Dept. of Transportation P.O. Box 1086 Harrisburg, PA 17108 1086

Re: 1-676-1, Vine St. Expressway Philadelphia Co. Chinatown Historical District:

Eligibility ER82 101 0133

Dear Mr. Papet:

In accordance with procedures established under 36 CFR, Part 800, it is the opinion of this office that the Chinatown Historic District in Philadelphia is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. This is a change in our opinion of 22 October, 1982 and is based on the sub-mission of additional information to this office. It is also our opinion that the resource name be changed to the China-town Historic District.

The proposed district roughly defined by Winter Street (north), 9th Street (east), Race Street (south), and 11th Street (west) has been the center of the local Oriental com-munity since the arrival of the first Chinese in Philadelphia in the latter half of the 19th century. Although the district is a mix of commercial and residential structures of varying scale and age (from early 19th to early 20th century), their use and ownership by the Oriental community has continued to the present day. In addition, several important cultural and social institutions dating from the late 19th century (Chinese Baptist Church - 1887; Philadelphia Baptist City Mission - 1898) remain as active organizations in the community.

The properties at 910-924 and 1012-1024 Winter Street and 227-239 10th Street contribute to the Chinatown Historic District although they are not, in our opinion, individually eligible for the Register.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact this office.

Sincerely,

Brenda Barrett, Director Bureau for Historic Preservation