24 Oct Chinatown’s Immigrant History Trail brings to life neighborhood significance amid rezoning efforts
HBI staff went for a walk through the neighboring historic Chinatown to experience the new Immigrant History Trail for ourselves! Implemented and installed by the Chinatown Community Land Trust, the Immigrant History Trail elevates the unique stories of the neighborhood’s working-class, immigrant population during a period of uncertainty amid rezoning efforts.
The Boston Planning Department adopted PLAN: Downtown, a renewed vision for downtown Boston in December 2023. The plan proposes to foster more mixed-use growth, support small businesses, encourage office-to-residential conversions to create more affordable housing opportunities, while preserving historic and cultural assets and strengthening downtown’s climate change preparedness. As one of the integral neighborhoods to downtown Boston, the efforts toward rezoning in historic Chinatown have been met with concern as some in the community fear displacement should these efforts inhibit residential affordability, endanger existing greenspace, or bolster exclusionary commercial zoning.
The BPDA’s Zoning Reform staff specifically created the Chinatown Rezoning Process to work with the community throughout PLAN:Downtown’s activation to ensure concerns are heard and cultural assets are protected. Over the past year, the Board of the BPDA has conducted public meetings and polls for feedback, most recently hosting a meeting to discuss the rezoning of Chinatown on October 8th.
Cultural resources like the Immigrant History Trail and Tunney Lee’s Chinatown Atlas were developed to share the robust and intertwined histories that have made Chinatown the supportive, immigrant respite that it evolved into and continues to be for many today. Every stop along the Immigrant History Trail adds another vital component to the story of Chinatown; From community organizing around the development of Parcel C, to the memories shared from Little Syria, and the inter-city Chinese 9-man volleyball tournament organized by the beloved community leader Reggie Wong at the park named for him, the power of a place can only be realized from within it. Recent development of luxury condos and student housing for nearby Emerson and Suffolk universities have pushed Chinatown residents to look for more affordable housing outside of the historic neighborhood, but the heart of Chinatown remains, and engaging with the community throughout the rezoning process will be imperative to its survival.
See stops marked along the Immigrant History Trail here and explore the stories of Chinatown for yourself.
One of Boston Chinatown’s oldest establishments is the China Pearl, located at 9 Tyler St., opened in 1960 by Yoke Soon “Billy” Chin, whose family roots in the neighborhood date back to the 19th century.
Garment factories provided an entry into the workforce for many Chinese immigrant women. In January 1938, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) purchased the eight-story building at 33 Harrison Avenue to house its New England offices.
Immigrant History Trail marker for the China Pearl.
76 Tyler St. was one of several residences in the neighborhood associated with Lebanese American poet Kahlil Gibran. Arabic-speaking immigrants from present-day Syria and Lebanon began settling in the South Cove in the late 1880s. This section of Boston was once known as “Little Syria.”
Immigrant History Trail marker for Shanghai Printing.
Henry You Min Wong immigrated to Boston in 1928. At just 18, he bought a printing press and named it the Shanghai Printing Company. Wong’s enterprise would become the leading press for the New England Chinese community. The former site of Shanghai Printing is located at 16 Oxford St.