Chinatown, Oakland, California

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Legendary Palace restaurant at the corner of Franklin and 7th st in Oakland.
Legendary Palace restaurant at the corner of Franklin and 7th st in Oakland.

The Chinatown neighborhood in Oakland, California is a pan-Asian neighborhood which reflects Oakland's diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander community. It is frequently referred to as "Oakland Chinatown" in order to distinguish it from nearby San Francisco's Chinatown.

Chinese were the first Asians to arrive in Oakland in the 1850s, followed by Japanese in the 1890s, Koreans in the 1900s, and Filipinos in the 1930s-1940s. Southeast Asians began arriving in the 1970s during the Vietnam War. Many Asian languages and dialects can be heard in Chinatown due to its diverse population.

Chinatown is located in downtown Oakland, with its center at 8th and Webster st. Its northern edge is 14th street, and its southern edge is I-880 (located approximately at 6th street). It stretches from Broadway St. in the west to the southern tip of Lake Merritt in the east.

Contents

[edit] History

Oakland Chinatown
Location of Oakland Chinatown
Location of Oakland Chinatown in the
City of Oakland.
 City
  County
   State
    Country		  Oakland
  Alameda
   California
    United States
Time zone
 - summer (DST)		 PST (UTC-8)
PDT (UTC-7)
Latitude
Longitude
Elevation		 37°47'57" N (37.799252)
122°16'17" W (-122.27145)
34 feet (10 meters)

Oakland Chinatown dates back to the arrival of Chinese immigrants in the 1850s, making it one of the oldest Chinatowns in North America. By 1860, the census of Oakland included 96 "Asiatics" among a total of 1,543. More Chinese arrived to help build the Central Pacific Railroad western portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad during the 1860s.

The Chinese settled in shrimp camps on the estuary of Oakland at 1st Street and Castro in the 1850s, near the Point in West Oakland which was referred to as "Chinese Point", and at 4th and Clay Streets. The Chinese settlement at Telegraph between 16th and 17th Streets burnt down in 1867 and was relocated at the San Pablo Avenue Chinatown between 19th and 20th Streets; it is now known as Oakland's Old Uptown Chinatown.[1] Other areas settled were 14th Street between Washington and Clay, and the Charter line (22nd Street) between Castro and Brush Streets.

Fears of the Yellow Peril and local exclusion laws forced the Chinese to resettled to its current location centered at 8th Street and Webster Street in the 1870s.

The first Chinese in Oakland fished in the San Francisco Bay for shrimp similarly to the Chinese at China Camp near San Rafael.[2] In 1868, Chinese laborers built the Temescal Dam in Oakland providing water for the East Bay as well as the Lake Chabot Dam in 1874-75. They worked in canneries, cotton mills and fuse and explosive factories as well as farms. In the 1880s, discriminatory laws made it difficult for Chinese immigrants to own land or even find work. They found work as laundry workers, cooks, gardeners, houseboys, or as vegetable peddlers. The Chinese Exclusion Act severely limited the further immigration of Chinese. By 1900, the Chinese in Oakland numbered less than 1,000.

The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed most of San Francisco's Chinatown and more than 4000 Chinese survivors found refuge in Oakland. Even while San Francisco Chinatown was rebuilding, many stayed in Oakland bringing the Chinatown population to about 2,500. Because of immigration restrictions barring Chinese women and children, a bachelor society was created.

In the 1920s, Oakland Chinatown grew from 10th Street to the waterfront from Broadway to Harrison.

Even until 1940, the Chinatown population grew only to about 3,000. With the United States involvement in World War II and the fact that China was an ally, the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943 but still had a quota of 105 persons a year.

In 1950, Chinatown grew to a population of 5,500, but local housing was lost due to the construction of Interstate 880 which runs through 8 blocks between 5th and 6th Streets, Laney College (8 blocks) and later in the late 1960s, the Bay Area Rapid Transit headquarters and Lake Merritt station (2 blocks) and Oakland Museum of California (4 blocks).

Oakland Chinatown was economically stagnant for many years, especially after multigenerational Chinatown residents began heading to the suburbs in the late 1960s. However, the Chinatown saw much development during the 1980s and 1990s after an exodus of Chinese American merchants—who were already experiencing stiff and ever-growing competition and rising costs of rent in the San Francisco area—across the Bay Bridge and increased immigration from mainland China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Many ethnic Chinese Vietnamese and Chinese Cambodians began opening new small businesses, essentially replacing many of the older Taishanese-dominated businesses. Also, with investment coming from Hong Kong in the 1980s, new modern shopping centers were built. It still retains the traditional aspects and characteristics of an older Chinatown. Oakland's Chinatown includes a historic and still thriving fortune cookie factory.

Although it is overshadowed by its well-known counterpart in San Francisco and also suffering from a high crime rate, the Chinatown area is bustling with activity. Other Asian cultures are represented in Oakland's Chinatown as it has also been settled by non-Chinese Asians such as ethnic Vietnamese (many of whom operate many of Chinatown's jewelry businesses), Koreans, and Thais making it more of a pan-Asian area as opposed to a "Chinatown". The biggest thing is that the Chinatown makes tax revenue for the city of Oakland.

The Japanese arrived in Oakland in the 1890s mostly in West Oakland around Market Street. Later, hundreds were living in the section between Harrison and Oak Streets south of 8th Street. They owned several stores in Chinatown. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, all Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps. The Masuda family had posted a large "I Am An American" sign outside their Oakland grocery store, Wanto Company, at 8th and Franklin Street.[3] Many did not return to Oakland after the war ended. The Buddhist Church of Oakland is one of the few institutions remaining of Oakland's Japantown.[4]

[edit] People and culture

The residents of Oakland Chinatown include Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, Cambodian, Laotian, Mien, Thai, Samoan and others. Consequently, many languages and dialects can be heard, including Cantonese, Chiu-Chow, Ilocano, Japanese, Khmer, Khmu, Korean, Lao, Malay, Mandarin, Mien, Tagalog, Taiwanese, Thai, Toishan, and Vietnamese.

[edit] Annual cultural events and fairs

A crowded sidewalk during the 2006 Chinatown StreetFest.
A crowded sidewalk during the 2006 Chinatown StreetFest.
  • Dragon boat race The 8th Annual California International Dragon Boat Festival, "Return of the Dragon" will return on August 13-14, 2005 at Jack London Square in Oakland.[5]
  • The Oakland Chinatown StreetFest has been held on the 4th weekend of August annually since 1988.[6]

[edit] Performing arts

Chinese opera was one of the first traditional Chinese art forms in Oakland. In 1907, a Chinese Theater at 9th and Franklin Streets opened which could seat 500 people and had a company of 30 full-time actors from China. Today, three styles of opera clubs are very active in Oakland: Cantonese opera. Beijing opera, and Kunqu.

[edit] Libraries

The Asian Branch Library is one of Oakland Public Library's busiest branch.[7] The Asian Library is unique among public library branches in the United States as it houses eight Asian languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian, Tagalog and Laotian) in major reference titles and general subject titles, an Asian Studies collection and an in-depth Asian American collection in English.

The Asian Branch Library was founded in 1975 as part of a Federal Library Services Construction Act grant to create a model library serving the Asian community in Oakland with multilingual staff and collections. In 1978, the branch moved from its original location at the Park Boulevard to the Main Library. In 1981, it moved to its own building at 9th street and Broadway. The current location in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza opened to the public in 1995.

[edit] Notable natives and residents

[edit] Geography

Oakland Chinatown (8th and Webster Streets) is located at 37°47'57" North, 122°16'17" West (37.799252, -122.27145). Elevation is about 34 feet above sea level.

Signs in Chinatown are translated into Chinese as well as English.
Signs in Chinatown are translated into Chinese as well as English.

Chinatown is located in Downtown between Broadway to the west, Interstate 880 to the south, Oak Street and Laney College to the east, and 12th Street to the north. The entrance to the Webster Tube, which carries traffic underneath the estuary, is on the edge of Chinatown. Unlike many Chinatowns, it has no formal arch (Paifang) or gate, but it does have bilingual street signs.

The neighborhood can be roughly divided into two distinct areas: Between Broadway and Harrison Street is the commercial area, with busy streets lined with markets, restaurants, banks, and other businesses. Several new buildings have been built in the last few years. East of Harrison Street, the neighborhood is primarily residential, with little pedestrian activity and only a handful of stores.

Recent immigrants have also moved south into "New Oakland Chinatown" in the San Antonio neighborhood along International Blvd (formerly East 14th Street) and Eastlake business district on East 18th Street.

[edit] Government

[edit] Representatives

[edit] Police and fire

Oakland Fire Department, Engine Company No. 12 is located at 822 Alice Street at 9th Street.[13] Fire engine 2552 is assigned to this fire station. The latest firefighter to die in the line of duty was from Engine Company No. 12. Hoseman Tracy Toomey died January 10, 1999 in a 2 story building collapse after responding to a 6 alarm fire on upper Broadway.

Chinatown is in Oakland Police Department's Beat 3X.[14] The Community Services Section hosts the Asian Advisory Committee on Crime and the Asian Youth Services Committee.[15][16]

The Chinatown Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council meets monthly. Meetings are conducted in Cantonese.

[edit] Infrastructure

[edit] Transportation

A crowded Chinatown Sidewalk.
A crowded Chinatown Sidewalk.

Located at the crossroads of the 880 freeway, the tubes linking Alameda and Oakland, and downtown, Oakland Chinatown bears a significant transportation burden that dates back to the 1950s. Over 20,000 shoppers and tourists use its sidewalks every weekend, and the traffic on I-880 is over 100,000 cars per day. Chinatown has the highest number of pedestrian collisions in the City of Oakland. A pedestrian safety campaign brought in the first scramble system in Alameda County to Oakland Chinatown to prevent further pedestrian fatalities and injuries.[17][18]

Oakland is served by several AC Transit bus lines which run on 7th, 8th, 11th, 12th, Broadway, and Franklin Streets.

The neighborhood has two BART stations: 12th Street Station on its northwest corner, and Lake Merritt Station at its eastern edge.

[edit] Education

Chinatown includes:

  • The Mun Fu Yuen "Chinese school" has after school classes in Cantonese Chinese language and culture at the Oakland Chinese Community Center on 9th Street at Harrison.
  • The Lighthouse Community Charter School started in the 2004 - 2005 school year with grades K-2 and 6-8. LCCS intends to enroll two new grade levels each year until they serve grades K – 12 school in 2008 – 2009.[20]
  • Cal State East Bay has the Oakland Professional Development and Conference Center at Broadway and 11th Street. Continuing education courses includes a certificate program in Teaching Chinese as a Heritage or Other Language.

[edit] References

[edit] Books

[edit] Websites

  1. ^ Oakland's Old Uptown Chinatown
  2. ^ China Camp State Park
  3. ^ "I Am An American" photo by Dorothea Lange
  4. ^ Buddhist Church of Oakland website
  5. ^ International Dragon Boat Association
  6. ^ Oakland Chinatown StreetFest website
  7. ^ Asian Branch Library website
  8. ^ California Assembly District 16
  9. ^ About Alice Lai-Bitker - District 3 - Board of Supervisors - Alameda County
  10. ^ City of Oakland Officials
  11. ^ City Council District 2 map
  12. ^ KTVU.com - News - Kernighan Elected To Oakland City Council
  13. ^ Oakland Fire Department: Home
  14. ^ Beat 3x website
  15. ^ Asian Youth Service Committee
  16. ^ Community Services Section at http://oaklandpolice.com
  17. ^ UC Berkeley Pedestrian scramble evaluation
  18. ^ Allyson K. Bechtel, Kara E. MacLeod, and David R. Ragland, "Oakland Chinatown Pedestrian Scramble: An Evaluation" (December 17, 2003). U.C. Berkeley Traffic Safety Center. Paper UCB-TSC-RR-2003-06. http://repositories.cdlib.org/its/tsc/UCB-TSC-RR-2003-06
  19. ^ Lincoln Elementary School website
  20. ^ Lighthouse Community Charter School website


[edit] Further reading

  • Ah-Tye, Howard (1999). Resourceful Chinese. Matai Group.
  • Chann, Ernest (1976). "Brief History of Oakland Chinatown." Unpublished monograph. At Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.
  • Chow, Willard T. (June 1, 1977). The Reemergence of an Inner City: The Pivot of Chinese Settlement in the East Bay Region of the San Francisco Bay Area. R & E Pub. ISBN 0-88247-457-X
  • Ma, L. Eva Armentrout (January 1, 2001). Hometown Chinatown: A History of Oakland's Chinese Community, 1852-1995. (Asian Americans). Garland Publishing. ISBN 0-8153-3760-4

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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