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Text by !WING-KAI!TO Photographs by !JOHN!D#!WOOLF
HANGE and ONTINUITY
in Boston’s Chinatown Streetscape
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OSTON’S"CHINATOWN"IS"A"RESILIENT" community with a long history of se!lement and development dating to the 1870s. Its historical streetscape, adjacent to downtown and highways, distinguishes it as one of the more enduring Chinatowns in the United States. Since the 1990s the Chinatown neighborhood has experienced a renaissance a"er a long period of neglect, discrimination, and gentrification. The 2020 Boston Chinatown Master Plan—a document dra"ed every ten years in a community-led effort—seeks to develop and maximize affordable housing, improve community health and quality of life, and preserve the community as a historical and cultural district. The state government and the community have worked together to adopt zoning protection of traditional row houses and preserve historical buildings for affordable rentals in the community. Influxes of Chinese international students and new residents in the neighborhood have also patronized restaurants and shops in the business core.
Then COVID-19 suddenly dealt a severe blow to the vitality and livelihood of Boston’s Chinatown communities. The news of coronavirus in China as early as January of last year led to rising anti-Chinese sentiment targeting local Chinese and Asian Americans. The “China virus” label created a negative perception of Chinatown, insinuating that it was unsafe. Since the pandemic hit in mid-March of 2020, local restaurants, retail, and small businesses were, and continue to be, devastated. While the shutdown affected everyone in Boston, Chinatown was particularly hard hit since the narrow sidewalks and small storefronts make outdoor dining hazardous, if not impossible. In 2017 photographer John D. Woolf documented storefronts and street scenes. His original intention was to highlight threats to the neighborhood from gentrification and development. The following pages illustrate some of the more popular restaurants and buildings in the neighborhood reflecting changes in the community. HistoricNewEngland.org
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