Fig. 1 Chinatownland Art Installation by Andre Yi 2002
Oriental Romance: The Construction of Chinatownland in Los Angeles
TONG Ka Hei Surin 3035422908 ARCH7163 Modern Chinese Architecture and Its Geopolitical Context The University of Hong Kong Department of Architecture
Semester 2, 2017-18
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Introduction “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown” (Fig. 2). Directed by Roman Polanski, this last curtain line from Hollywood classic Chinatown (1974) (Fig. 3) is undoubtedly one of the most classic quotes in Film Noir. Titled Chinatown, it was in fact not filmed nor set in Los Angeles’s Chinatown except for the last scene, where a murder took place, admist an unconcerned and detached Chinese crowd, forming the backdrop. Doherty 1 and Eaton 2 revealed that Polanski used “Chinatown” as synecdoche for the actual Los Angeles Chinatown and neighborhood. It reveals a state of mind that Chinatown was an “impenetrable”3 “zone of moral confusion” 4 where it is best to do “as little as possible”5; and further complicates that Los Angeles is indeed “Chinatown”. The city’s image is entirely built on nostalgia –the past being a better place than in the present 6 . Chinatown’s portrayal by Polanski as an imaginary construct has in turn provided this paper’s framework. This paper aims to explore whether Chinatowns as a physical entity, is in fact an imaginary construct.
Literature Review As put forth by Polanski’s Chinatown, contains diversified meanings from different perspectives. Generally it refers to the concentration of ethnic Chinese7 and related economic activities8 in a
1
Doherty, Thomas. "Chinatown: Reappraisal of a Hollywood Classic.(Critical Essay)." Cineaste 37, no. 3 (2012): 18-19. 2 Eaton, Michael. Chinatown. Edited by Institute British Film London: British Film Institute, 1997. 3 Lin, Jan. "Encountering Chinatown Tourism, Voyeurism, and the Cinema." In Reconstructing Chinatown: Ethnic Enclave, Global Change, 171-88. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998. 4 Doherty, Thomas. 2012. 5 It is also one of the lines in the movie. 6 Andersen, Thom. "Los Angeles Plays Itself [Videorecording]." Modcinema.com, 2004. 7 including immigrants from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan 8 Crowder, Linda Sun. "Mortuary Practices and the Construction of Chinatown Identity [Electronic Resource]." Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Hawaii, (2002): 384. Page 2 of 29
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confined area, forming a self-contained9 “ethnic” enclave or community characterized physically by Chinese architectural elements10. Different scholars have provided various definitions to this, with their views incongruous by fact of differences in location and scope of analysis. Lin11,Umbach12,Tsui13 and Zhou14 suggested Chinatown historically represents a fabricated and timeless image of ancient, exotic, mysterious world where unassimilated newcomers or “others” congregate. This phenomenon did not exist in China15 in terms of visual-structural morphology16. Recently, scholars argued that Chinatown should be viewed additionally as a physical entity, but also as an imaginary construct17 and idealization of a town architecturally18.
Argument This paper provides insights into the construction of the imagined Chinatown through historical cinematic analysis questions whether “Chinatown” in Los Angeles ever existed. Were the identities of Chinese associated with their motherland instead of imagined, mental concept as
9
Lai, David Chuenyan. Chinatowns: Towns within Cities in Canada. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1988. 10 Including Chinese architectures and structures, detailing and decorations on facades, design motifs, signage with Chinese characters, use of brilliant colors and etc Lai, David Chuenyan. "Socio-Economic Structures and the Viability of Chinatown." In Residential and Neighbourhood Studies in Victoria, edited by C N Forward, 101. Victoria: University of Victoria, 1973. 11 Lin, Jan. Reconstructing Chinatown [Electronic Resource] : Ethnic Enclave, Global Change. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998. 12 Umbach, Greg, and Dan Wishnoff. "Strategic Self-Orientalism." Journal of Planning History 7, no. 3 (2008): 21438. 13 Tsui, Bonnie. "American Pagodas - Behind the Tourist Architecture." In American Chinatown : A People's History of Five Neighborhoods, 13-29. New York: Free Press, 2009. 14 Zhou, Min. Chinatown : The Socioeconomic Potential of an Urban Enclave. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992. 15 China here is used as a general term and includes Macau, Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan Crowder, Linda Sun. 2002 16 Salter, Christopher L. San Francisco's Chinatown : How Chinese a Town? San Francisco: R & E Research Associates, 1978. 17 Crowder, Linda Sun. 2002 18 Salter, Christopher L.1978. Page 3 of 29
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opposed to common perceptions of Chinatown where Chinese-Americans’ identities developed? Is Chinatown an imaginary landscape and symbolic representative of Chinese-American’s motherland for cultural expression and survival of Chinese? Henceforth, is Chinatown an imagined and culturally cogent entity where overlapping and fragmented and dislocated identities rooted19 instead of physical Chinatown?
Old Chinatown Los Angeles Chinatown originated in California Gold Rush when large numbers of Chinese migrated to the area in hope of escaping political instability at home 20 and finding their fortune in the United States. Established in 1880, ld Chinatown (1880-1939) (Fig. 4) is located in modern day Union Station before its demolishment in 1939. As the capital of film industry, Chinatown in Los Angeles became a backdrop for films with Oriental scenes 21(Fig. 5). Early dwellings were tightly packed wooden structures with crocked and narrow alleyways 22.
Films and Chinatowns A bachelor society formed largely due to male engaged in infrastructural-construction works and later laundry shops and restaurants. The Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 resulted from and
19
Quoting Hall 1996:598 by Crowder, Linda Sun. 2002 Refers to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851-1864) and unstable late Qing Dynasty political situations 21 For example Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid 1921 and Stan Laurel’s Mandarin Mix up 1924 22 Greenwood, Roberta S. Down by the Station : Los Angeles Chinatown, 1880-1933. Los Angeles: Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1996. Bingham, Edwin R. "The Saga of the Los Angeles Chines." Occidental College, 1942. 20
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intensified the anti-Chinese feelings (Yellow Peril 23 ) amongst Native Americans. “Chinese settlements were regarded as dilapidate and the place was necessarily associated with disease and immorality24. These have constituted the depiction of an inferior, marginalized, asexual25 and even evil incarnation of Chinese in American media before the Second World War (WWII) 26. Dr Fu Manchu as one of most representational image of the Chinese at the time as a Satan-faced evil that fights to overthrow Western civilization 27(Fig. 6). Improved Sino-American relations during WWII due to the wartime alliance against Japan’s expansionist ambitions refashioned Americans’ image of the Chinese in late 1930s, portraying hardworking qualities in movies such as The Good Earth 1937 28 (Fig. 7). Detective Charlie Chan (Fig. 8) was another world-famous character created during that time and was listed as an official anti-Japanese film29. Interestingly, Swedish Actor Warner Oland played both roles of Fu Manchu (1929-31) and Charlie Chan (1932-37); arguably epitomizing a shift in the Americans’ attitude towards Chinese30. These seemingly positive Chinese figures were nevertheless acted by white actors continuing the long-standing yellowface practice and were criticized as being racist by
23
Refers to the Fear of Westerns on Asians in taking over jobs and conquer the Western world. Loo, Chalsa M. 1998 25 Charlier chan was commented by some critics of him being asexual in his walks and gestures. The westerns tried to control and stereotype sexuality of Chinese as a form of racial domination as suggested by Shim, Doobo. 1998. 26 This includes films, poems, novels, photographs, news articles and etc. Shim, Doobo. 1998 Han, Qi jun. 2009. 27 Lin, Jan. 1998. 28 Jones, Dorothy B. The Portrayal of China and India on the American Screen, 1896-1955: The Evolution of Chinese and Indian Themes, Locales, and Characters as Portrayed on the American Screen. Massachusetts: Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1955. 29 Quoting Chin, Frank by Shim, Doobo. 1998 30 Clark, Craig J. "The Fu Manchu Series Could Never Get Made Today." (2017). Published electronically 5 Feb. https://film.avclub.com/the-fu-manchu-series-could-never-get-made-today-1798261569. 24
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portraying stubborn images of the Chinese31. Speaking Pidgin English, Chinese were still regarded as “foreigners” and “others” after years of presence on the US soil32. Although improved Sino-US relations put an end to The Exclusion Act in 1943, it was once-again worsened by China’s Communist Revolution in 1949. It directly constituted China’s portrayal as a paradise of terrorism, evident by putting an end to the Charlie Chan series in 1949 33 and miraculous “reincarnation” of Fu ManChu in 1955 34 . Films played a major role throughout Chinatown’s history in shaping outsiders’ perception and understanding of the place, people and its culture through imagined and elaborated assumptions and spectacles of the “Orient”. Similarly, it has molded how Chinese-Americans, being objectified as exotic novelties, see themselves 35. The intention of the Union station, which forced the demolition of the Old Chinatown in early 1930s (Fig. 9), was observed by Historian Mark Wild as “rebuilding the city’s physical, political and moral image” 36 that was hindered by the “hopeless blemish 37 ” Old Chinatown. Helpless dislocated Chinese, not possessing land ownership, were grateful when two rivalry Chinatown
31
All leading roles, even though being ethnically Chinese in the movie, were acted by white actors and actresses by applying tapes to eyelids and cheekbones, wearing baggy pants, speaking Pidgin English and practicing “old country traditions”. Chinese on the other hand could only play marginal or villain roles. Occasionally Chinese woman play supporting roles in movies, but they are mostly objects of white male sexual desire, villains or prostitutes instead of honorable Asian female roles and hated by audience. Shim, Doobo. 1998 Lin, Jan. 1998. 32 Quoting Hamamoto, Darrell Y. 1994 by Shim, Doobo. 1998 33 Lin, Jan. 1998. 34 Fu ManChu first appeared the TV series The Adventures of Fu Manchu (1955) after WWII Han, Qi jun. 2009. 35 Lee, Josephine. "Stage Orientalism and Asian American Performance from the Nineteenth into the Twentieth Century." In The Cambridge History of Asian American Literature, edited by Rajini Srikanth and Min Song, 55-70. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. 36
Quintana, Isabella Seong-Leong. "Shaken as by an Earthquake: Chinese Americans, Segregation, and Displacement in Los Angeles, 1870-1938.". Gum Saan Journal 32, no. 1 (2010). 37 Josi, Ward. "“Dreams of Oriental Romance”: Reinventing Chinatown in 1930s Los Angeles." Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum 20, no. 1 (2013): 19-42.a Page 6 of 29
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plans emerged and eventually realized – China City led by social activist Christine Sterling and New Chinatown led by Chinese-American engineer Peter SooHoo.
China City China City(Fig. 10), nicknamed Chinese Movie Land 38, opened 3 weeks earlier than the New Chinatown. It was developed by Christine Sterling, who transformed the nearby Olvera Street into a romanticized Mexican-themed tourist attraction39 while downplaying undesired details that may drive away potential visitors40. She was inspired by the recently-constructed El Paseo and would like to take forth the project in the new plot of acquired land by imitating the urban planning and architectures. She envisioned a Chinese-themed attraction that would model after Hollywood movie sets articulating towards the growing fascination with Chinese culture by Americans while providing jobs and stalls at a low rent to the dislocated Chinese community. Paramount Studios set designer William Tuntke was commissioned to be the artistic director along with architect Frederick Hust in 1937. Within 10 months, they completed design and construction focusing on the overall planning and venture of the city instead of articulating Chinese architectural details. Clean and paved roads with narrow alleyways were created in an orderly and safe manner punctuated with courtyards and lotus ponds with reference to El Paseo, mimicking the planning of Old Chinatown. A “Great Wall”41 (Fig. 11) surrounded the whole premises was
38
Luong, Annie. "Introduction to New Chinatown." http://www.chssc.org/History/ChinatownRemembered/Neighborhoods/. 39 Tsui, Bonnie. American Chinatown : A People'S History of Five Neighborhoods. 1st Free Press hardcover ed. ed. New York: Free Press, 2009. 40 Gow, William. "Building a Chinese Village in Los Angeles: Christine Sterling and the Residents of China City." Gum Saan Journal 32, no. 1 (2010). 41 Ed Ainsworth. 1938. In Josi, Ward. 2013. Page 7 of 29
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erected and dragon-shaped ornaments were used to decorate lampposts (Fig. 12) 42. Movie sets (Fig. 13) from the Academy-Award-winning-movie The Good Earth 43 stood in front of the Chinese film museum, in which visitors can visit after viewing the film, creating an overlap of filmic and built landscape. Merchants selling goods in the area played the role of seller, tenant, actor and entertainer. While the selection of merchandise or creation of menus were strictly controlled by western business directors, Chinese were required to wear costumes and some were commissioned to do rickshaw rides. Chinese opera, performances and parades were also organized occasionally with costumed speakers speaking in English 44 . Often, they also worked as extra actors in films, where in a synthesis of Chinatown, its people and the film industry emerged45. While it is obvious that China City was an imagined creation (Fig. 14) by Sterling to cater for visitors’ expectation, instead of accurately reflecting lives of Chinese-Americans in the 30, it is interesting to note that the buildings, as created by a studio set maker, were criticized as “rather nondescript”. They had with white plaster walls and tile roofs that resembled Mission Revival buildings without the abundance of Chinese decorative elements (Fig. 15) 46 . Ward further commented that the space was the only thing that is identified as Chinese rather than the buildings.
42
Josi, Ward. 2013. The infamous movie that gained five Academy Awards nomination is based on a Nobel-Prize-winning novel set in a backward Chinese village by Pearl Buck in 1931. The actual filming took place near Los Angeles constructing sets with Chinese style and the sets and props were later donated to China City as tourist spots. Estrada, William D. "Los Angeles' Old Plaza and Olvera Street: Imagined and Contested Space." Western Folklore 58, no. 2 (1999): 107- 129. Wikipedia. "The Good Earth (Film)." 2018. Xiaohui, Yuan. "電影：賽珍珠的「大地」Movie: Pearl S.Buck's the Good Earth." http://www.ritagiang.com/article.php?id=458. 44 Tsui, Bonnie. 2009. 45 Tsui, Bonnie. 2009. 46 Josi, Ward. 2013. 43
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Despite reconstruction after a fire in 1939 by the China City Merchant’s Association formed by vendors, China city ultimately burnt down in 1949 was never rebuilt. Interestingly, interviews revealed community with genuine relationships developed in China City as the community was required to operate within certain hours47. It was particularly evident among youths required to wear costumes and mingle around the small confined area after school. Interviewees expressed that China City provided them job opportunities at a low rent and established the respectability that Sterling promised48. Dissecting the interviews however, it could be concluded that the events and happenings of the space constituted the bonding amongst people instead of the place itself acting as a physical entity that led to the formations of bonds and memories. This could have developed in any city as long as the people have to spend a long time together in a confined space. What is more, China City just facilitated commercial activities to happen and Chinese-Americans are required to live elsewhere and only were present at the site within certain hours49. Conceived, designed and operated as an imaginary “otherness” construction, it seemed unlikely that China City really “existed”. Instead, the whole area “acted” as a large movie set embracing other smaller movie sets with Chinese-Americans “acting” as sellers and performers, outsiders “acting” as visitors and curators “acting” as directors and the production team. It is doubtful whether the identity of Chinese-Americans were constructed based on the physical dimensions of the space.
47
Gow, William. 2010. Original articles that included interviews interviewing ex-China City vendors. Gow, William. 2010. Josi, Ward. 2013. Chaiwat, Pamanee. Maintaining Authenticity in Ethnic Enclaves : Chinatown, Koreatown, and Thai Town, Los Angeles. Edited by University of Washington. Washington 2015. See, Lisa. On Gold Mountain: The 100-Year Odyssey of a Chinese-American Family. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. 49 Gow, William. 2010. 48
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New Chinatown New Chinatown (Fig. 16) on the other hand was opened later and was originally named “Chinatown on Broadway”50. It was curated by Chinese American Peter SooHoo and run largely by Chinese-American merchants in Old Chinatown, which makes it the first enclave operated, owned and controlled solely by non-Americans in the US51. It aimed at rehabilitating dislocated Chinese-Americans and dealt primarily with the land ownership problem of the newly acquired land52. Nonetheless, the project also took a similar approach as the China City in becoming a tourist spot to boost businesses through architectural means and abundance of curio shops and restaurants53 catered for westerners pairing with occasional parades and outdoor festivals 54. In contrary to the remote setting and cramped alleys of China City, wide avenues were created with a centered-expansive courtyard (Fig. 17). Buildings were characterized with commercial spaces at ground floor and residential above, providing a place to live, contrary to China City. Lavish gateways (Fig. 18), pagodas (Fig. 19), Chinese motifs (Fig. 20) and fluorescent lighting highlight the roofline characterized buildings that were individually commissioned by merchants. Most hired the same architects 55 commissioned by YC Hong (Fig. 21), a reputable ChineseAmerican lawyer who plays a major role in the development of New Chinatown56. The architects
50
Gow, William. 2010. Smith, Icy. The Lonely Queue: The Forgotten History of the Courageous Chinese Americans in Los Angeles. Gardena: East West Discovery Press, 2000. 52 "Chinatown Group Takes Land Option." Los Angeles Examiner, 13 Aug 1937. 53 Large numbers of restaurants sold Chop Suey, an Americanized version of Chinese food, and was not served in China. 54 Josi, Ward. 2013. 55 Erle Webster and Adrian Wilson Josi, Ward. 2013. 56 Chiavaroli, Linda. "Chinese-American Advocate, Y.C. Hong." (2015). Published electronically 15 Dec 2015. http://huntingtonblogs.org/2015/12/chinese-american-advocate-y-c-hong/. Josi, Ward. 2013. Cheng, Suellen, and Munson Kwok. "The Golden Years of Los Angeles Chinatown: The Beginning ". In The Golden Years: Los Angeles 1938-1988. California: Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, 1988. 51
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made reference to San Francisco’s Chinatown and books on Chinese art and architecture as inspirations for the architectural styles, internal furnishings, motifs and finishes. Chinese elements were all packed in cluster of shops and buildings. A new style called Chinese American, neither Chinese nor western, was being developed with the western architects’ perception and ChineseAmericans’ instructions and interpretation57. The continuous involvement with Hollywood films using New Chinatown as the backdrop rather than China City constituted largely to the “more accurate” projection of westerners on New Chinatown than the China City through actual involvement of Chinese-Americans58. It provided a ready-made set that is completed with actors. The New Chinatown other than a tourist spot and commercial area, represented itself or any other Chinatown in the world in films, resulting in a disorientation of location of Chinatown that can be present “everywhere”59. New Chinatown being a self-reliant and self-sustainable project, on the other hand, failed to a certain extent. Although buildings were self-initiated, their architectural styles were more or less the same and unsurprisingly lead people into conceiving the buildings were designed as a whole. The physical entity as a whole served as a repackaging marketing technique for Chinese-American merchants to brand Chinatown for the consumption of non-Chinese as an easy-identifiable tourist spot. Confined by the similar architectural style, Chinese-American merchants are “forced” to accept notions of what a Chinatown should be by reproducing architecturally similar structures to appeal to foreigner’s eye. Together, this building cluster created a physical entity and a static, pre-digested
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Chaiwat, Pamanee. 2015. Umbach, Greg, and Dan Wishnoff. 2008. 59 Tsui, Bonnie. 2009. 58
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image of a culture that masks and undermines the fluidity and complexity of the Chinese history and culture through reconstructing the imaginary “past” to serve “present” consumption60. The New Chinatown consequentially created a self-imposed stereotype that does not exist anywhere in China, but can exist everywhere in the world, becoming a simulacrum61. Built entirely on the definition and tastes shaped by westerners, the identity of Chinese-Americans failed to take root in this floating New Chinatown that indeed never existed.
Chinatown as an imaginary construct The two different approaches of the architectural design and construction of the two Chinatowns that merged in 1938 supports the argument that Chinatown is an imaginary construct instead of tangible buildings. The cinematic backgrounds have further blurred reality and idealized fiction into a misconception of what Chinatown is. Two polarized approaches initiated by western businessmen and Chinese-American merchants respectively have the same aim to foster tourism for urbanites and ended up constructing two Chinatowns that meant nothing but existed as a state of mind. Both Chinatowns are being compressed to become marketing tools that is lucrative to those with financial interests.
60
Mak, Anna-Lisa. "Negotiating Identity: Ethnicity, Tourism and Chinatown." Journal of Australian Studies 77 27, no. 77 (2003): 93-100. 61 It means an copy without an original. Mak, Anna-Lisa. 2003. Page 12 of 29
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Conclusion “Chinatownland” as an art installation erected in Los Angeles Chinatown serves as one of the most evocative and articulate art piece that refers to the ironies of Chinatown’s myth making history62. With referenced to the Hollywood sign and Disneyland, the letters serve as symbols that signifies the ambiguity and non-existence of the physical entity. Chinatown remains an imaginary construct represented by the series of letters that was fenced off in a piece of vacant land – it is a non-existent place there has no history.
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Appendix Literature Review of Chinatown
The study of Chinatowns began in 1960s and flourished in the 80s focused mainly on the physical transformation and development of Chinatown in relation to Chinese-American (Zhou63) and the historical, economic and socio-political factors behind the transformations (Loo64, Luong65). Geographically, San Francisco Chinatown being the first American Chinatown established topped the chart in terms of investigation interests (Salter66, Yeung67), followed by New York (Tchen68) and Washington DC (Khoo69). Limited analysis was done on Los Angeles Chinatown. Departed from the majority of Chinatown studies, a handful of scholars focused on the cultural analysis on cinematic depictions of Chinese and roles of Chinese-
63
Zhou, Min. Chinatown : The Socioeconomic Potential of an Urban Enclave. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992. 64 Loo, Chalsa M. Chinese America : Mental Health and Quality of Life in the Inner City. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1998. 65 Luong, Annie. "Introduction to New Chinatown." http://www.chssc.org/History/ChinatownRemembered/Neighborhoods/. Bingham, Edwin R. "The Saga of the Los Angeles Chines." Occidental College, 1942. 66 Salter, Christopher L.1978. 67 Yeung, Judy. Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. 68 Tchen, John Kuo Wei. New York before Chinatown : Orientalism and the Shaping of American Culture, 17761882. Orientalism and the Shaping of American Culture, 1776-1882. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999. 69 Khoo, Evelyn. "Under the Arch of Friendship : Culture, Urban Redevelopment and Symbolic Architecture in D.C. Chinatown, 1970s--1990s." 2009. Page 14 of 29
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Americans in Hollywood films (Lin70, Han71, Shim72, ) and some investigated into the architectural significance of Chinatown in relation to its physical attributes (Lai73, Mak74, Wong75). Nevertheless insufficient attention was paid on the relationship between the construction of Chinatown as both an architectural and imaginary entity through the analysis of Hollywood films in the discourse of the Chinatown in Los Angeles through the cultural historical approach in which movies have indeed largely shaped Chinatown through the actual creation of physical place and through cinematic depiction of Chinese since the 30s.
70
Lin, Jan. "Encountering Chinatown Tourism, Voyeurism, and the Cinema." In Reconstructing Chinatown: Ethnic Enclave, Global Change, 171-88. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998. 71 Han, Qi jun. "The Evolution of Chinese Images in American Fiction Films - from Stereotyped Representation to Complex Diversity." Master Thesis, Utrecht University, 2009. 72 Shim, Doobo. "From Yellow Peril through Model Minority to Renewed Yellow Peril." Journal of Communication Inquiry 22, no. 4 (1998): 385-409. 73 David Chuenyan Lai has in fact a substantial amount of publications of the architecture of Chinatown mainly focusing in Canada’s Chinatowns. Lai, David Chuenyan. 1988. Lai, David Chuenyan. 1990. 74 Mak, Anna-Lisa. "Negotiating Identity: Ethnicity, Tourism and Chinatown." Journal of Australian Studies 77 27, no. 77 (2003): 93-100. 75 Wong, Marie Rose. Sweet Cakes, Long Journey : The Chinatowns of Portland, Oregon. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2004. Page 15 of 29
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List of Figures
Figure 1 – Chinatownland (Edited by Author) Hester, Jeff. "Chinatownland." http://picssr.com/tags/chinatownland/interesting.
Figure 2 – “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown” Shaus, Robert. "Forget It Jake, It’s Chinatown." (2017). https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-ending-of-Chinatownespecially-the-last-line-so-good.
Figure 3 – Film poster of Chinatown Amazon. "Chinatown (1974) Movie Poster 24"X36"." (2018). https://www.amazon.com/Chinatown-Movie-Poster24-x36/dp/B00L9IVBSW. Page 16 of 29
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Figure 4 – Map and architectures of Old Chinatown Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey. "Asian American Historic Context Statement - Chinese Americans in Los Angeles." (2013). http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1054/files/chinese%20american%20context%209_25_2013.pdf.
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Figure 5 – The cameraman, Buster Keaton 1928 set in old Chinatown Bengtson, John. "Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Film Locations (and More)." (2011). https://silentlocations.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/stan-laurel-in-chaplins-footprints/.
Figure 6 – Fu Manchu Shim, Doobo. "From Yellow Peril through Model Minority to Renewed Yellow Peril." Journal of Communication Inquiry 22, no. 4 (1998): 385-409. Page 18 of 29
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Figure 7 – The Good Earth Lin, Jan. "Encountering Chinatown Tourism, Voyeurism, and the Cinema." In Reconstructing Chinatown: Ethnic Enclave, Global Change, 171-88. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998.
Figure 8 – Detective Charlie Chan Lin, Jan. "Encountering Chinatown Tourism, Voyeurism, and the Cinema." In Reconstructing Chinatown: Ethnic Enclave, Global Change, 171-88. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998.
Figure 9 – Demolition of the Old Chinatown Josi, Ward. "“Dreams of Oriental Romance”: Reinventing Chinatown in 1930s Los Angeles." Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum 20, no. 1 (2013): 19-42. Page 19 of 29
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v Figure 10 – China City Overview Josi, Ward. "“Dreams of Oriental Romance”: Reinventing Chinatown in 1930s Los Angeles." Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum 20, no. 1 (2013): 19-42.
Figure 11 – The “Great Wall” in China City Josi, Ward. "“Dreams of Oriental Romance”: Reinventing Chinatown in 1930s Los Angeles." Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum 20, no. 1 (2013): 19-42.
Figure 12 – Dragon Road repurposed flagpole Josi, Ward. "“Dreams of Oriental Romance”: Reinventing Chinatown in 1930s Los Angeles." Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum 20, no. 1 (2013): 19-42.
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Figure 13 – House of Wang with farm tools 1937 Josi, Ward. "“Dreams of Oriental Romance”: Reinventing Chinatown in 1930s Los Angeles." Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum 20, no. 1 (2013): 19-42.
Figure 14 – Promotional map of China City Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey. "Asian American Historic Context Statement - Chinese Americans in Los Angeles." (2013). http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1054/files/chinese%20american%20context%209_25_2013.pdf.
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Figure 15 – Featureless houses Josi, Ward. "“Dreams of Oriental Romance”: Reinventing Chinatown in 1930s Los Angeles." Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum 20, no. 1 (2013): 19-42.
Figure 16 – 1951 map of new Chinatown and greater Chinatown Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey. "Asian American Historic Context Statement - Chinese Americans in Los Angeles." (2013). http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1054/files/chinese%20american%20context%209_25_2013.pdf.
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Figure 17 – Along Gin Ling Way with West Gate 1939 Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey. "Asian American Historic Context Statement - Chinese Americans in Los Angeles." (2013). http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1054/files/chinese%20american%20context%209_25_2013.pdf.
Figure 18 –East Gate with fluorescent lights from Broadway Road 1942 Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey. "Asian American Historic Context Statement - Chinese Americans in Los Angeles." (2013). http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1054/files/chinese%20american%20context%209_25_2013.pdf.
Figure 19 – The Golden Pagoda with wishing well 1939 Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey. "Asian American Historic Context Statement - Chinese Americans in Los Angeles." (2013). http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1054/files/chinese%20american%20context%209_25_2013.pdf.
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Figure 20 – Rice Bowl Restaruant 1950 Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey. "Asian American Historic Context Statement - Chinese Americans in Los Angeles." (2013). http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1054/files/chinese%20american%20context%209_25_2013.pdf.
Figure 21 – YC Hong office 1938 designed by 2 architects 1938 Josi, Ward. "“Dreams of Oriental Romance”: Reinventing Chinatown in 1930s Los Angeles." Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum 20, no. 1 (2013): 19-42.
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