Whenever I go to a new city, I'm interested in ballparks, tallest buildings, landmark structures, statues, and.....where its Chinatown is located. My first residence in America was near Chicago's Chinatown, after all. Like major airports and sports teams, a city is not complete without its Chinatown.
I've lived in Los Angeles and surrounding areas for several years now, and there are some atypical things about this city: the lack of tall buildings in downtown, the lack of public transportation (one of the only cities I've ever been to without a direct train ride form the main airport (LAX) to downtown, or anywhere for that matter), the proximity to the beach and large expanse of beach land, the forced relocation of many families from Chavez Ravine to build a baseball stadium (Dodger Stadium), etc., etc. This past Friday night, MJ and I visited one of the more puzzling aspects of the city, to me: the relatively abandoned Chinatown.
First of all, there are 2 Chinatowns in Los Angeles, "old Chinatown" near L.A. downtown and then "new Chinatown" in the San Gabriel Valley areas of Monterrey Park, Alhambra, etc. As far as I can remember, my family has only ever gone to the "new Chinatown," and left the "old Chinatown" behind. But as MJ and I walked down the mostly-abandoned streets of Broadway and Main making up the main areas of old Chinatown (you can even find street parking, which is a sure sign an area is not busy!) we couldn't help but wonder why the place wasn't more bustling with activity. It's got a lot going for it:
1.) location near downtown L.A. and Dodger Stadium: I pass Chinatown every time I run from my office in downtown L.A. to Elysian Park and Dodger Stadium. It's a short bus ride away from downtown and even has a gold line subway stop now connecting to L.A. Union Station. It's more accessible than the airport and much closer to the financial center! Don't have to wait in traffic!
2.) Recognizable film presence! Rush Hour starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker was filmed at the Foo Chow Restaurant and it's displayed prominently on its walls attracting patrons to come in, as well as parts of Lala Land.
3.) New restaurants springing up! MJ was very interested in Howlin' Rays, a fried chicken joint imitating the famous Nashville hot chicken places. Videos showed lines formed for lunch, but the restaurant was closed by 4PM on a Friday! Incredible, indicating that there's demand for stuff, just not at dinner, when people go to more hip areas of Los Angeles. The legendary french dip sandwich place called Philippe's is also there. The place is just brimming with history and tradition!
4.) New residential developments cropping up, although local residents (mostly Chinese and Hispanic) are not happy because the higher-end shops and residents they're attracting are not the type that fit the local tradition.
5.) Food's pretty good and cheap! People love Chinese food! Store owners seemed to be Chinese and making authentic Chinese food (dim sum!) and prices were certainly low enough to get my attention as opposed to blowing $60 plus on the newest trendy joint in Hollywood/Santa Monica.
L.A. supposedly is an upcoming and city, and there are new areas that become hip and trendy, so there's definitely hope for "old Chinatown" to have a makeover, especially the convenient real estate where it sits. I just wish that on a Friday night after a long week for Los Angeles residents where Halloween happened and the Dodgers lost an epic 7-game World Series and have many reasons to disperse of some pent-up energy, that MJ and I would not be the only ones sitting in a decent Chinese restaurant (the B rating just shows how authentic and hole-in-a-wall it is!) and disappointed to find that the hot chicken place we heard so much about was closed. Free Chinatown! Make old Chinatown great again!
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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