This page is referenced by:

• 1 media/graumans.jpeg 2021-04-27T23:47:48-07:00 Relation to Other Neighborhoods 28 plain 2021-04-28T13:04:09-07:00

  New Chinatown

  
  Much like China City, New Chinatown emerged in the aftermath of the destruction of Old Chinatown. Unlike China City, however, New Chinatown was founded, owned, and operated by Chinese-American residents. Peter Soo Hoo, a socilate and USC alumn who was instrumental in the development of New Chinatown, created the Los Agneles Chinatown Corporation, where he pooled together community investment to purchase the land for New Chinatown at 75 cents per square foot. Another key difference between New Chinatown and China City was that Chinese Americans could live and work in New Chinatown, forging a community similar to that of Old Chinatown, whereas Chinese Americans were not permitted to reside in China City. Still, New Chinatown featured anglo-centric tourist attractions, with chinoiserie architecture and bright neon lights. As New York Times bestselling author Lisa See once remarked, "[New Chinatown] was still, nevertheless, a tourist attraction . . . It was considered to be the first outdoor shopping mall." While New Chinatown and China City differed in terms of ownership and residency, they were at their core designed to package Chinese culture for anglo-Angeleno consumption.

  Grauman's Chinese Theater

  
  Built in 1927 on Hollywood Blvd., Grauman's Chinese Theater had a similar aesthetic to China City and parts of New Chinatown, namely the Chinese exotic revival style architecture. The theater is of course not a neighborhood itself, but it is tied up in the neighborhood and business of Hollywood. Hollywood, and Paramount Studios specifically, influenced public perceptions of Old Chinatown as a grimy place of tong wars, and China City was essentially a Hollywood set design. Grauman's Chinese Theatre was yet another fantasy and attraction for white taste, showcasing Hollywood's fascination with an exoticized and appropriated version of Chinese culture.

  
  
  
  
  Sonora Town and Olvera Street

  
  To the west of Old Chinatown were the streets of Sonora Town, another poor neighborhood, comprised mostly of immigrants from Sonora, Mexico. Both Old Chinatown and Sonora Town were the subject of neglect from the city, resulting in dilapidated buildings, unemployment, and poor living conditions. Avila Adobe, which was in Sonora Town, was one of "26 structures ticketed for demolition" in the late 1920s, around the same time as plans to demolish Old Chinatown.
  
  Instead of fully demolishing the Avila Adobe, Christine Sterling, who later built China City, campaigned to turn this area into Olvera Street. This new block would capitalize on Mexican culture as an ethnic enclave designed for Anglo tourism. In order to get the approval of investors and public officials, Christine levied the Los Angeles Times, which, as we saw with Old Chinatown, had much sway in public opinion on neighborhoods. This process shows, once again, the power that white people have in controlling land, especially through media and public discourse. Suddenly, white people in power poured resources into land they had previously devalued, as was the case with the Old Chinatown transition to Union Station. Indeed, the settler colonial system that enabled this process also leveraged its arm of law enforcement in using prison labor to build Olvera Street (OlveraStreet.com, "History").

  
  
  Little Tokyo

  
  
  
  Also in Downtown, Little Tokyo was another ethnic enclave, an area where Japanese immigrants had first settled in the late 1800s, as was the case with Chinese immigrants in Old Chinatown. Also like Old Chinatown, the neighborhood was full of living quarters, businesses, schools, and churches. However, during World War II, the U.S. government forced Japanese people out of the neighborhood and into internment camps. Empty of residents and workers, Little Tokyo "virtually shut down" (National Park Service, "Little Tokyo Historic District"). Thus, in a very violent way, Japanese people of this neighborhood were also subject to organized abandonment, policing, and de-peopling of space.