Chinatown (Washington, DC)
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Chinatown in Washington, DC is a small, historic neighborhood east of downtown, in the present day consisting of a handful of ethnic Chinese and other Asian restaurants and small businesses along H and I Streets between 6th and 8th Streets, Northwest. It is known for its annual Chinese New Year festival and parade and the Friendship Arch, a Chinese gate built over H Street at 7th Street; however, its most prominent landmark is the MCI Center, a sports and entertainment arena. The neighborhood is served by the Gallery Place-Chinatown station of the Washington Metro.
History
The Chinatown area was formerly populated by German immigrants; it is coincidentally the modern home of the Washington branch of the Goethe-Institut. Chinese immigrants began to populate the area in the 1930s, marking it with decorative metal latticework and railings as well as Chinese signage. At its peak, Chinatown was deemed to extend from G Street north to Massachusetts Avenue, and from 9th Street east to 5th Street.
Like other Washington neighborhoods, Chinatown declined sharply after the 1968 riots. Ethnic Chinese residents, as well as many others, left for suburban areas, spurred further by the city's rising crime and taxes, and deteriorating business climate. When the Washington Metro station serving the neighborhood opened in 1976, it was named simply "Gallery Place," ignoring Chinatown altogether.
In 1986, the city dedicated the Friendship Archway, a traditional Chinese gate designed by local architect Alfred H. Liu. The colorful, $1 million work of public art includes 7 roofs up to 60 feet high, 7000 tiles, and 272 painted dragons in the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Erected to celebrate friendship with Washington's sister city of Beijing, it was hoped the arch would reinforce the neighborhood's Chinese character.
In 1986 the Metro station was given its present name, Gallery Place-Chinatown. By then, however, most of the neighborhood's eponymous population had already moved to the suburbs. A peripheral section was torn down for the construction of the old Washington Convention Center at 900 9th St NW; the city constructed the Wah Luck House at 6th and H Sts. NW to accommodate the displaced residents in 1982. The core of the neighborhood was demolished to make way for the MCI Center, completed in 1997. Since then, high real estate costs and other effects of gentrification have priced family businesses out of the area.
A newer Chinatown has arisen in the suburb of Rockville, Maryland and it is rapidly growing.
External link
Building a Mystery (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/archives/cover/2001/cover0525.html) - Washington City Paper article on D.C.'s Chinatown area.