Chinatown in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, was a
Chinatown near
Downtown St. Louis
Downtown St. Louis is the central business district of St. Louis, Missouri, the hub of tourism and entertainment, and the anchor of the St. Louis metropolitan area. The downtown is bounded by Cole Street to the north, the river front to the eas ...
that existed from 1869 until its demolition for
Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium II, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 through 2005.
The stadium served as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals National League ...
in 1966.
[Ling, 16.] Also called Hop Alley, it was bounded by Seventh, Tenth, Walnut and Chestnut streets.
[Virtual St. Louis: Chinatown Web site]
History
The first Chinese
immigrant to St. Louis was Alla Lee, born in
Ningbo
Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
near
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
, who arrived in the city in 1857. Lee remained the only Chinese immigrant until 1869, when a group of about 250 immigrants (mostly men) arrived seeking
factory
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. ...
work.
[Ling, 26.] In January 1870, another group of Chinese immigrants arrived, including some women.
[Ling, 27.] By 1900, the immigrant population of St. Louis Chinatown had settled at between 300 and 400.
[Ling, 30.] Chinatown established itself as the home to
Chinese hand laundries, which in turn represented more than half of the city's laundry facilities.
[Ling, 36.] Other businesses included
groceries
A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...
,
restaurants
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
,
tea shops,
barber shops, and
opium dens
An opium den was an establishment in which opium was sold and smoked. Opium dens were prevalent in many parts of the world in the 19th century, most notably China, Southeast Asia, North America, and France. Throughout the West, opium dens were ...
.
[Ling, 43.] Between 1958 and the mid-1960s, Chinatown was
condemned
Condemned or The Condemned may refer to:
Legal
* Persons awaiting execution
* A condemned property, or condemned building, by a local authority, usually for public health or safety reasons
* A condemned property seized by power of eminent domain
...
and demolished for
urban renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
and to make space for
Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium II, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 through 2005.
The stadium served as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals National League ...
.
See also
*
Chinese in St. Louis
*
History of St. Louis, Missouri
*
List of Chinatowns in the United States
Chinatowns are enclaves of Chinese people outside of China. The first Chinatown in the United States was San Francisco's Chinatown in 1848, and many other Chinatowns were established in the 19th century by the Chinese diaspora on the Wes ...
*
Organization of Chinese Americans
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
{{Chinese American
Asian-American culture in Missouri
St Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
Culture of St. Louis
Populated places established in 1869
1966 disestablishments in Missouri
Neighborhoods in St. Louis
1869 establishments in Missouri