Chinatown | |
---|---|
Business Improvement Area (BIA) | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
City | Ottawa |
Ottawa's Chinatown is located along Somerset Street west of downtown Ottawa. It runs from Bay Street in the east to Preston Street in the west (according to the Chinatown BIA). Signs for Chinatown continue along Somerset until Preston Street, and Chinese/Asian restaurants can be found even farther west.
The BIA was designated in 1989 and was named Somerset Heights until it was renamed Chinatown in 2005.
While officially designated "Chinatown," the area is home to businesses from many Asian cultures, such as Vietnamese, Korean and Thai. Restaurants specializing in Phở and dim sum are quite common. The Ottawa Chinatown has on one hand an urban character as it is not a cluster of strip malls, but on the other hand, it is focused on one commercial street, surrounded exclusively by residential areas.
A traditional Paifang archway has been built upon the entrance to the western section of Chinatown over Somerset Street, west of Bronson Avenue. It was unveiled in the early Fall of 2010. [1]
Although Chinese had been in Ottawa in the early part of the 20th century (first census reporting Chinese residents in 1911), the official existence of Chinatown began in 1931 on Albert Street from Kent Street to O'Connor Street. [2] This first Chinatown began to decline beginning in the 1940s and ceased to exist on Albert Street by the 1970s, but the second and current Chinatown had begun to rise in the 1960s on Somerset Street West and finally displaced the old area by 1982. [2]
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Australasia.
Toronto Chinatowns are ethnic enclaves in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with a high concentration of ethnic Chinese residents and businesses. These neighbourhoods are major cultural, social and economic hubs for the Chinese-Canadian communities of the region. In addition to Toronto, several areas in the Greater Toronto Area also hold a high concentration of Chinese residents and businesses.
Chinatown is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is Canada's largest Chinatown. Centered around Pender Street, it is surrounded by Gastown to the north, the Downtown financial and central business districts to the west, the Georgia Viaduct and the False Creek inlet to the south, the Downtown Eastside and the remnant of old Japantown to the northeast, and the residential neighbourhood of Strathcona to the southeast.
Little Italy is a neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and the cultural centre of Ottawa's Italian community. Situated in Centretown West, it is bounded by Albert Street to the north, Carling Avenue to the south, the O-Train Trillium Line to the west, and approximately Bronson Avenue to the east, while the neighbourhood's main commercial area is along Preston Street.
Chinatowns in Asia are widespread with a large concentration of overseas Chinese in East Asia and Southeast Asia and ethnic Chinese whose ancestors came from southern China - particularly the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, and Hainan - and settled in countries such as Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Korea centuries ago—starting as early as the Tang Dynasty, but mostly notably in the 17th through the 19th centuries, and well into the 20th century. Today the Chinese diaspora in Asia is largely concentrated in Southeast Asia however the legacy of the once widespread overseas Chinese communities in Asia is evident in the many Chinatowns that are found across East, South and Southeast Asia.
Somerset Street is a street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into Somerset Street East and Somerset Street West by the Rideau Canal.
A paifang, also known as a pailou, is a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch or gateway structure. Evolved from the Indian subcontinent's torana through the introduction of Buddhism to China, it has developed many styles and has been introduced to other East Asian countries, such as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
The Plant Bath is a historical bath in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was built along with the Champagne Bath in 1924 to try to improve the hygiene and well-being of the city's lower classes. It was named after Frank H. Plant, then mayor of Ottawa. It is located at 930 Somerset Street West at the intersection with Preston Street. It is in the centre of the Italian-Canadian community and near the Chinese-Canadian areas of the city.
Chinatown in Montreal is located in the area of De la Gauchetière Street in Montreal. The neighbourhood contains many Asian restaurants, food markets, and convenience stores as well being home to many of Montreal's East Asian community centres, such as the Montreal Chinese Hospital and the Montreal Chinese Community and Cultural Center.
Centretown West is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It lies to the west of Bronson Avenue, east of the O-Train Trillium Line, north of Carling Avenue, and south of Nanny Goat Hill, which is an escarpment to the north of Somerset Street West. To the east lies Centretown, to the north lies Lebreton Flats, to the west lies Hintonburg, and to the south lies Dow's Lake. Much of the neighbourhood makes up what is also called Dalhousie.
Preston Street is a street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, running between Scott Street in the north and Prince of Wales Drive and Queen Elizabeth Driveway in the south. It is the main commercial artery in Little Italy, home to numerous small business and Italian restaurants, and is synonymous with "Little Italy" to many Ottawa residents when referring to area businesses.
East Vancouver is a region within the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Geographically, East Vancouver is bordered to the north by Burrard Inlet, to the south by the Fraser River, and to the east by the city of Burnaby. East Vancouver is divided from Vancouver's "West Side" by Ontario Street.
Bloor West Village is a shopping district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located along Bloor Street, it encompasses all businesses along Bloor Street between South Kingsway and Ellis Park Road, consisting of more than 400 shops, restaurants and services. The mix of stores include specialty clothing stores, book stores, restaurants and cafes. The businesses organized in 1970 into the first mandatory business improvement district, an idea that has spread to numerous other commercial streets in Toronto and to cities around the world.
Little Portugal is a neighbourhood and ethnic enclave in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located west of downtown in the "Old" City of Toronto. It is bound on the west by Lansdowne Avenue, on the north by College Street, on the east by Ossington Avenue and on the south by the Go Transit and Union Pearson Express railway tracks. The area is mainly residential, with Portuguese businesses along Dundas Street West and College Street. The area west of Dufferin Street was a part of the former Town of Brockton. The area to the east of Dufferin and south of Dundas Street is also known as "Beaconsfield Village" dating back to the days of the sub-division of lots in the area around Beaconsfield Avenue.
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 West Coast. By 1875, Chinatowns had emerged in eastern cities such as New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigration to the United States, was passed into law. In 1943, the Magnuson Act repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the population of Chinatowns began to rise again. In the 2010s, the downturn in the U.S. economy caused many Chinese Americans to return to China.
Chinatowns in Canada generally exist in the large cities of Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Montreal, and existed in some smaller towns throughout the history of Canada. Prior to 1900, almost all Chinese were located in British Columbia, but have spread throughout Canada thereafter. From 1923 to 1967, immigration from China was suspended due to exclusion laws. In 1997, the handover of Hong Kong to China caused many from there to flee to Canada due to uncertainties. Canada had about 25 Chinatowns across the country between the 1930s to 1940s, some of which have ceased to exist.
Gold Coast Chinatown in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia is primarily located in Davenport and Young Streets. It also includes the connecting laneways and parts of Nerang, Garden and Scarborough Streets, Southport. Gold Coast Chinatown is part of the revitalisation of Southport as a central business district for Gold Coast city.
First Chinatown is a retronym for a former neighbourhood in Toronto, an area that once served as the city's Chinatown. The city's original Chinatown existed from the 1890s to the 1970s, along York Street and Elizabeth Street between Queen and Dundas Streets within St. John's Ward. However, more than two thirds of it was expropriated and razed starting in the late 1950s to build the new Toronto City Hall and its civic square, Nathan Phillips Square.
Chinatown, Toronto known also as Downtown Chinatown or West Chinatown is a Chinese ethnic enclave located in the city's downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centred at the intersections of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street, West.
The City of Ottawa and the Somerset Street Chinatown Business Improvement Association (BIA), along with the governments of Canada and Ontario and the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Canada, today celebrated the completion of the Ottawa Chinatown Gateway project. The new gateway is an official entrance into Ottawa's Chinatown. It is also part of a "twin-city" project between Ottawa and Beijing, China.