Old Town Chinatown | |
---|---|
Neighborhood | |
Coordinates: 45°31′31″N122°40′21″W / 45.52528°N 122.67246°W PDF map | |
Country | United States |
State | Oregon |
City | Portland |
Government | |
• Association | Old Town Chinatown Neighborhood Association |
Area | |
• Total | 0.20 sq mi (0.53 km2) |
Population | |
• Total | 3,922 |
• Density | 19,000/sq mi (7,400/km2) |
Old Town Chinatown is the official Chinatown of the northwest section of Portland, Oregon, United States. The Willamette River forms its eastern boundary, separating it from the Lloyd District and the Kerns and Buckman neighborhoods. It includes the Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District and the Portland New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been referred to as the "skid row" of Portland. [3] [4]
In the northwest section, Broadway forms the western boundary, separating it from the Pearl District, and West Burnside Street forms the southern boundary, separating it from Downtown Portland. In the southwest section, the neighborhood extends from 3rd Avenue east to the river and from Stark Street north to West Burnside Street (with the exception of areas south of Pine Street and west of 2nd Avenue, and south of Oak Street and west of 1st Avenue, which are part of the downtown area).
Despite the name, most Chinese-Americans and Chinese immigrants had already moved out of the area by the time the city reworked it as an official Chinatown in the 1980s; the increase in property values after the renovations drove out many of the remaining Chinese immigrants, with a section of Northeast 82nd Avenue in East Portland becoming the new unofficial Chinatown. [5] [6] Old Town is well known as the primary homeless district of Portland. The Oregonian reported that homelessness, open drug use, crime, and the perception of danger and dirtiness that accompanies these problems were deterring factors to development. One prominent developer told the newspaper that "transient activity" is "perhaps the foremost deterrent" to developing in this neighborhood. [7] [8]
The neighborhood has many notable buildings, including Blagen Block, the Glisan Building, the Haseltine Building, One Pacific Square, the Oregon Cracker Company Building, the PAE Living Building, Paris Theatre, Smith's Block, the Tuck Lung Building, the United Carriage and Baggage Transfer Building, the Wachsmuth Building, the White Stag Block, and the Wong Laundry Building.
The Hoxton operates in the neighborhood, and former hotel buildings include the Hoyt Hotel, the Merchant Hotel, and the demolished Yamaguchi Hotel. Venues include the Roseland Theater and Star Theater and other notable businesses include Ground Kontrol, Pine Street Market, and the Portland Chinatown Museum.
Restaurants have included Baes Fried Chicken, Barista, Bowery Bagels, Dan and Louis Oyster Bar, Deadstock Coffee, Kells Irish Pub, Kinboshi Ramen, Lechon, Old Town Pizza, Republic Cafe and Ming Lounge, Sushi Ichiban, and Voodoo Doughnut. Defunct restaurants include Alexis Restaurant, Backspace, Bijou Cafe, Davis Street Tavern, Fong Chong, Gilt Club, Hobo's, House of Louie, Hung Far Low, Mi Mero Mole, Ping, Via Tribunali, and X-Ray Cafe. Bars have included Badlands Portland, CC Slaughters, Darcelle XV Showplace, Dixie Tavern, Raven's Manor, Shanghai Tunnel Bar, Silverado. Dirty Duck, Embers Avenue, No Vacancy Lounge, The Queen's Head, and Satyricon are among defunct bars.
The neighborhood is well-served by various modes of transportation. Amtrak's Union Station is located in the northwestern portion of the neighborhood. The Broadway Bridge marks the northern tip, and the ends of the Steel and Burnside bridges are along the area's eastern border. The MAX Light Rail line turns south into the neighborhood from the Steel Bridge and stops at Old Town/Chinatown, Skidmore Fountain, and Oak Street/Southwest 1st Avenue; the system connects the neighborhood to Northeast and North Portland across the Willamette, and to Downtown Portland to the south and west. The Portland Mall begins at the Greyhound Bus Station, providing local bus and light rail service along 5th and 6th Avenues south into downtown.
Old Town was the original urban core of Portland. It straddles West Burnside Street and includes an area under the Burnside Bridge. The Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District, created in 1975 and roughly bounded by Naito Parkway, Everett Street, 3rd Avenue, and Oak Street, is an important part of Old Town Portland. Attractions include the Saturday Market; the Shanghai tunnels; and Ankeny Square, site of Portland's oldest public art work, the Olin L. Warner-designed Skidmore Fountain (dedicated 1888). Naito Parkway (ex-Front Avenue) is named after the late Bill Naito, a longtime Old Town-based businessman and developer, who with his brother Sam Naito in the 1960s helped to halt the decline of the area—then known as Portland's "Skid Road"—by opening a retail store, buying and restoring old buildings in the area, and convincing others to invest in the district over the next several years. [9]
New Market Block, 50 SW 2nd Ave, is an historic six floor building. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
The Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977, its national significance based on its historic importance as a major 19th-century west coast port, and also for its collection of cast-iron commercial architecture. [17] [18] In 2016, Portland Mercury described the Old Town as a neighborhood "well known as Portland's primary homeless district." [19]
The Chinatown portion of Old Town extends north from West Burnside Street to Union Station. The entrance is marked by the Chinatown Gateway (built in 1986), [20] complete with a pair of lions, at the corner of Northwest 4th Avenue and West Burnside Street. The core of the area, from West Burnside Street to Northwest Glisan Street and from Northwest 5th Avenue to Northwest 3rd Avenue, was designated in 1989 the Portland New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District.
Major organizations based in Chinatown include the Port of Portland, Oregon Department of Transportation's Portland offices and NW Natural Gas. There is also a parking structure with a helipad on top.
In a step towards revitalization of the area, the Lan Su Chinese Garden opened September 14, 2000. The $12.8 million park covers an entire city block and was built by 65 artisans from Suzhou, China of imported materials (though all plants were grown locally). More recently, NW 3rd and 4th Avenues received streetscape improvements, including plaques describing historical features. Two block-long "festival streets" that can easily be used for street festivals were also created between these streets. [21] In 2008, Uwajimaya anchored a redevelopment proposal, similar to the Uwajimaya Village in Seattle's Chinatown-International District. It would host the store, an underground parking garage, mixed-income apartments, and other small retailers. It was hoped to revitalize the area and bring in more tourists. [22]
The street signs in Chinatown are both English and Chinese. The Chinese on the signs is written in traditional characters, and its pronunciation is Cantonese (using Jyutping romanization).
Prior to World War II, the area that is today called Chinatown was Portland's Japantown. Beginning in the 1890s, many Japanese immigrants were processed through Portland, creating a demand for hotels, bathhouses, and other services. Businesses that formed in the city's Japantown thrived in the low-rent areas near the river. Before World War II, the Japantown in the Northwest District was home to more than 100 businesses, and was Oregon's largest Japantown. [23] Today the Japanese American Historical Plaza and the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center in what is today Portland's Chinatown serve as reminders of what was once Portland's Japantown. [24]
Portland Union Station is a train station in Portland, Oregon, United States, situated near the western shore of the Willamette River in Old Town Chinatown. It serves as an intermediate stop for Amtrak's Cascades and Coast Starlight routes and, along with King Street Station in Seattle, is one of two western termini of the Empire Builder. The station is a major transport hub for the Portland metropolitan area with connections to MAX Light Rail, the Portland Streetcar, and local and intercity bus services. The station building contains Wilf's Restaurant & Bar on the ground level and offices on the upper floors. It also has Amtrak's first Metropolitan Lounge on the West Coast, which is reserved for first-class sleeping car and business-class passengers.
The Portland Saturday Market is an outdoor arts and crafts market in Portland, Oregon. It is the largest continuously operated outdoor market in the United States. It is held every Saturday and Sunday from the beginning of March through December 24, in Tom McCall Waterfront Park underneath Burnside Bridge and south of the bridge, as well as within an adjacent plaza just across Naito Parkway, extending west to the Skidmore Fountain. The market's hours of operations are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 11:00am - 4:30pm on Sundays, and admission is free. The market is accessible by foot, bicycle, Segway, and TriMet's MAX Light Rail line which stops near the market at the Skidmore Fountain stop. The market has over 400 members and generates an estimated $12 million in gross sales annually. It has become a central economic engine for the historic Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, and attracts an estimated 750,000 visitors to this area each year.'
Downtown Portland is the central business district of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found.
The Northwest District is a densely populated retail and residential neighborhood in the northwest section of Portland, Oregon, United States. Craftsman-style and Old Portland-style houses are packed tightly together with old apartment buildings and new condominiums, within walking distance of restaurants, bars, and shops. The Portland Streetcar's first line terminates there, connecting the district to the Pearl District, Downtown Portland and points south to the South Waterfront, and several TriMet bus lines also serve the district.
The Skidmore Fountain is a historic fountain in Portland, Oregon, United States.
The White Stag sign, also known as the "Portland Oregon" sign, is a lighted neon-and-incandescent-bulb sign located atop the White Stag Building, at 70 NW Couch Street in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States, facing the Burnside Bridge. The sign faces westbound traffic as it enters downtown Portland coming across the Willamette River. The sign was acquired by the City of Portland in September 2010, and the lettering was changed to read "Portland Oregon" in November 2010.
William Sumio Naito was an American businessman, civic leader and philanthropist in Portland, Oregon, U.S. He was an enthusiastic advocate for investment in downtown Portland, both private and public, and is widely credited for helping to reverse a decline in the area in the 1970s through acquiring and renovating derelict or aging buildings and encouraging others to invest in downtown and the central city.
The Merchant Hotel, also known as the Merchants' Hotel, is a historic former hotel building in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is located at 121 N.W. Second Avenue in Old Town Chinatown. It is a contributing property in the Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District, which was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1977. It is one of the few remaining examples of Victorian Italianate, cast iron architecture on the West Coast. It occupies half of a city block, specifically along the south side of N.W. Davis Street from Second to Third Avenues.
Justus F. Krumbein was an architect based in Portland, Oregon, United States, whose work included Richardsonian Romanesque designs and Italianate, cast-iron architecture. Little of his work survived the 20th Century.
The Dirty Duck building, or Dirty Duck Tavern building, was located at the intersection of Northwest Third Avenue and Glisan Street in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. Originally called the Kiernan Building, the one-story structure earned its nickname from Gail's Dirty Duck Tavern, a gay bar that served as a tenant for 25 years.
The Packy mural was a public artwork depicting the elephant Packy, painted on the Skidmore Fountain Building in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. The artwork was designed by Eric Larsen and painted in 1990 by North Pacific Sign and Design, but was destroyed during the building's 2008 renovation to become the new headquarters for Mercy Corps.
Hung Far Low was a Chinese restaurant in Portland, Oregon, United States. It opened in the northwest Portland part of the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood in 1928 and relocated to the southeast Portland part of the Montavilla neighborhood in 2005, before closing permanently in 2015. The restaurant's decorative sign in Old Town Chinatown has become a landmark.
The United Carriage and Baggage Transfer Building is an historic building in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, completed in 1886. It is a contributing property in the Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District, which was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1977. Its ground floor currently houses the Pine Street Market.
Ankeny Plaza, is a historic square located at the intersection of Southwest Ankeny and Naito Parkway in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. It contains Skidmore Fountain.
Naito Parkway is a major thoroughfare of Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was formerly known as Front Avenue and Front Street and was renamed in 1996 to honor Bill Naito. It runs between SW Barbur Boulevard and NW Front Avenue, and adjacent to Tom McCall Waterfront Park through Downtown Portland.
Chinatown, Toronto 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.
Northwest Portland is one of the sextants of Portland, Oregon, United States.
The Republic Cafe and Ming Lounge are a Chinese restaurant and bar in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown, in the United States. The restaurant is one of Portland's oldest, established in 1922, and continues to operate under the Mui family's ownership. Serving Chinese cuisine such as Mongolian beef, General Tso's chicken, chop suey, and egg foo young, the Republic Cafe has been described as a "staple" of the neighborhood and the city's Chinese American history. Celebrities have visited the restaurant which has also seen several longtime employees. Ming Lounge is among the city's oldest bars and has been characterized as "seedy".
The Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District is an historic district in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. The approximately 20-block area, center around Burnside Street and named after the Skidmore Fountain, is known for exhibiting Italianate architecture, though High Victorian Italianate, Renaissance Revival, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Sullivanesque styles are also present. In addition to Skidmore Fountain, structures within the district's boundaries include the Blagen Block, Delschneider Building, Hallock and McMillin Building, New Market Theater, New Market Alley Building, New Market Annex, and Poppleton Building.
The Portland New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District is a historic district in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. The district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Historic six floor office/retail building with ample off-street parking
The New Market Theater Building at Second and Ash Avenues has been transformed as well. In addition to business offices, it now has restaurants and a column-lined plaza that lets in the sun for basking.
The New Market Theater, built on First Avenue, between Ankeny and Ash, and designed by Elwood M. Burton, opened in March 1875. 'It was reputed, at that time, to be the finest theater structure on the Pacific Coast,' The Oregonian wrote. A contemporary observer described the theater as 'bewildering to the senses.' By the middle of the 20th century the interior had been torn out and the building was turned into a parking garage as suburban flight impacted downtown Portland.