American History

Los Angeles has a rich history of the Spanish influence due to its founding by the Spanish. It is today a bustling city and one of the most diverse cultural cities of the United States. The city has become the 2nd largest in the whole of United States and the city is dotted with some of the mot historically and culturally advanced areas. In this paper, the area of Union Station to the Chinatown has been explored with the help of the academic sources and the visit to the site. A comparison between the two findings has been made in the latter half of the paper.

Academic review
The Chinatown in Los Angeles is one of the most vibrant centers of the Chinese Americans. The history of the Chinatown goes back to the middle of the 19th century when the first Chinese immigrant came to Los Angeles. By 1870, the Chinatown had extended all along Calle De Los Negros a dark and thin alley where a population of 200 lived. The Chinese in this period were involved in the laundry services mainly and held good financial positions in the city. The population settled in the other parts surrounding the alley and in the end of the 19th century a population of 3000 Chinese was recorded. The intrusion of the females in the system influenced the growth of the families in the system and the inhabitants spread to the other alleys and consisted of approximately 200 buildings. The business in the Chinatown flourished with the influx of the Chinese people.

However, at the start of the 20th century, most of the Chinese from the Chinatown vanished with the increase in the corrupt practices in the old center. The old center began to house the gambling houses as per the norms of Los Angeles and most of the Chinese fled the center. The movement was further influenced by the development of a newer center at the vicinity by a Chinese. A major conflict took place among the property owners of the old Chinatown and the Government over the ownership of the land. The Government tried to take away the land for the development of the rail links. The old Chinatown was close to the rail lines and the Government desired to build a railhead. The Government eventually took away the property and the court gave them the permission to build the railhead in the site of the old Chinatown. The inhabitants of the old Chinatown had no idea where to go and there were promises for the Chinese community for the development of the Chinatown. The plans came in but they repeatedly felt. Finally, the new Chinatown was born in the middle of the 1990s. The new Chinatown was the a complex with the development of the businesses and the other basic needs of the community. The funds for the project were completely garnered by the Chinese community and the buildings were the confluence of the modern Chinese and the American arts. The streets were spacious and the buildings did not giver the scope for the development of gambling and other related activities. The new Chinatown was developed on the basis of the community which is an integral part of the Chinese way of life. The development of the new China town was bolstered by the visionary thinking of Peter Soo Hoo, one of the first notable Chinese Americans. Another important personality for the development of the new Chinatown was Herbert Lapham who structured the project. The new Chinatown was started with 18 units of building. The entrance of the Chinatown was the West Gate and it was made by the traditional Chinese way. The project took the structure of a complex and it had all the facilities for the business. The complex consisted of the shops and restaurants. The development of the Chinatown was projected in the newspapers and Peter Soo Hoo gave speeches to the American community for the development of the complex. The project opened in 1938 and all the eminent personalities of Los Angeles were invited to be present in the meeting. The new Chinatown was to be developed in the coming years with the development of new buildings and the shops. The business activities were in full swing and the grandeur and the architecture of the place attracted tourists from all over the world.  (Chinatown Los Angeles, n.d. Chen  Kwok, June, 1988)

The old Chinatown has been the site of the Union Station rail terminal and there has been no trace of the Chinese flavors there. However, one of the buildings in the area still stands tall to remind about the old Chinese heritage of the area. The Garnier Building in the area now is the house of the Chinese American museum. In the modern Chinatown, there are a variety of stores and business centers owned by the Chinese. A metro station by the name of Chinatown lies beside the Chinatown. The restaurants in the area are reminiscent of the Chinese cuisine. One of the most renowned restaurants of the area is the Bamboo Plaza which serves ethnic Chinese delicacies. The Phoneix bakery is another site offering good food. The main center of the Chinatown is the Central Plaza, which was, build in 1938. The gates, which are reminiscent of the Chinese architecture and the culture, can be viewed here. The Chinatown also hosts the Cathay Bank which was the first Chinese American bank in the country. The Ten Ho temple is a typical Chinese temple and the worshipping place of the Chinese people living there. The area is equipped with a medical center, too. Therefore, the new Chinatown is equipped with all the facilities and the amenities of the modern world. (Chinatown Metro Adventure, n.d.)

Fieldwork
After getting off from the Metro at the Chinatown Metro station, we took the College street to the Broadway. After reaching the confluence of the Broadway and the College Street we took a right turn and head for the Bernard Street. By now we were beginning to see people of the Chinese descents and the ambience changed from the modern American to something we have only seen in the movies. After reaching the Bernard Street, we turn left and reach the Chinese Historical Society. The society offered a vivid description of the life of the Chinese people in the society and there are some interesting photographs. A hand drawing of a Chinese vendor drawing his cart caught my attention. After spending some time in the Society, we come out and head for the Bamboo Plaza on the other side of the road. We tasted ethnic Chinese delicacies there. The buildings in the area were reminiscent of the Chinese architecture and we headed for the Central Plaza.  Central Plaza is the main part of the China Town. The place is dotted with several shops and businesses with the Chinese people at the forefront. The   place had balloons like structures hung at the top of the roads and this gave the place a distinct feeling. The place from the metro station to the Chinatown has a distinct feel of the Chinese and the Chinese culture like the Feng Shui drawings outside the station. A new place close to the Chinatown has developed similar to the central plaza called the Saigon Plaza to house the new immigrants of China. The gateways of the Chinatown set itself apart from the rest of the city with the structures of dragons and other symbols of the Chinese culture.

Our visit to the Chinatown shows us the meaning of the space of a distinct culture in the midst of a bustling city. It is surprising to see how the Chinese have maintained a distinct culture amidst the city and how they have protected the rituals and the architecture of the place. The opportunity provided to the people of the Chinese dissent has brought the best out of them and has made them competent enough to develop a town of their own. They were not provided justice initially when they were taken from their initial site. However, they were able to get the justice when they were allowed to build their own distinct place in the city.

Conclusion
Our visit to the Chinatown showed us how a community of hardworking men has been able to develop a distinct place of their own in the city. In contrast to what we have read about the Chinatown, the place is distinctly Chinese in nature. The architecture is purely Chinese. Our belief was that the place would be shabby but we were amazed at the meticulous detailing of the place. The academic review made us believe that there would be signs of struggle and the place will not be developed. We thought that the people would be poor there. However, we were surprised to see various business centers in the region and the people there are economically developed. The place has impressed us a lot and has been an eye opener about the Chinese culture.