November 3, 2012, Saturday, 307

Landmarks and Attractions

From The Peopling of New York City

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History -- Culture -- Demographics -- Landmarks and Attractions -- Economy





  • Chatham Square was named after the Earl of Chatham, William Pitt, who was famous for his opposition to the Stamp Act, in which the British forced colonists to pay tax on printed papers. Chatham Square is an area where several streets converge, including Mott, Doyers, Bowery and East Broadway.[1] During the 19th century the area was an entertainment hub, with had cheap motels, gin mills, dime museums (centers for entertainment and moral education primarily for the working class), burlesque theaters, and tattoo parlors.[2]
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  • Located in Chatham Square is the Kim Lau Memorial Arch that is named after Lieutenant Benjamin Ralph Kimlau, an American of Chinese decent, who severed as an Air Force bomber pilot in World War II. He and four other pilots went to New Guinea Islands on February 27, 1944 on a mission to bomb Japanese airbases located there. Kimlau died in combat on March 5, 1944 when Japanese opposition his unit at Los Negros, which is an island adjacent to New Guinea. The American Legion, Lt. B.R. Kimlau Chinese Memorial Post 1291, which was founded in 1945 by Chinese-American World War II veterans, has its largest post in New York City. They wanted to create a tribute to Chinese-Americans who served the United States, so in 1958 a petition was sent to the city of New York so a memorial can be built in Chatham Square and in 1961 the center of Chatham Square was given the name Kim Lau Square. Then on April 28, 1962, the Memorial Arch was unveiled in a celebration that included a parade. The arch was designed by Poy G. Lee and inscribed on the arch are the words “In Memory of the Americans of Chinese Ancestry who lost their Lives in Defense of Freedom and Democracy.”[3]


  • Also located here is the statue of Lin Ze Xu which some people call the world’s first drug czar. This man was an official of the Qing Dynasty from Fujian Province and is remembered for destroying 2.6 million pounds of opium from the East India Company, which was selling the drugs to China. This lead to the Opium War with Britain and China, with China on the losing end; however, Lin Ze Xu is seen as a national hero to the Chinese.[4] The statue was brought here to send an anti-drug message and is a sign of the growing population of Fujianese immigrants into Chinatown. Zheng Dezhang, 36, who immigrated to the city in 1989 said, "Lin Zexu is from Fujian, and that is very meaningful for those of us from Fujian, because there are more of us now in New York." The statue faces northeast and East Broadway, which is heavily populated by the Fujianese and is sometimes called Fuzhou Street."[5]


  • On Confucius Plaza there is a statue of the famous Chinese philosopher, Confucius. In 1976 the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association placed this 16” statute here. The statue has sayings from the Confucian philosophy in both Chinese and English.[6]


  • Five Points was established when developers began to constructing houses on the former Collect Pond, which was basically a waste site. The site marks the intersection of five streets, which was home to Manhattan’s first true slum. The tenement buildings were built to house many German and Irish immigrants. Today it is on a corner of present-day Columbus Park.[7]


  • First Shearith Israel Cemetery is located at St. James Place, right by Chatham Square. The cemetery has been in Chinatown since 1683 and is the oldest Jewish one in New York City. Buried here are 18 Jewish Revolutionary-War era soldiers as well as the first rabbi born in America.[8]


  • The Museum of Chinese in the Americas on 70 Mulberry Street displays Chinese customs and religions throughout their exhibits, which feature personal stories, letters, photographs, mementos, and poetry. There they also have items that symbolize Chinese in America such as old immigration papers and old family records. The museum also has on display sculptures of various things made by passengers of the ship Golden Venture who were detained by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. There is a sculpture of an eagle which some people called "freedom birds." The Museum also plans to display traditional dresses in an exhibition scheduled for 2010.[9]


  • The Edward Mooney House on 18 Bowery is the oldest townhouse in New York City and was built in 1785 by a butcher named Edward Mooney and was used as a place of residence until the 1820s at which point it became a tavern. The Edward Mooney House also served as a store and hotel, a pool parlor, a restaurant, and a Chinese club. Today it is a bank and is recognized as a Historic Landmark. The Edward Mooney House is a mix of late Georgian style and early Federal styles.[10]


  • The Church of the Transfiguration is on 29 Mott Street was built back in1801. Originally it was an English Lutheran Church that was transformed to a Roman Catholic Church of the Transfiguration in 1853. The church has served as a place for immigrants (first the Irish, then the Italians, and now the Chinese) to become adjusted to their new lives in America.[11] The current head of the church, Father Raymond Nobiletti, says "I believe we have a spirit of being open...I won’t say this is a Chinese church – we call it ‘The Church of Immigrants.’ ” The church offers English language classes to help immigrants assimilate to America.[12]


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    • Mahayana Buddhist Temple is located on 133 Canal Street. At the entrance of the temple there are two large Golden lions, which are used to keep evil spirits from entering. Inside there is also a 16 foot golden Buddha, as well as paintings that represent the practice of Buddha. Inside the temple there is also the aroma of incense burning from the large urn. There are also tables and candles where people can pay respect and pray for their dead relatives. Public services are held on the weekends and fortunes are given out daily.[13]


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  • The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory on 65 Bayard Street has been opened since 1978, attracting both tourists and residents of New York. It has standard flavors such as vanilla as well as Asian-inspired flavors like black sesame, green tea, ginger, lychee.[14]





References

  1. ↑ "Tour It Yourself - Chinatown Landmarks." Explore Chinatown New York City. Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation. 02 Apr 2008 <http://www.explorechinatown.com/Gui/FullPage.aspx?Page=SelfTour2>.
  2. ↑ McCabe, Mike. "The New York City Tattoo: The Origins of a Style." Tattoos. 02 Apr 2008 <http://tattoos.com/bowrey.htm>.
  3. ↑ "Kimlau Square." NYC.gov. 19 July 2000. New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. 02 Apr 2008 <http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/?front_door=true>.
  4. ↑ "Tour It Yourself - Chinatown Landmarks."
  5. ↑ Chen, David. "Chinatown's Fujianese Get a Statue." New York Times 20 Nov 1997 07 Apr2008<http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E0DB143BF933A15752C1A961958260&st=cse&sq=Lin+Zexu+&scp=4>.
  6. ↑ "Tour It Yourself - Chinatown Landmarks."
  7. ↑ "Five Points." Explore Chinatown New York City. Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation. 02 Apr 2008 <http://www.explorechinatown.com/GUI/Content.aspx?Page=Discover&Type=History&Specialty=FivePoints>.
  8. ↑ "Tour It Yourself - Chinatown Landmarks."
  9. ↑ "Highlights." Museum of Chinese in America. 02 Apr 2008<http://www.explorechinatown.com/GUI/Content.aspxPage=Discover&Type=History&Specialty=FivePoints>.
  10. ↑ "Edward Mooney House." Explore Chinatown New York City. Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation. 02 Apr 2008 <http://www.explorechinat own.com/GUI/Content.aspx?Page=Discover&Type=History&Specialty=MooneyHouse>.
  11. ↑ "Tour It Yourself - Chinatown Landmarks."
  12. ↑ Lee, Jennifer. "In Chinatown, a Church Speaks in Several Languages, but With One Strong Voice." New York Times 25 Dec 2007 07 Apr 2008 <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/25/nyregion/25mass.html_r=1&st=cse&sq=chinatown&scp=9&oref=slogin>.
  13. ↑ "Tour It Yourself - Chinatown Landmarks."
  14. ↑ Seid, Christina. "Our Story." Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. 02 Apr 2008<http://www.chinatownicecreamfactory.com/?q=node/48>.



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