The First Chinatown in America

America's first Chinatown came about from a need for community from a large number of Chinese workers, a majority from the regions of Taishan, Zhongshan, and the Guangdong province, who immigrated to the U.S. during the 1800s. Many of these immigrants worked on the Transcontinental Railroad or traveled to the U.S. as a part of the waves of immigration that accompanied the Gold Rush. San Francisco's Chinatown was located on Portsmouth Square and was built up gradually during the mid-1800s. Called "Little Canton" at the time, it was first called "Chinatown" by the press in 1853. The community included stores, pharmacies, and restaurants and later grew to be a hub of commerce. The Chinatown also had community associations aimed at helping new immigrants acclimate through monetary support, social events, and connections with those from their region and those who shared the same family name as them. 

The Chinatown that modern visitors may be familiar with did not come about until 1906. During the large fires of 1906, the first iteration of San Francisco's Chinatown was destroyed. In the aftermath, a wealthy Asian American businessman, Look Tin Eli, was inspired to make Chinatown more profitable by transforming it to be more tourist-friendly. He hired American architects to design "New Chinatown" in the aesthetics of historical China. The novelty attracted tourists, and San Francisco's Chinatown began the journey to become what visitors see today. 

📸: Museum of the City of San Francisco