Thought Paper 7: Chinatown

Kendall Steele

26 October 2012

Professor Asher

FYS: Discovering San Francisco

Chinatown

Chinatown has been featured in several movies and shows. This San Francisco district is shown as a colorful and eccentric neighborhood, where the party never stops. What people are unfamiliar with is how this neighborhood became a famous tourist attraction. Today, I would like to give a brief overview of Chinatown, and how the signage of Chinatown has progressed to such a degree that it hardly resembles the original layout.

            During the late 1840s, the American Gold Rush had people from all over the world immigrating to the states, specifically California. At this time, California was not the potluck that it currently is. Rather, people were unaware of other cultures. When Chinese men and women immigrated to the mines, people were upset because the mining field was now overrun by a different culture. Therefore, these newly San Franciscans were hurried out of the mines and settled in what is now Chinatown. This group of people, were discriminated to such a degree, that their culture thrived because these immigrants spent all their time with each other, within their district.

            Something that sets Chinatown apart from other cultures is “the over the top” signage plastered around the district. Everything in Chinatown has a sign on it nowadays. Also, the signage is designed in such a way that it is appealing specifically to tourists and such. The previous culture that I mentioned has slowly disappeared. Yes, there are a lot of Chinese traditions within the neighborhood, but the culture itself is more worried about making money through tourists. That is how this neighborhood has survived for so long. In the late 1800s when Chinatown was new and still developing, the streets were dirt and there was little to no signage featured within the city. Before Chinatown developed into the tourist stop it is today, the signs that were posted were solely for necessity. The picture that I am referencing is from the old Chinatown, where the streets were empty, and people were just doing their best to put food on the table. Their concern was different; therefore the signage was different as well.

            Overall, the atmosphere that envelops Chinatown is great. It is loud, it is fun and it is totally unique. Even though Chinatown has undergone a multitude of remodels, the history of the city is still there. A lot of it can be shown through the architecture, and the vibrant colors sprawled about the city.