Chinatown and Little Italy Historic District New York, New York (U.S. National Park Service) (2023)

Before the 1800s, immigration from Asia to the U.S. was minimal. During the 19th century, however, the U.S. experienced mass migrations of immigrants from several Asian countries, particularly China. Multiple factors triggered this large-scale immigration. In 1848, gold was discovered in California and throughout the 1850s Chinese were recruited as a major source of labor for the mines.Many Chinese also immigrated during this period to escape the Taiping Rebellion, a large-scale civil war that encompassed most of Southern China. In the 1860s, Chinese were recruited in large numbers from both China and the U.S. western mining industry to help build the Central Pacific Railroad's portion of the Transcontinental Railroad.

By the 1870s, the U.S. economy was in a post-Civil War decline. The country experienced a series of economic crises starting with the Panic of 1873. The deflation and depression that followed caused wage levels to fall and many Americans to lose their jobs. In the West, white laborers found themselves competing for scarce jobs with Chinese immigrants who would work for lower wages. This led to rising resentment among the white population. Political and labor leaders began to use Chinese immigrants as scapegoats, blaming them for declining wages and high unemployment, and accusing them of being morally corrupt. Mob violence and rampant discrimination began to drive many Chinese immigrants east to larger cities such as New York, where there were more job opportunities and the population was more diverse.

Duringthe 1870s, the Chinese in New York City began to concentrate around Mott Street south of Canal Street. Many Chinese men left wives to come to America, hoping to get rich and return later. As the Chinese quarter started growing the residents, almost exclusively men, began to form various social societies. These societies along with native place and family associations became an important lifeline for the residents of Chinatown.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 overturned the immigration quota system, allowing many more immigrants from Asia into the U.S. A new wave of Chinese immigrants began to settle in Chinatown and the population increased dramatically. The influx of new residents helped Chinatown expand its boundaries from its historic seven-block area around Mott and Mulberry Streets to an estimated 55-block area from the East River to City Hall and from St. James Place to north of Canal Street, eradicating the traditional “dividing line” between Little Italy and Chinatown. Buildings in Little Italy were turned into garment factories and offices and the rents in Chinatown became some of the highest in New York City.

Therapidly growing Chinese community continued to expand well beyond its historical boundaries, and by 1980 the Chinese community in New York City (including neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Flushing, Queens) was the largest in the country, surpassing the one in San Francisco. The Italian population of Little Italy contracted dramatically starting in the 1950s, when, like so many Americans, large numbers of the middle and upper classes moved to the growing suburbs. Little Italy has contracted in size, having been overtaken by Chinatown from the South, and today its core is centered around Mulberry Street, with its numerous cafes, restaurants, bakeries, and annual festivals.

Despite the Chinese Exclusion Acts,Manhattan’s Chinatown flourished with small businesses and family residences. Within this community was Lee Tow, a pastor from Canton, China who had previously emigrated to the United States. He arrived in New York City in 1900, and by 1904 was the pastor of the Baptist Chinese Mission in Chinatown. His wife, Libreck Lee (also spelled Lennick Lee) and their daughter, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, soon joined him. They left Hong Kong in 1905 after Mabel, who had studied English in China, was awarded a Boxer Indemnity Scholarship and a U.S. visa. Mabel became committed to political activism as she continued her education in the United States. While growing up at 53 Bayard St. in Chinatown, Mabel sought to inspire other Chinese women to become civically engaged. At age 16, she began attending Barnard College and wrote various feminist essays including “Meaning of Woman Suffrage” for the May 1914 Chinese Students’ Monthly. In about 1915, she was asked to deliver a speech on behalf of the Women’s Political Union, which she entitled “China’s Submerged Half.” In these writings, Mabel advocated for women’s education, equality, and independence.

As a Chinese immigrant, Mabel was legally unable to vote under the Chinese Exclusion Act. Though she personally would not gain voting rights under the 19^th Amendment, she fervently supported the women’s suffrage movement, and even succeeded in inspiring other Chinese women to march in the national women’s suffrage parade on Fifth Avenue in 1917. DespiteMabel’s engagement with this national movement, she remained engaged in her local immigrant community. Following her father’s death in 1924, she assumed directorship of the First Chinese Baptist Church at 21 Pell Street and dedicated the rest of her life to the social and spiritual uplift of the neighborhood. Mabel later established the Chinese Christian Center, which offered vocational and English classes, a health clinic, and a kindergarten. The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943, finally allowing Mabel and other Chinese immigrants to vote. On December 3, 2018, Chinatown’s Post Office Station at 6 Doyers Street was dedicated to Mabel for her contributions to the suffrage movement and the local Chinese community.

The Chinatown and Little Italy Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is located in New York, NY. The district is roughly bounded by Baxter Street, Center Street, Cleveland Place and Lafayette Street to the west, Jersey Street and East Hudson to the north; Elizabeth Street to the east and Worth Street to the south. Click here for the National Register of Historic Places file:text and photos. For more information, visit theNew York Chinatownwebsite.