Comments on Chinatown's Friendship Archway - Greater Greater Washington

Comment by Payton

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:01:21 EDT

One branch of my family ran a restaurant in Chinatown for many years; they moved out to Montgomery County when their house was demolished for the Metro entrance. Living in the central city then, particularly in the tense aftermath of the 1968 riots, wasn't exactly a picnic. I think a distant cousin still runs a restaurant out in Annapolis or somewhere.

Many cities have seen Chinatowns come and go; indeed, my grandparents' old neighborhoods in LA and Boston are gentrifying, and even in Asian cities (Singapore, Honolulu, Hong Kong) old "Chinatowns" are prized by gentrifiers for their authentic grittiness. Like any other ethnic neighborhood in melting-pot America, it can only retain its character as long as it's sustained by a constant flow of new immigrants. Chinatown here never had the critical mass to spawn its own export industries, unlike in NYC where garment manufacturing, import-export, and food processing for a broader Chinese market provide entry-level jobs for new immigrants.

Speaking of transliterations, the one for Legal Sea Foods disappoints me; it's just "seafood restaurant." Surely in DC they could've worked in some reference to the law.

Comment by Alex B.

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:03:28 EDT

I would note that H Street is much wider than Bush Street is. The columns are indeed quite wide, but that's because you've got a substantial structure to hold up.

Comment by John D.

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 05:58:08 EDT

@Kim,

The arch was originally intended to include pedestrian walkways, as the San Francisco arch has. The agreement with Beijing in fact specified a 4-column archway. However, when Liu developed the specific design, he found that the H Street sidewalks were simply too narrow to accommodate more than one column each. -Which perhaps only reinforces your point about DC streets being automobile-focused...

Comment by Kim

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:46:36 EDT

I don't disagree with the key points, but want to note that this is a vehicular arch; pedestrians pass alongside rather than through. Compare this with the one on Bush Street in San Francisco:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/3973690059/

It's obviously a very different condition, but I see no reason ours couldn't also have made a gate that those of us who don't choose to drive downtown could pass through. It bears notice that even a gate like this betrays DC's pervasive automotive bent...

Comment by Mike O

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 10:54:29 EDT

yes there are still Chinese doctors.
The Lee family runs a clinic on I street- this venerable family has been in Chinatown since the 1930's.

Sadly the DC city government , which is run by what is mostly PG County residents, sees no value in trying to maintain the ethnic authenticity of any neighborhood that is not of their own ethnicity.

by w on Feb 10, 2011 7:46 am
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I have a good friend whose family lived in DC's Chinatown from the 1960's up to the 1980's during the bad old days of Chinatown and he told me that his family was happy to finally leave (they're mostly in Montgomery and Fairfax County now) and gets annoyed when newcomers to the neighborhood bemoan the disappearing "authenticity". I remember him once telling me, "this was a hard, poor ghetto neighborhood for new immigrants who couldn't yet do any better. We shouldn't have to stay to be some tourist trap for white people."

Chinatown isn't disappearing for lack of government subsidies just like it wasn't created with government subsidies. It's disappearing because the neighborhood is rapidly evolving and changing and people who once came here out of desperation want a better way of life and choose the suburbs and the dispersion and integration that goes with it. I think it's a healthy development and this "Friendship Arch", while a lovely piece of architecture, is more a idealized, imposed testament to a time gone by than a natural part of the urban fabric.

Comment by Neil Flanagan

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:47:41 EDT

I've heard from native Chinese speakers that the label of "Chinatown" in Mandarin on the arch is a calque of the English term "China Town" and not a more syntactical translation, but I don't know for sure.

Comment by Moose

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 09:50:51 EDT

@redline BA & MA in East Asian Studies and way too many years studying Mandarin Chinese, so I just read 'em when I walk through Chinablock. :)

Comment by redline

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:22:42 EDT

Moose-where'd you find these out? I'd love to see some of the other ones, especially the awkward descriptions instead of just transliterated names. I've always had a soft spot for Chinglish in China-makes it even better when it's close to home!

Comment by Moose

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:01:51 EDT

The characters do in fact say "Chinatown" and they're not upside down.

as for Chipotle, if I remember correctly the characters there transliterate "Chipotle" into "qi-po-te-lei" and then add "roasted meat restaraunt" at the end.

The signage in Chinese in Chinatown is a mix of transliterated names and descriptions of what they sell. Urban Outfitters is "Mens and Women's clothing and useful household items" where Starbucks is the character for "star" plus "ba-ke" to give you sound of "buck".

The best though is "Hooters" which they put in as "Owl Restaurant". Kinda misses the flavor of the original.

Comment by Gavin

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:24:36 EDT

Remember when it took six months for a politician to resign from a scandal? Now it only takes three hours. Those were the days.

Comment by John D.

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:04:39 EDT

The characters in the center of the arch reportedly say "Chinatown." I have not found anything to suggest that they are upside down. Since the work was all done by native Chinese artisans and overseen by a Chinese-born architect, I strongly doubt they would be installed wrong.

Comment by Leslie

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:53:09 EDT

What do the characters on the arch say? Someone once told me they were actually put on the arch upside down, and I've always wondered if it's true.

Comment by w

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:46:13 EDT

yes there are still Chinese doctors.
The Lee family runs a clinic on I street- this venerable family has been in Chinatown since the 1930's.

Sadly the DC city government , which is run by what is mostly PG County residents, sees no value in trying to maintain the ethnic authenticity of any neighborhood that is not of their own ethnicity.

Comment by redline

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 23:59:22 EDT

All I want to know is what all those signs say in Chinatown. Chipotle really can't take 9 characters-that's got to be some awesome reverse Chinglish!

Comment by John D.

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 19:16:29 EDT

The archway cost $1 million, a fairly steep price due in part to the difficulties of building it over a street that could only be closed briefly at night. Press accounts state that the cost was shared between the D.C. government and the city of Beijing.

Comment by Randall M.

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 18:48:15 EDT

How much did it cost originally?

Comment by John D.

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:44:17 EDT

Alex is correct. The rendering is a view facing east, with the building that used to house the CVS store on the left side.

Comment by Alex B.

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:38:18 EDT

@tom veil

I think the Trade Center would have been at the Southeast corner of 7th and H, where the Gallery Place development currently is. You can see the open first floor in that rendering, with people entering what appears to be the metro station.

Comment by tom veil

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:34:02 EDT

Nice article, but I have to admit that the drawing of the Far East Trade Center distracted me. Wow, would that be a huge improvement over the gutted CVS Memorial Building that now lurks on the northeast corner of 7&H.

Comment by aaa

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:00:45 EDT

Terrific article. It's ashame what has happened to the Chinese groceries and Chinese-run businesses that used to be in the neighborhood, though. But I guess that's the price.

Comment by Jazzy

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:44:45 EDT

There used to be Chinese doctors and pharmacies. I don't know if they're still there or not.

Comment by Jasper

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:28:44 EDT

@ William: +1 :-D

Comment by andrew

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:20:17 EDT

Great post! Thanks!

Hopefully someday, they'll finally fill that vacant CVS across the street. It's pretty embarrassing that we've got a huge boarded up building at one of the most prominent intersections of one of our most vibrant neighborhoods.

Comment by William

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:19:12 EDT

Did the Committee of 100 oppose this because of the now-blocked view-shed?

Comment by w

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:08:19 EDT

It would be nice if the city would try to entice the owners of these establishments to move back into the city. Of course- the city has no interest in this kind of thing at all. The only reastaurant the city will sunsidize is Ben's Chili Bowl which gets a hefty property tax abatement.

Comment by sina

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:03:43 EDT

fantastic post. thank you.
i had no idea of all the background information.