Chicago: City of Bridges

When my daughter was around 4 years old we lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was fascinated by bridges. She had a children's video about them, which she watched over and over, like kids will do. That summer we took a car trip with my mother, from our home, to Cleveland. When we arrived up north my daughter was amazed at the variety of bridges.

The highlight of the trip was our return home. My daughter and I left Cleveland on the Amtrak train back to the Southwest. We had a 5 hour layover transfer in Chicago. I don't know of any other city in America that can match Chicago for bridges. We were in awe.

Chicago has all the typical city bridges--freeway overpasses, rail lines, pedestrian walkways at airports, and connectors over rivers. In addition, the city was built in a swamp. Therefore, buildings are constructed in layers above the ground. Wacker Drive in downtown has three distinct levels, plus additional pedestrian links. To walk around the heart of the city is to constantly climb stairs and cross bridges.

The city has some unusual bridges. Part of the Pedway system is skyway bridges. It's is not limited to underground tunnels. There are industrial relics across the rivers. The Chicago Park District has an abundance of historic pedestrian bridges. If you look around you will find them everywhere.

When my daughter and I got off the train that summer trip I was surprised how accessible downtown Chicago was to the surrounding neighborhoods. It's easy to find somewhere to walk across the river. In some cities, like Los Angeles, few people walk. In other cities, natural barriers are too great. In New York there are few crossovers that span the long distance between Brooklyn and Manhattan. 

Still other places were designed without consideration for pedestrians. Getting in a vehicle, or riding the elevated free mass transit automated people mover, is the only way to get around downtown Miami. Chicago is unique.

Chicago is a city of bridges.

Vintage Postcard of Chicago Skyline

Downtown Chicago

Chicago River

South Branch of Chicago River

Uptown

South Loop

Pilsen

Lincoln Square

Lakeshore East

Hyde Park

Englewood

East Garfield Park

Chinatown in Armour Square

Bridgeport

Chicago's Original Chinatown

My blog was inactive while I worked a job over the summer and fall. This winter I'm pleased to be back to my research, writing and photography on the Chicago Neighborhoods Project.

As I walk around the city I'm always curious if what I'm reading as an official guide is the same as what I'm seeing in the architecture. While it's easy to edit out words from texts, the buildings still retain details of history, which have since been omitted from written accounts.

When I spot these irregularities I can research to find out the rest of the story.

Chicago's designated Chinatown, on the South Side, looks like a tourist destination to me. It was built with exaggerated architecture, drawing attention to itself, at a time when the Chinese in the USA were a target for extreme prejudice and even physical attacks. Asians are the only nationalities we've completely banned from entering the country. This creates a big question. Why would the new Chinatown purposely stand out?

After hunting around I came across a 1911 article in the Chicago Tribune which details the gentrification of Chicago's original Chinatown, located in downtown, and plans for a new Chinatown. In the original Chinatown people were trying to keep a low profile, as would be expected.

Below I explain what I found in the article.

Half a block is what's left of Chicago's original Chinatown

Link to the article here.

Be forewarned--it's racist and offensive in the descriptions of various ethnicities.

Chicago Tribune 1911

A reporter walks around what was the original Chinatown, in the south end of The Loop. The article was published on January 22, 1911. He describes the gentrification of Chinatown, as the business district is expanding. A skyscraper was expected to be built at Clark & Van Buren. The Chinese restaurants are being replaced by lunch counters catering to office workers.

The reporter describes Chinese men being forced to cut off their "pigtails". He also references the requirement of Chinese to be photographed and documented, like a Muslim registry would today.

He complains about the Chinese becoming Americanized and going into mainstream society. He laments the arrest of the gang leaders in the Tong Wars, rivalries over illicit activities like smuggling drugs, opium dens, prostitution and gambling, being pushed out of downtown.

(At this time the city was working on getting rid of vice too close to the business district. The entire vice district was being pushed south.)

He laments the lack of a tourist destination, similar to what has already been built in NYC and San Francisco. Chicago doesn't yet have the flashy California Crazy roadside vernacular architecture, which was luring auto tourists to other cities to visit their Chinatowns.

He hints a new Chinatown, designed for tourists, is being planned.

The original Chicago Chinatown was larger than 2 blocks on Clark Street. He describes an exclusive Chinese residential area on Federal, composed of a respectable hotel and brownstones.

Interestingly, he mentions a Bohemian enclave nearby, being frequented by Americans. I've read the term hipster comes from opium dens, because opium pipes are smoked while lying on your side. These white folks would bring the "bohemian lifestyle" into the mainstream.

Finally, as an aside, I'd never heard of Floaterville-by-the-tracks, the place where a community of people live on boats for the winter.

Conclusion

In conclusion, my assumption was correct. While the new Chinatown would become the center of the Chinese community in Chicago, it was built as a tourist destination for people traveling by car.


Article:
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1911/01/22/page/61/article/fall-and-passing-of-chinatown-hing-kee-dinks-under-a-pall

VIDEO: Chinatown

Link to video of photos:

https://youtu.be/OASe7UefXrA

Chinatown in Armour Square

Since we've moved to Chicago, Chinatown is one of the neighborhoods we visit regularly. I was surprised at the large size of the Chinese immigrant community here. It's the second oldest settlement of Chinese in the USA outside of California, although the neighborhood was originally settled by European immigrants working at nearby plants and factories.

Not surprisingly there's a plethora of Asian restaurants. We tend to try new ones on each visit and haven't yet been disappointed. I'm particularly found of stir-fry tofu with red chilies, pot stickers, salt and pepper fish, deep fried Mai-Tou (pastry dough) dipped in condensed milk, and Hong Kong style iced tea.

The homes around the business district are modest. While some neighborhoods have ornamental flowers everywhere in the summer, this area tends to feature practical plantings, like small gardens. Shopping I've found trinkets, small housewares, clothing and specialty groceries. I've bought a Kimono I use as a bathrobe and a Chinese jacket.

The most impressive way to travel to Chinatown during the summer is by water taxi from downtown or Union Station. The official water tour boats tend to be expensive. The skyline views from the water taxi are excellent, and the taxi docks at an attractive park.