Mapping the Architectural History of New York’s Chinatown
The immigrant enclave in Lower Manhattan has changed dramatically in 150 years. This interactive digital map is tracing its physical and cultural transformation.
A new residential skyscraper rises over the streets of Manhattan’s Chinatown, where development has transformed this longtime immigrant community.
Photographer: Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
Over the last 150 years, Manhattan’s Chinatown has seen a slew of changes to its urban footprint, reflecting the political and economic forces that continue to shape this immigrant community. Most recently, luxury developments have cropped up, often replacing older buildings and threatening to not only push out the neighborhood’s working-class residents, but also erase the community’s history.
“A lot of this history is not documented,” said Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong, an artist based in Chinatown. “Especially now post-pandemic, we have a lot of changes going on. Elders are passing away, gentrification, old-school businesses that have been around for forever are closing their doors or have closed their doors.”