The Chinatown Plague Of 1900

Chinatown Plague 1900

Chinatown: Organized Crime, 1890-1910

Opium Chinatown

Chinatown: 1955

chinatown-1955

Chinatown Transformations 3

Chinatown Photos
from Chinatown nyc

Chinatown: A Walk Down Mott Street 2

Bridge and Tunnel Mott
from the bridge and tunnel club

Chinatown: A Walk Down Mott Street

nysonglines-mott
from nysonglines

Chinatown Transformations 2

AmericanHeritage.com _ Chinatown
from award wining Chinatown historian Bruce Edward Hall

32 Mott Steet: Chinatown Transformations

32-mott-lee
from a November 2004 issue of the villager

Mott Street: 1905

from shorpy along with the comments below

All of the buildings in this picture from the Port Arthur Restaurant north to the church are still standing. The church is the Roman Catholic Church of the Transfiguration, which was built as a Lutheran church in 1801, and bought by the Catholics in 1853. The Wing On Wo & Co. imports shop, seen about midway up the block with the heavily leaning sign, is still in operation, although it is now across the street opposite the church.
As for the name of the Port Arthur restaurant, it certainly would have been quite topical at the time. The Russo-Japanese war was ended at the Portsmouth Peace Conference of 1905. Teddy Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in brokering the peace. The 1904 battle and siege of Port Arthur were the most famous military actions of that war. The Port Arthur is no more, but the building still stands.

Chatham Square: 1905

From the great shorpy blog
Some of the informed comments that accompany the picture

1905 was the first year for racing at Belmont Park.
Chatham Square in the Bowery was the heart NYC's popular theater and public amusements in the late 1800s. It got rougher and raunchier, and for most of 20th century was home to derelicts, drunkards, served by many bars and flophouses and famous missions, to feed and save the men that haunted its shadows.
Proctor's 58th Street was a vaudeville house, one of several Proctor Theaters, later part of the Keith's Circuit, then RKO.
I get a kick out of the lion heads gracing the smokestack.
Notice that the horses are running clockwise in the illustration, the way they still run in Europe. Belmont ran clockwise until 1921, when they changed course to counterclockwise, which is the direction all horse racing in the United States is run. The Belmont Stakes was already 38 years old when the new Belmont Park opened to great fanfare in 1905, and is the oldest of the Triple Crown races, inaugurated in 1867, 8 years before the Kentucky Derby. Over a hundred years later a day at Belmont is still a great way to while away the afternoon under the beautiful trees.
Check out Google Maps street view for Chatham Square. You will be astounded at how many of the buildings are still there. Interesting to note is that even in this picture, many of the buildings look old. I wonder how old some of these "high rises" were in 1905. I have to believe they were already 30 years old, minimum, at the time of this photograph. Also, for you non-New Yorkers, this area is at the edge of Chinatown today. No sign of it in 1905

Chinatown Comics: Johny Hiro

In KV we might have read Davy Crockett in 1955, now they might read Johnny Hiro
Johnny Hiro2
about Johnny Hiro from comics worth reading

Johnny is a busboy whose girlfriend Mayumi is kidnapped by Godzilla in the first story in this book. While racing to her rescue, Johnny’s mind flashes back to previous times he’d faced great injury. It’s that playful awareness that makes this more than just another slacker-starring action tale. Nothing happens as expected, but even in the weirdest event, there’s a sense of reality that stems from the core of the characters. Fighting giant monsters is punctuated with concern over getting back the apartment security deposit, for example.
The art is wonderful, thin linework with shading for depth and detail for verisimilitude. It’s active and has a great sense of motion, plus a strong sense of place, capturing the craziness of New York City. A lot of it is a love letter to the city and all that can happen there.
Another story in this volume features Johnny having to steal a lobster to get ahead at work. The chase scenes allow for lots of dynamite action leavened with philosophy, plus occasional commentary by Alton Brown, which tickled me immensely. Johnny and Mayumi also go to the opera, which is interrupted by a samurai attack in the men’s room, and then he’s sent to fix a messed-up order from the fishmonger. Finally, he and Mayumi go to court (only it’s Night Court run by Judge Judy) against their landlord.
Not only did I get amazing cartooning and fun, playful adventure, I even learned some things in terms of how to think about life. You should read this.

Buster Keaton's Version Of A Tong War: 1928

from the youtube description

This movie is commonly known as the film that marked the beginning of the end for Buster Keaton (he had signed a contract with MGM that pretty much ended his artistic freedom), but looking at the final product, it is hard to see any signs of trouble. This is not one of his masterpieces, but this is probably his most likable vehicle. It is filled with many comic highlights like the sequences at the swimming pool, where Keaton loses his swimsuit. The sequence where Keaton attempts to film a street fight is indeed funny. The ending is unexpected, and brilliantly put together.

18 Pell Street: Site Of 1930 Ambush

Five members of the Hip Sing Tong were ambushed by On Leong Tong members when they were playing Kelly pool in the Lai Hoy poolroom at 18 Pell Street. What is Kelly pool?

18 Pell Street: Then And Now

Below is from a 1958 Life Magazine article which claimed that the store pictured, Ting's, was an alleged heroin supply spot

36 Pell Street: Another Then

From approximately 1960. Lee's Restaurant is at the address previously posted in a then and now

Marco Polo Day On The LES

from the lodown on October 22

Chinese & Italians Celebrate Shared History, New Historic Distict Even by New York standards, it was a remarkable multi-cultural event. Last weekend, some of the city's most well known Chinese and Italian community leaders gathered in a banquet hall in Little Italy for a special celebration. The occasion was the first annual "Marco Polo Day," a commemoration of the new Chinatown-Little Italy historic district.

Chuck Connors And Doyer Street Tales And Legends

from a Herbert Ashbury article in the 1926 Mercury Magazine
doyers-ashbury

Chuck Connors, A Mayor Of Chinatown

from the Bowery Hall Of Fame

Chuck Connors, born George Washington Connors, had a trait that made him very popular in the press: a willingness to be quoted saying anything.  As a result, Connors is credited with inventing the phrases, “the real thing,” “oh, good night,” “oh, forget it,” and “under the table.”  Connors’ primary claim to fame is his autobiography Bowery Life, ghostwritten by reporter and editor Richard K. Fox of The Police Gazette.Connors was most likely born in Providence, RI, although he claimed to be born on Mott Street. As a child in New York City he worked odd jobs, including a gig as a clog dancer in the Gaiety Museum. He grew up tormenting the Chinese by pulling their pigtails, but eventually learned some Mandarin--earning him his nickname, the Mayor of Chinatown. As an adult Connors worked as a bouncer in a variety of dive bars. He married, in a brief stint at an “upstanding life,” but it ended when his wife passed away. Connors traveled to London to recover, and returned with a new outfit: bell bottomed trousers, a blue-striped shirt, a bright silk scarf, a pea coat, and big pearl buttons. This was known as the Connors look. He even had a song to describe his outfit:
Pearlies on my shirt front

Pearlies on my coat 

Little bitta dicer,
stuck up on my nut

If you don’t think I’m de real t’ing

Why, tut, tut
Connors also became well known as a tour guide for celebrities, prominent authors and royalty. Connors’ reputation as a friend of the Chinese made him a convincing guide to his danger-seeking clientele, who believed him when he identified innocent passers-by as hatchet men.  Connors also created bogus opium dens, where the “fiends” paid no attention to the tour groups passing through. He also capitalized on his fame by throwing galas for the Chuck Connors Association, a charity benefiting Connors himself.

The character of Chuck Connors was played by Wallace Beery in the 1933 film the Bowery

Celebrating The 1911 Revolution

I went to view this exhibit at 33 Bowery yesterday, but I was told the showing was last week. I guess if I read Chinese I would have known:) Perhaps some of those in the pdf below were on display. From the republican china site

1911-china

1921 Drug Addicts

images of Dr. Simon from 152 West 58th Street site
Addict 1921 Dr.simon