The politics and heritage of race and space in San Francisco's Chinatown

Abstract

Presumed to be the first Chinatown in the North America, San Francisco's Chinatown is of great significance in the Chinese immigration history. Moreover, it presents an interesting case that reveals conflicting ideas about historic preservation, heritage, and identity politics. An examination of the effort to preserve the architectural integrity of San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1940s and a government-led proposal to designate Chinatown as a historic district in the 1980s reveals the discontinuity and ambiguity in the heritage discourse and its associated collective memory. The ways that historic preservation was feared, resisted, or celebrated by the various stakeholders show that preservation can be a real challenge. At stake was the preservation of the city neighborhood as a heritage site and an inscription of memory, or maintaining it as a vital place evolving to incorporate the everyday activities pursued by its inhabitants.