I visited the Chinese American Museum which located at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument.
Address: 425 North Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
**** The original Chinatown was developed around the City’s old plaza in 1870. The neighborhood had restaurants, small businesses, religious institutions, Chinese and English schools, and a Cantonese opera theater. However, in 1871, 500 Angelenos killed 19 Chinese residents. This event called the Chinese Massacre. From 1933 and 1946, the city evicted the residents with no compensation.
The Museum has photos showing the city’s original Chinatown, New Chinatown, China City, and Market Chinatown.
**** Another exhibition in the museum was the General Store and Herb Shop.
One location, two shops
The General Store sold food, clothing, furniture, firecrackers and dishes. There were also some popular western products such as cigars and soaps. The store also provided banking and letter writing services. The letter writing service was exceptionally great for new immigrants since they could get assistance from the general store to translate.
The Herb Shop had at least 100 small cabinets used for storing, weighing, and preparing Chinese herbs. There were also acupuncture services and prescriptions of herbal remedies.
**** The museum has another exhibit called Journeys. The display is outlined for four different periods. Each period is represented by a local Chinese American with a personal story as an example. It has another display showing the increasing numbers of immigrants came to the United States by using bowls of grains (rice).
I definitely recommend teachers to take their students to visit the Chinese American Museum. It shows how the Chinese had struggled to stay in the United States. They can have the compare other struggles that other ethnic groups have experienced.
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