Marie Rose Wong

There's a plural in the title, which might give you pause if you're only familiar with the current remnant of Chinatown in Portland today. The story of the Chinese community in Rose City is one of resilience and flexibility, though- did you know the original Old Chinatown was actually along Front Street (alas, no more- currently where 99W runs along Tom McCall Waterfront Park), with a more rural community further west alongside 14th and Burnside (roughly where Providence Park is) that had successful gardens for quite a while? I actually first heard of the migrations of Portland's Chinatowns in [b:Portlandness: A Cultural Atlas|25241940|Portlandness A Cultural Atlas|David Banis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435219758s/25241940.jpg|44961356] which is a much more recent book and another read if you're interested in how a city's landscape changes- wondering if SC, LJ was a partial source.

The Chinese community of Portland is unique compared to other North American Chinatowns in that it wasn't necessarily restricted geographically like San Francisco or Seattle, partially due to legal savvy & persistence of the community against building codes designed to indirectly prevent "Chinese buildings". Though the relationship between immigration offices and the Chinese were rocky, community leaders like Henry Pittock actively campaigned against violence like the riots that drove out enclaves in Washington and California.

A very academic read (which betrays its origins as a doctoral dissertation), which isn't necessarily a bad thing as it leads you to more books on the topic! I did wonder if Dr. Wong was going to return to her family's story that was mentioned in the preface with the discovery of her father's papers referencing Portland, but she never did.… (más)

This book is an interesting study of the Chinatowns within Portland, Oregon. So many other books focus on San Francisco. Portland was unique in that it escaped much of the anti-Chinese fervor that overtook California and Tacoma in Washington. The urban arrangement of Portland was part of the reason for this. The Chinese weren't segregated into their own "ghetto," but had buildings scattered across portions of downtown, as well as many gardens that provided produce for the city. The historical maps of downtown Portland are especially good in this book. There is nothing comparable online.

Wong is very detailed in her analysis (sometimes it feels a wee bit exhaustive) and there are many footnotes in the back. The first portions of the book covered more general issues of the Chinese experience in the western United States, and as that was material I had read in other books, I was impatient for more on Portland. I did like a section that explored the process of immigration, both legal and illegal, since that discussed things I hadn't encountered before.

This was a great book for my research needs.… (más)