With their earnings, some started putting up businesses, which grew to become what Honolulu's Chinatown is today. Honolulu's Chinatown is quite unlike many other mainland cities in the sense that many of the buildings are relatively new.
The whole place completely burned several times, and at one time after several restorations, it became a red-light district with a high crime rate, drug dealers and punks. Back then local residents and visitors practically avoided this area, especially after dark. Today, the neighborhood has been cleaned up and is alive with a new generation of market-goers, diners and tourists. Home to many Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Hawaiians and people from other Southeast Asian countries, Honolulu's Chinatown is now one of the most vibrant cultural and economic centers of Hawaii.
Many of these Japanese laborers moved to Honolulu and Chinatown after their contracts were finished. Chinatown's Japanese residents opened theaters, hotels, cafes, and bars that served the Japanese population.
Japanese immigrants were followed by Filipinos and Portuguese, making Chinatown one of the most ethnically diverse areas in Honolulu. By the late s, Chinatown had begun to decline as many of the Chinese residents moved to other areas of Honolulu to live while still keeping their businesses in the district. With America's entry into World War II, however, Chinatown enjoyed a new vitality when its nightclubs, restaurants, brothels along Hotel Street, and gambling parlors became a popular destination for the large military population on the islands.
After the war, Chinatown fell into a long slow decline, becoming known as a hotspot for illegal activities. During the s and s, the number of people living in Chinatown continued to drop and businesses began to suffer. The opening of the Ala Moana Shopping Center in , located two miles to the southeast, meant that shoppers no longer frequented the stores in downtown Honolulu or Chinatown. Also that year, Hawaii became the 50th U. By , tourism had overtaken sugar and pineapple as the main industry in the islands, and as areas such as Waikiki, three miles down the coast from Chinatown, became popular tourist destinations fewer and fewer people frequented Chinatown.
As a result, the area began to revitalize and the city started to invest in Chinatown and its unique history. Government spending re-energized the local economy and encouraged private investors to return to the district. In the s, Maunakea Marketplace, which incorporates the front of an older theater, and Kekaulike Mall were built to help bring commerce back to Chinatown.
The residents and business owners of Chinatown were instrumental in the district's rebirth, setting up nonprofits and corporations, and working with the city to preserve and grow Chinatown. Today, Honolulu's Chinatown is once again a vibrant commercial district with smaller traditional businesses such as restaurants, shops, and bars existing alongside a growing number of art galleries and artists' studios.
Chinatown Historic District is the largest area in Honolulu that reflects an architectural and historic character with a distinctive sense of time and place. Most of the buildings in the district were built between and , with only a very few predating the Chinatown fire of The Royal Saloon Building, constructed in , is one of a handful of buildings in Chinatown to have survived the fire. The design of the one-story Royal Saloon Building is a blend of Florentine Gothic and Renaissance Revival Styles with cast iron decorations and white stucco pilasters, balustrade, and cornice.
Another survivor of the fire, the T. Foster Building, was constructed in by Thomas R. At this cozy restaurant, reservations are recommended. Serving simple, American comfort food with an innovative twist, Livestock Tavern always has new seasonal dishes.
Some of their popular dishes include prime rib, lobster roll, tavern burger, and clam chowder. This popular Honolulu ramen restaurant also has pork belly bao, lamb lumpia, oxtail dumplings, and hot pot options. Formerly known as JJ Dolans, this is one of the top places to get pizza in Honolulu.
This Chinese restaurant offers an array of Chinese food options, including hot and sour soup, honey walnut shrimp, lettuce wraps, and spring rolls.
They are open for lunch and dinner. This family-owned Thai restaurant in Chinatown Honolulu serves mouthwatering dishes for dinner. Try the pad thai, drunken noodles, tom yum soup, or special cake, and you will not be disappointed.
How can Chinatown be Chinatown without dim sum? This small Cantonese restaurant is always filled with people, and their reasonably priced dim sum is made fresh by hand each day. The dim sum carts are available during lunchtime 10 a. This longtime Chinatown restaurant serves local Hawaiian and American food — sometimes in a fusion way.
Try the loco moco, vegan chicken katsu, French toast, Rueben sandwich, or buffalo chicken. Like its name says, this Chinatown restaurant serves Thai and Lao food. It has long hours being open from 9 a. Their most popular dishes are the spring rolls, pad Thai, summer rolls, mango sticky rice, papaya salad, and tom yum. Use the unique spongy bread to scope up delicious meat and vegetable dishes.
Some of the top orders are the lamb tibs, shiro, romi, and miser wot. Enjoy this fun Ethiopian eating experience in the heart of Chinatown. There's a wall of tiny drawers all labeled in Chinese characters. The herbalist quickly pulls from the drawers various objects that range from dried flowers and ground-up roots to such exotics as mashed antelope antler.
The patient then takes the concoction home to brew into a strong tea. Mon-Sat am-5pm; Sun am-2pm. Oahu Marketplace Those interested in Asian cooking will find all the necessary ingredients here, including pigs' heads, poultry some still squawking , fresh octopus, salted jellyfish, pungent fish sauce, fresh herbs, and thousand-year-old eggs. The friendly vendors are happy to give instructions on how to prepare these exotic treats.
The market has been at this spot since Daily 6am-6pm. Shade trees, park benches, and tables where seniors gather to play mah-jongg and checkers line the mall. There are plenty of takeout restaurants along River Street if you'd like to eat lunch outdoors. If you're up early am in summer and 6am in winter , you'll see seniors practicing tai chi. Beretania St. Photo Caption: Chinatown's first inhabitants were plantation laborers who set up small shops and restaurants around River Street when their contracts were up.
0コメント