Day 238: Chinatown, Baltimore, Maryland
📌APIA Every Day (238) - Baltimore's Chinatown emerged in the 1870s and 1880s as Chinese workers migrated eastward after completing the Transcontinental Railroad. Initially, the community settled on the 200 block of Marion Street, near Baltimore's port—a location partly chosen because the city had less overt discrimination than West Coast cities. This first Chinatown comprised mixed-use buildings that served commercial, residential, and religious purposes. Historical records from the time document various establishments, including Chinese laundries, restaurants, Joss houses, and merchant stores across the area. However, urban renewal after World War I forced the community to relocate to Park Avenue and Mulberry Street, creating the second Chinatown. This new location became home to significant organizations, such as the On Leong Chinese Merchant Association and the Chinese Benevolent Association, which offered services like legal support, business regulation, and community advocacy.
Although Baltimore’s Chinatown was never large, it developed essential institutional infrastructure. The Cantonese Language School opened at 314 Mulberry Street in 1932, though it temporarily closed in the late 1930s due to population decline before reopening after World War II. Religious institutions played a dual role in the community: Emmanuel Episcopal Church recorded Chinese participation as early as 1888, and Grace and St. Peter's Episcopal Church, established in 1921, offered religious services and English language education through its Sunday School program.
The neighborhood began to decline during the Great Depression, with major changes accelerating in the post-war period. Demolitions started in 1952 with the north side of the 200 block of West Mulberry Street, followed by further demolitions throughout the century. By 1963, while Maryland's total Chinese population had reached 2,188, only 748 remained in Baltimore City. Today, little physical evidence of historic Chinatown remains, with only two Chinese businesses operating on the 300 block of Park Avenue as of 2009. Recent initiatives, such as a proposed $30 million redevelopment project and the establishment of the Charm City Night Market in 2018, aim to reconnect the area with its Asian cultural heritage.
LEARN MORE:
Baltimore's Historic Chinatown: From Past to Present
Towson University: Greater Baltimore Asian Community History
WYPR: Reimagining Baltimore's Chinatown
Baltimore Brew: Can redevelopment rescue Baltimore’s bedraggled Chinatown?
Facebook: The Chinatown Collective
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