First Advisor

Shirley A. Jackson

Date of Award

Spring 6-16-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Sociology and University Honors

Department

Sociology

Language

English

Subjects

Chinatown (Portland Or.) -- History, Chinese -- Oregon -- Portland -- History

DOI

10.15760/honors.1457

Abstract

Portland's Chinatown is one of the oldest North American urban Chinatowns, but is largely unexplored in the literature. It is currently a Chinatown in name only, missing Chinese residential buildings as well as popular Chinese businesses. This article explores the mystery of Portland Chinatown's birth and death, analyzing its history with a sociological lens. It had a similar lifespan to other Chinatowns in the US. However, Portland's Old Chinatown was unique, as unlike an ethnic enclave, it did not have clearly defined boundaries, growing to cover seventy city blocks at its peak. Therefore, when urban renewal started taking place in the city of Portland and Chinatown became confined to New Chinatown north of Burnside, most of the Chinese residents had left the city. In order to understand this process fully, we must understand the residents as sociological and historical agents at the birth and death of Portland's Chinatown.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/41380

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