91视频

Finding Portland’s Chinatown is a challenge for area residents and visitors alike.

鈥淥ne of the more popular questions we get is: Where is Chinatown?鈥� said Scott Steele, director of marketing and communications for the Lan Su Chinese Garden. 鈥淲e always talk about the restaurants that are still nearby and Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA). But we also talk about the Jade District out at (Southeast) 82nd (Avenue).鈥�

The Lan Su Chinese Garden, at 239 N.W. Everett St., is one of the few buildings in Portland’s Chinatown that has a distinct Asian flavor. Many of the buildings around it bear little difference from other structures in the city.

鈥�(The gardens) are designed to incorporate the Chinese architecture,鈥� Steele said. 鈥淲e were truly built for the location we are at. It is really designed to complement the buildings around it.鈥�

Yet few of those surrounding buildings resemble architecturally what many people consider Chinese. Plus, more Asian businesses and residents in Portland now occupy the Jade District than Chinatown.

That isn’t likely to change much under the proposed design guidelines for the Chinatown/Japantown Historic District. The Portland City Council is set to vote in August whether to approve the guidelines, which have been in the works since early 2016. The proposed standards emphasize a more flexible attitude toward signage, balconies, open courtyards and rooftop amenities like gardens. However, architectural changes won’t be drastic.

鈥淵ou’ll see more balconies, rooftop spaces and a more subtle change to the built environment,鈥� said Brandon Spencer-Hartle, senior planner for Portland’s Bureau of聽Planning聽and Sustainability. 鈥淵ou won’t suddenly see a lot of pagodas and tile roofs. We are looking to keep what makes our Chinatown a little different.鈥�

Rather than encouraging a radical redesign of the area to make it look more like other Chinatowns, the guidelines aim to create a more streamlined aesthetic, according to Spencer-Hartle. The rules will focus on allowing more flexibility on the first three to four floors and allowing alterations that may have been shot down in the past.

This plan is OK with many district stakeholders.

鈥淲e want to protect the integrity of the buildings,鈥� said Helen Ying, board member of the Portland Lodge of the Chinese American Citizen Alliance. 鈥淲e want to tell the history of what our Chinatown is.鈥�

The core of Portland’s Chinatown ranges from West Burnside Street to Northwest Glisan Street and from Northwest Third Avenue to Northwest Fifth Avenue. The area features a large gate, including a pair of sizable lion sculptures, at Fourth Avenue and Burnside Street. Also, ornate streetlamps help give the area an Asian feel.

Nevertheless, Chinatown looks much different from those in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. Aside from the gate, the streetlamps and a smattering of buildings with tile rooftops, little in Chinatown differentiates it from any other part of Portland. While classic Chinese architecture often has covered walkways, rooftop gardens and open courtyards, Portland’s Chinatown is just as likely to have a parking lot or a tech startup’s office.

鈥淚t’s more diffuse,鈥� said Joann Dao Le, principal at DAO Architecture. 鈥淔rom a physical aspect, it is not packed with Asian or Chinese businesses.鈥�

Spencer-Hartle added, 鈥淭he casual passerby won’t know they are in a different district. A hundred years ago there would have been definite change. Not so much today.鈥�

Prior to World War II, the area now considered Chinatown was dominated by Japanese who began immigrating to the area in the late 1890s and lived in structures built by early European immigrants. The city’s Chinese population largely lived to the south near what is now Keller Auditorium.

鈥淒uring (World War II), Japantown was decimated by the internment policies,鈥� Le said. 鈥淪lowly the Chinatown moved north of Burnside. Especially Third and Fourth Avenue became known as Chinatown.鈥�

The area also has served as home to large Jewish, African-American, Greek and Italian communities. The hodgepodge of communities that have called the region home has left the area with a largely European architectural aesthetic.

Even once the city’s Chinese population migrated to the area, few people actually lived there largely because of a lack of residential units and a reputation for crime and homelessness.

鈥淥ther cities’ Chinatowns have a lot more people living there,鈥� said Suenn Ho, principal at Resolve Architecture + Planning. 鈥淭hat makes a big difference.鈥�

Ho contributed to projects in 2006 to improve the streetscape along Third and Fourth avenues. She designed bronze plaques highlighting the history of the area.

鈥淭his is not just a Chinatown,鈥� Ho said. 鈥淓ach of the plaques was located in specific areas that reflect the place that was referenced. They intended to talk about the diverse cultural history of the area.鈥�

The project designers looked to incorporate the important Asian history of the area, and improve its use. Many cities’ Asian areas, for instance, have alleyways that serve as secondary retail areas for small family businesses. Portland’s streetscape doesn’t allow that kind of design, so planners settled for removing curbs from streets and using plazas to reference what a typical Chinatown would be.

鈥淲e wanted it to be a welcoming Chinatown,鈥� Ho said. 鈥淭he area can be utilized in a multitude of ways.鈥�

While efforts to retain Chinatown’s history will continue, no one should expect the area to ever look like the districts that permeate much of the West Coast, Ho said. Many cities’ Chinatowns were created via efforts to attract non-Asian tourists rather than pay homage to authentic Asian architecture.

鈥淒allas wanted us to come and build a Chinatown for them; they didn’t have one,鈥� Ho said. 鈥淭he touristy nature of San Francisco is where the gate is. The money is coming from tourists, which perpetuates its own touristy thing because people want to make money.鈥�

In Portland, Chinatown is likely to look more like the rest of the city as areas become gentrified and redeveloped. While it won’t have pagoda roofs and dragon d茅cor, the goal is to make an experience that will be unique to the area and respectful to its history.

鈥淲e are not wanting to make it pretend like it’s Disneyland,鈥� Ying said. 鈥淲e want to tell the history of what our Chinatown is. That is what we want to focus on, not attracting tourists.鈥�