Green-wood Cemetery is one of the most beautiful spots in Brooklyn; it’s also the final resting place of many celebrities of the past, including some who have almost completely been forgotten today. One such person is George Kin Leung (梁社乾), whose cremated … Continue reading
In 1882, Congress passed and the president signed an order barring all Chinese laborers from entering the United States for ten years and enshrining previous court decisions denying Chinese aliens the right to naturalize. In 1892, Congress extended the ban … Continue reading
In the early 20th century, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway did not yet cut across this somewhat unsightly section of downtown Brooklyn to the east of Cadman Plaza. The area was hardly tranquil, of course. The Brooklyn Bridge and the newer Manhattan … Continue reading
This lovely old apartment building, at 300 Eighth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, was once home to the Chinese Consul General in New York, Samuel Sung Young ( 熊崇志). A native of San Francisco, he was the son of Chinese … Continue reading
Recently, Scott Seligman contributed this post, about Brooklyn doctor Joseph Chak Thoms, to the Newyorkhistoryblog.org site. It’s well worth a read.
This postwar junior high school sits on a site that was once home to the Great Wall Film Company, founded in 1920 by a group of Chinese students and local Chinese American businesspeople. Incensed by the racist portrayals of Chinese … Continue reading
This ordinary townhouse at 168 Clinton Street, Brooklyn Heights, served as New York City’s first hostel for Japanese American resettlers during World War Two. I’ve discussed resettlement in New York City in a previous post about the newspapers the Japanese Times … Continue reading