Chinese American Museum (Make up assignment)

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

In replacement of a class I missed earlier in the course, I visited the Chinese American Museum this morning at the Olvera Street Plaza. The museum is situated in a brick building across from the stage area in the plaza. The museum focuses on the lives of early immigrants in Los Angeles, specifically the very area the museum itself is located in. Most of the photographs displayed in the museum capture historical moments in recognizable nearby streets. There is a segment dedicated to the displacement of Chinese immigrants from downtown to areas such as San Gabriel and Monterey Park. One of the photographs I’ve attached is of an old and interesting realtor advertisement, in which the text reads, “Incomparable views for 30 miles reminiscent of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong”, comparing city view hilltops in China to the hills of Monterey Park. The concept of the museum is to display the plight of early Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles and their struggles and assimilation, seen in displays showing adult Chinese Americans running for political positions in Los Angeles to teenage Chinese Americans joining high school marching bands. Check it out if this interests you. Admission is by donations.
edited by dchoi on 1/6/2015

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[Anonymous]

I went there a few days ago. It's an easy place to reach with the metro. Off at Union Station, cross the street to Olvera street and walk the few yards to the museum. There is a 3 dollar suggested donation. The museum is rather small but does have a nice collection of artifacts from Chinatown. I enjoyed the Chinese restaurant menus, and the exhibit that showed the expanding Chinese population here. I would have liked more interactive exhibits, something along the lines of the children area of the Autry Museum which has a dress up station, walk-through house and restaurant. As a field trip stop, it would have to be just that, one stop of many for it to fill the day.

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