Identifier	post_00121
Title	Chinese Gardeners in California
Creator	unknown
Date Published	circa 1910
Subject (Topic)	Gardens, Chinese--California--Los Angeles;
Subject (Place)	Chinatown (Los Angeles, Calif.);
Type	image
Form/Genre	Postcards
Physical Description	1 postcard : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm.
Institution	Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University
Country of Creation	US
Copyright Status	public domain
Copyright Statement	https://library.lmu.edu/policies&procedures/librarycopyrightpolicy/
Publisher	California Souvenir
Language	eng; chi
Description	Two Chinese men sitting on a porch surrounded by vines; one is wearing a traditional Chinese hat and holding a long pipe; Chinese hanging lantern; paper with Chinese characters is posted on porch rail; front text reads: Chinese Gardeners in California; front text also includes Chinese characters;
Historical Background	At the end of the 19th century , half of the farm hands and 90% of the gardeners in Los Angeles were Chinese. The original Los Angeles Chinatown began in the late 1800s as a small settlement on Calle De Los Negros, between El Pueblo Plaza and Old Arcadia Street, and expanded east across Alameda Street. Suffering from absentee landlords and a lack of municipal services and code enforcement, the area was in decline when the city forced residents out and demolished it to make way for the new Union Station Terminal. Two new Chinatowns were created: China City, a tourist attraction, complete with rickshaw rides, brainchild of Christine Sterling, founder of Olvera Street; and New Chinatown, a business and residential neighborhood created and funded by the Chinese community under the leadership of Peter Soo Hoo. Both opened to great fanfare in 1938.
Additional Printed Matter	On back" Acme Stamp Shop, 307 w. 2nd St., L.A. 12, Calif. Stamps - Postcards- Magazines"
Contributors	Reeves; Walter, M. Mission Artist, 230 1/2 S. Spring St. L.A. Cal.
Source	Werner von Boltenstern Postcard Collection