One hundred years ago, Pittsburgh had a thriving Chinatown neighborhood that city officials decimated with the thoroughfare we now call Boulevard of the Allies. Today, the only building that remains is Chinatown Inn.
🎧 I spoke to Marian Lien, president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the OCA, on the City Cast Pittsburgh podcast about how the community fought for years to get a historical marker. We also talked about the bustling businesses packed within a few blocks and how the neighborhood had a series of unofficial mayors who served as community ambassadors and translators.
On May 21, there will be a virtual screening of the documentary “The Last Mayor of Chinatown,” showing the rise, decline, and rediscovery of Pittsburgh’s Chinatown through the story of the last honorary mayor, Yuen Yee, and his daughter Shirley.
The event, hosted by the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, will trace connections between Pittsburgh and San Francisco's Chinatown — where many of our city’s early Chinese immigrants made their way from.
