Chinese Flower Shop, San Francisco 1904 by ethnic artist Mian Situ

Chinese Flower Shop, San Francisco 1904 by ethnic artist Mian Situ available from Prickly Pear Galleries.

 

Chinatown was a vibrant commercial center where goods and services between the two cultures were exchanged and the success of the Chinese drew some negative attention as well. 

 

Anti-Chinese immigration laws had been passed and renewed and in 1904, a publicly traded company was incorporated with the goal of acquiring most of the land in Chinatown and dislocating the residents to an outlying area. This goal seemed easily achievable after the earthquake and fire of 1906. Chinatown was one of the worst hit areas and the Chinese-American businessmen and landlords organized to rebuild quickly. That effort, ccombined with the recognition of the economic value of Chinatown and international pressure, served to ensure that San Francisco's Chinese community would stay in the neighborhood they had started back in the Gold Rush days of the mid-19th century.

 

Canvas released May 2009.