SEATTLE — Seattle’s Chinatown-International District has been captured in photographs during the Lunar Year of the Tiger. This, as one of the city’s most iconic neighborhoods feels itself under threat.
Seattle’s Chinatown-International District has been named one of the nation’s most threatened neighborhoods. But the CID retains a cherished place in the hearts of the Asian-American community across the state.
An exhibit at the Nisei Veterans Hall reflects the CID vibrancy.
Perhaps the one constant in the history of Seattle’s Chinatown-International District has been change.
After all, this is the CID’s third location since the first Chinese immigrants arrived in Seattle in the 1850s.
“There was the time when little kids could run through these city streets here and play,” said Ron Choi. “And you did not feel in any danger. A village, it was like a village.”
In 2022, longtime photographer Rick Wong got a grant from tech giant Amazon for a CID exhibit to be displayed at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience.
But the lead time for Wing Luke is years long.
“And so, Rick realized the Lunar New Year is not only two weeks during the celebrations,” said Choi. " It’s the whole year. So, he got an idea to invite some photographers that he knows to join him and continues to project unofficially.”
Twenty-twenty-two was the “Year of the Tiger.” So, “Through the Eyes of a Tiger” was born.
Wong asked Choi to coordinate.
“So, through the lens of photographers, it was sort of a play on the word,” Choi said.
Photographer Sherwin Eng grew up with Choi and Wong. His CID roots go back to his great grandfather who came to Seattle from China in the late 1880s.
“It is like everything else, the neighborhood of Chinatown was our playground,” Eng said. “We would run down the street, not a care in the world, no fears, anything. So, I’ve seen the changes, unfortunately, good and bad, of the Chinatown-International District over the years.”
He, Wong, and four others agreed to capture their beloved “playground,” one photograph at a time.
“This one,” Eng said, pointing to a photograph, “I just love, I love bad lighting just because it gives you so many different opportunities.”
Then a photograph of the blight. “This place was a place called Jackson Beverage in the 60s,”
Both men say that the Chinatown- International District of their childhood is essentially gone. But with this exhibit, they have captured the CID at a particular time, a photographic record of what was for those who will come after.
“I’ve been a lifelong resident and it took this project for me to get closer to the community,” said Choi. “I mean, I’m like other people who would come down here, have a half a meal once in a while. But I was able to discover more.”
A discovery that awaits any who venture here.
©2023 Cox Media Group
