Doyers at Bowery

In the 1890s, this Bowery at Doyers Street corner was a gateway to the tiny but thriving Chinatown, even then a famed tourist destination. Squeezed between Bowery, Mott, Pell and Doyers Streets and dominated by Chinese shops and residents, it was also a multi-ethnic enclave, like the nearby Five Points.
The local funeral parlor served both Irish and Chinese, and Chinese restaurants - unlike places uptown - welcomed African-American diners.
Nicknamed the 'Bloody Angle', Doyers St was sometimes the scene of gangland battles, but primarily it was a place of culture and commerce, with famed artist Wong Kai Kee's art store at 1 Doyers and the elegant Chinese-American Tuxedo restaurant on the corner at 2 Bowery. The Chinese Theatre at 5-7 Doyers, which presented Chinese opera, was popular with locals and a must-see stop on Bowery/Chinatown "slumming tours."
Noticeably absent were Chinese women. The discriminatory Chinese Exclusion Acts (1882-1943) severely restricted Chinese immigration and harshly limited the entry of Chinese women.
Thus, Chinatown's kinship associations became the center of Chinese American community life during these years. The Chinese Masonic Building at 22 Mott Street was where Dr. Sun Yat-sen raised funds for the 1911 overthrow of China's imperial government.
-Amy



Chin, Arts Consultant

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