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Harry Quillen’s Chinatown

Wendy Horowitz, Librarian, Photo Collection,
New Year lion in New Chinatown
New Year lion in New Chinatown, [ca 1940s]. Harry Quillen Collection

Photographer Harry Quillen loved the circus, and during the 1940s, he enthusiastically captured the light-hearted spirit of the traveling show with his large format camera. After his death in 1972, his work was donated to the Circus World Museum in Wisconsin, but amongst his photographs of the aerialists, animals, clowns, and daily life in the tents and on the stages of the Clyde Beatty Circus, archivists discovered something else: hundreds of prints and negatives of the early days of Los Angeles' Chinatown.

Established in 1938, "New Chinatown" was the first of such communities to be funded, controlled, and operated solely by Chinese Americans. The architecture blended modern Chinese and American design aesthetics, including colorful neon, intricate wood carvings, and imposing statues. Central Plaza, considered to be the first outdoor mall, became the focal point and social hub of the community, hosting traditional lion dances and lantern festivals and featuring landmarks such as the Golden Pagoda and its famous Gateways. Harry Quillen attended the grand opening of New Chinatown in 1938 as well as the lion dances, lantern festivals, and other culturally significant events in the community, providing a valuable historical record of Chinatown as it was and as we know it today.

In honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the Los Angeles Public Library's Photo Collection presents a selection of Harry Quillen's New Chinatown photographs, of which there are over 700 online on our Tessa database, that combine the neighborhood's shops, restaurants and landmarks with images of daily life among Los Angeles' Chinese American community in the 1930s and 1940s.

Y. C. Hong Building in New Chinatown
The Y.C. Hong Building at night, illuminated by neon. The Forbidden Palace restaurant is to the left, and the Ginling Gift Shop is on the right, [ca 1939]. Harry Quillen Collection, Los Angeles Photographers Collection
Anna May Wong signs autographs
Actress Anna May Wong greets fans in New Chinatown during its Grand Opening on June 25, 1938. Harry Quillen Collection, Los Angeles Photographers Collection
Celebration in New Chinatown
Crowds gather in front of restaurants and shops in New Chinatown, [ca 1938]. Harry Quillen Collection, Los Angeles Photographers Collection
Tennis players eat snacks
A group of friends relax on the grass following a game of tennis. Harry Quillen Collection, Los Angeles Photographers Collection
A little girl poses next to the lion statue in front of the Y. C. Hong Building in New Chinatown
A little girl poses next to the lion statue in front of the Y.C. Hong Building in New Chinatown, [ca 1940]. Harry Quillen Collection, Los Angeles Photographers Collection
Boys playing basketball
The Wah Kue basketball team players strategize against their opponents on a gymnasium floor, [ca 1940]. Harry Quillen Collection, Los Angeles Photographers Collection
Church wedding
A bride and groom walk down the aisle at their wedding as well-wishers look on, [ca 1940]. Harry Quillen Collection, Los Angeles Photographers Collection
Wishing well in Chinatown
The wishing well by the West Gate of New Chinatown. In the background are the Shangri La restaurant, Quan Mon cocktail bar, and Shanghai Importers, [ca 1939]. Harry Quillen Collection, Los Angeles Photographers Collection

 

 

 

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