The history of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation is inextricably tied to the history of Chinatown.
1871: The Birth of Philadelphia Chinatown
Philadelphia’s Chinatown was born in 1871 with a hand laundry at 913 Race Street, owned by Lee Fong, one of the many sojourners who fled anti-Chinese sentiment in the west and relocated east to form small “bachelor societies” in many cities. When Chinatown was established in the late 1800s, this area was known as Philadelphia’s “tenderloin” or “red light” district. Chinatowns across the United States often sprung up in areas regarded as dangerous or undesirable, because they were the only places Chinese immigrants would be accepted. For many decades Chinatown consisted of a concentration of Chinese businesses clustered around the 900 block of Race Street.
On October 8, 2010, the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission dedicated a historic plaque at 913 Race Street recognizing the founding of Chinatown.
1950S: Post World War II
By the 1950s, little had changed. Chinatown wasn’t known for its cultural vibrancy and residential life, but rather for bars and vice. The area was Philadelphia’s “skid row”; however, for the people who lived here it was a community. Despite challenging surroundings, they built homes.
After World War II, liberalized immigration policies toward the Chinese transformed Chinatown into a family-oriented community. Churches, businesses, and social and cultural organizations were established to improve neighborhood life, preserve Chinese culture, and provide services to growing numbers of immigrants.
1966: PCDC is Born
In 1966, PennDOT unveiled its new plan for the Vine Street Expressway, which called for the razing of the Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church and School. Concurrently, the city-initiated plans for Metropolitan Hospital and Market Street East that would box Chinatown in on all sides, preventing relocation. It seemed Chinatown would be destroyed without even having a chance to speak. For many residents, this was the last straw.
Led by Cecilia Moy Yep, a young widow with three small children, residents decided to fight for their homes and community. The Chinese Benevolent Association (CBA), the only organization representing Chinatown at that time, assisted in organizing the first Town Meeting.
On March 27th, 1966, associations, business owners, church leaders, sympathizers and residents gathered at the On Leong Merchants’ Association to discuss how we could counter plans proposed by the government agencies that would seriously impact the community. From this meeting, the Committee for the Advancement and Preservation of the Chinatown Community was formed. The Committee was later incorporated into the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC) in 1969.
In 1969, George Moy was elected PCDC’s first President. In 1982, George would receive the William Penn Human Rights Trophy for his volunteer service to the Chinatown community.
1975 – 1984: Building Resources
In 1975 a decade of struggle began to pay off, as PCDC got a City grant to complete an urban design plan and policy recommendations for Chinatown. The 1975 study, the Chadbourne Report, led Mayor Frank Rizzo to commit funding to build houses in Chinatown for low- and moderate-income residents displaced by government action.
The fight against the development projects proposed by the city in the sixties continued through the seventies and beyond. By organizing the community and bringing attention to Chinatown’s plight, PCDC finally made the government listen.
PCDC made replacement housing for the displaced a top priority. If we could not stop the government from demolishing houses, at least we could force them to relocate the displaced within Chinatown. The buildings might be different, but the community would survive.
PCDC went full throttle to preserve Chinatown. Three projects in three years delivered 138 new residential units:
Mei Wah Yuen in 1982: Development of 25 townhouses on Spring Street from 9th to 11th Streets. Preserved the residential character of Chinatown’s streets.
Wing Wah Yuen (Dynasty Court) in 1983: Development of 55 units (Section 8) at Race Street between 10th & 11th Streets.
On Lok House in 1984: Development of 55 units (Section 8) rental units for the elderly & 2 commercial units at 219 North 10th Street. Innovation of incorporating commercial in affordable developments.
1977: Community Garden Program
To bolster spirit and unity, PCDC launched a community garden program in the late seventies on vacant land acquired for the expressway. Under the direction of Anna Ku Lau, it was met with great enthusiasm and won second prize for best garden in the PA Horticultural Society’s city-wide neighborhood gardens’ contest in 1977. The garden would receive many prizes over the years, including the Decade Award in 1984. Annual bumper crops of fruits and vegetables were the pride of the community, and helped augment the food supplies of many needy families.
1982-1984: The Friendship Gate
In November 1982, Cecilia Moy Yep, with architect Sabrina Soong, and James Guo represented Chinatown in a Trade Mission to China. The Mission resulted in an Agreement with Philadelphia’s Sister-City, Tianjin, to provide materials and technical assistance for the Gate.
Twelve Chinese artisans arrived in Philadelphia in October 1983. PCDC Board Members and other volunteers provided food, housing and entertainment for the artisans during their stay. Extreme cold that winter made the project difficult, but thanks to George Moy’s creative heating system it was finished on schedule. The Friendship Gate was dedicated in January 1984, with Mayor Wilson Goode, Mayor Green, and Vice-Mayor Li of Tianjin in attendance.
Late 1980s: More Relocation due to Urban Development Projects
In the late 1980s the construction of the Convention Center, which had long been proposed, finally appeared inevitable. PCDC organized seven businesses whose properties were located on the proposed Convention Center site to demand that the city honor a promise to build replacement units equivalent to what was taken. As a result seven new commercial structures were built on the east side of 9th Street to house the displaced businesses and their tenants. Again, Chinatown was relocated but preserved.
Gaining the land on east 9th Street from Race to Cherry was a struggle. The land, which community members regarded as the eastern border of Chinatown, was taken from Chinese families for redevelopment but was then given away to Podiatry College. When PCDC suggested the land should be returned to Chinatown, the government challenged PCDC to have a project ready within two weeks. PCDC proposed a development of 14 units of residential (28 apartments) and commercial (14 stores), and community members in need of housing agreed to immediately place down payments to finance construction. Within two weeks enough money was raised for a construction loan, and within a year Gim Sam Plaza was completed. Lily Yeh, a prominent local artist, created a mural on the Race St. side of the façade.
1990s: The Struggle to Expand
Given the repeated development projects that had taken Chinatown land and boxed in the community, the only way for the community to expand was north. In the early 1990’s, PCDC commissioned Dr. Jon Lang for a comprehensive design study to formulate a strategy to expand Chinatown northward. For the first phase of this strategy PCDC identified the site at 9th and Vine Streets for construction of Hing Wah Yuen, a 51-unit mixed-income affordable housing development.
Of course, building homes in Chinatown is never easy. Competing for the site was the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which was interested in putting a 750 bed Metropolitan Detention Center at 8th and Vine Streets. PCDC organized the community and won support for the battle. Cardinal Bevilacqua spoke out against the prison. In 1994, the Federal Bureau of Prisons decided to locate the Detention Center closer to the Federal Court, another victory for Chinatown’s growing residential community. This allowed us to move full speed forward with Hing Wah Yuen’s development.
PCDC had already received a challenge grant from HUD for Hing Wah Yuen, which would match every dollar (up to $25,000) that PCDC raised for the Chinatown North Project. PCDC matched the challenge with funds raised at our Chinese New Year Fundraising Dinner in January 1993. Hing Wah Yuen was a difficult project because it encompassed an entire city block, with the CCCRT Tunnel running underground in the middle of the site. However, PCDC completed the project in 1997, and in 1999 it received the national Maxwell Award for Excellence in Community Development from the Fannie Mae Foundation. In 1998, PCDC designed and constructed our new office on the same site, at 9th and Vine Streets.
In 2003, PCDC completed Sing Wah Yuen as the second phase of the Chinatown North Project. Located next to Hing Wah Yuen and Holy Redeemer Church and School, Sing Wah Yuen consists of 11 units of housing for first-time homebuyers. The development has 10 low-moderate income residential units and l market rate mixed commercial/residential unit.
2000s: The Baseball Stadium Fight, and New Programming
In 2000, PCDC’s new Executive Director John Chin immediately had to mobilize the community against a massive threat, as the city announced its intention to locate a new baseball stadium at 11th and Vine Streets.
The stadium would have paralyzed Chinatown with traffic and illegal parking during events, harming both residents and businesses and blocking any further opportunities for Chinatown’s growth.
PCDC drew on its growing resources and reputation to fight this imposition, forming a coalition of local community and national Asian American organizations. A lawsuit was filed to keep the Stadium out of Chinatown, and ultimately Mayor Street decided to build the Stadium in South Philadelphia.
The stadium fight showed that even after decades of advocacy, Chinatown still needed to be wary of outside plans. Chinatown’s status as a viable home for low-income residents has also been threatened by internal pressures, as private developers have been rapidly converting former warehouses and factories in the area into office buildings and loft apartments.
The gentrification of Chinatown North has succeeded in driving up land prices out of the reach of the community, especially for affordable housing for low-moderate income persons. By the 2000s Chinatown had established itself as a thriving live-work community, yet it was still under constant pressure.
PCDC began conducting intensive neighborhood planning in the wake of the economic recession of 2008. After community surveys uncovered extensive needs in Philadelphia’s Chinese immigrant community, PCDC introduced new programming such as the Teen Club, HUD-certified Chinatown Homeownership Initiative, family services, and benefits access services.
Many look to the future of Chinatown in new housing and businesses north of Vine Street. PCDC sought to solidify that effort while bringing the first recreation center to Chinatown with the development of the Crane Chinatown building and the Crane Community Center. Having opened its doors in 2019, Crane now offers a large gym, hosts PCDC’s youth programming and Senior Cafe.
2020 - 2024: Advocacy to Save Chinatown
Continued activism by community members has allowed the community to survive.
At the start of 2020, PCDC expanded our services to support the need for COVID-19 pandemic relief and recovery, information, and vaccines. PCDC actively organized against anti-Asian hate through town halls, a bilingual survey of anti-Asian incidents among our Chinese immigrant community, an Asian Women’s Wellness Day providing self-protection workshops and activities, a community rally on May 12th, and our community advocacy program. Beyond the immediate threat of the pandemic, PCDC worked with Chinatown’s business owners to secure funding and support to advance a recovery.
In an effort to combat gentrification and displacement, and to help Chinatown keep its cultural identity, PCDC has conducted several Equity Plans in conjunction with the Rail Park, and other local organizations including Franklin Square and the African American History Museum.
In 2023, the Sixers announced a planned development at Market East, adjacent to Chinatown, in place of the Fashion District. This planned basketball arena for the Sixers was called “76 Place”. PCDC mobilized a large effort to gather community input and study how 76 Place would impact Chinatown. For two years, PCDC conducted bilingual surveys and studies and advocated heavily to emphasize the harms the arena would pose to Chinatown. Advocacy, education, and engagement were the keys to combat the 76 Place legislative process. The arena project would have had profound gentrifying and displacement pressures on the neighborhood, based on national studies. A Community Impact Study, conducted on behalf of the City, found that over 50% of Chinatown’s businesses would be harmed by the arena. It also would bring traffic chaos if it failed to meet the approved traffic plan requiring 40% SEPTA ridership.
In late 2024, PCDC’s advocacy efforts in meetings and testimony at City Council led to City Council increasing the allocation to a proposed Chinatown Business Disruption Fund. In the end, Chinatown was victorious against the 76 Place Arena. It was officially announced by Mayor Parker on January 13, 2025, that the proposal to develop the 76 Place arena was tabled, and the team would remain in South Philadelphia.
2025 and Beyond:
We will continue to draw upon decades of cultural resilience, organizing, and advocacy work to overcome the challenges our communities face.
Today, PCDC leverages nearly 60 years of experience as the premier grassroots, community-based organization addressing the affordable housing, financial empowerment, small business assistance, youth wellness, community advocacy, and neighborhood planning needs of Chinatown and the Chinese immigrant community of Greater Philadelphia. Our language-accessible and culturally-appropriate bilingual programs and services are driven by our mission to protect, promote, and preserve Chinatown as a viable ethnic, residential, and business community.
In the words of late PCDC Co-Founder George Moy, “This is, was, will be Chinatown.”