Explore Seattle’s International District/Chinatown Neighborhood
In this Exploration Guide for students in high school, step back in time and explore the history of Seattle’s International District (also known as IDC or CID), which contains Seattle’s Chinatown, Japantown, Manilatown and Little Saigon. Who has lived here over the decades, and what have they left behind, both physically and culturally?
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Historic Preservation in Seattle | Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
The International District’s Louisa Hotel co-owner Tanya Woo discusses preserving the hotel that she has a very personal connection to, including maintaining the structure, wallpaper, and signs. But she also discusses that the building retains low-income housing units, and continues to evolve as a business within the neighborhood. Historic preservation clearly is about balancing a visceral emotional attachment to a building’s past, but also allowing it to change in order to maintain a relevant contemporary function and community benefit. What about a building do you think should be preserved to keep a connection with the past? How do you think a building should be allowed to change to keep it functioning and relevant?
View Historic Preservation in Seattle | Seattle Department of Neighborhoods -
Chinatown-International District | HistoryLink
This HistoryLink “Thumbnail History” looks at the major architectural, historical, and cultural changes in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District over the last century and a half up until 1999. That’s now over 20 years ago. If you were asked to contribute to an updated section covering the past 20 years, are there any special places or events that you would include? We can confirm that the Seattle Public Library branch mentioned in the article has indeed been built and is thriving!
View Chinatown-International District | HistoryLink -
Boy Scout Troop 54, Seattle | Wing Luke Museum/University of Washington Libraries
This photo from the Wing Luke Museum shows Troop 54, the segregated Chinese Boy Scout troop established in 1923, posing in front of the Chinese Baptist Church on S. King Street in 1927. How does this undisguised segregation affect our understanding of who gets to fully participate in being “American” or what activities are considered “American”?
View Boy Scout Troop 54, Seattle | Wing Luke Museum/University of Washington Libraries -
Ghosts of Seattle Past Map | Ghosts of Seattle Past
As much as there are artifacts of the past all over your neighborhood and the city, many things have disappeared over the years, becoming new places and things with new histories. Sometimes these changes go mostly unnoticed, but sometimes these changes can feel devastating. This interactive map features the many restaurants, venues, shops, and gathering places that went from being part of the daily lives of Seattle residents to ghostly memories on a webpage. Are there places that you remember from your life that are no longer around? Have you considered how we collectively decide what can be changed and what we value enough to preserve?
View Ghosts of Seattle Past Map | Ghosts of Seattle Past -
Seattle Neighborhood History Project | Special Collections, The Seattle Public Library
This project is a great place for accessing historical information about Seattle neighborhoods, including the International District, from the Library's special collections and elsewhere. Click on the International District on the map or the list below, and look at the “digitized items”, which includes photographs, postcards, and even restaurant menus! What sorts of historical artifacts do you find yourself most connected to? Choose an “item type” from the left hand menu and look for something that you find interesting. What draws you to this item?
View Seattle Neighborhood History Project | Special Collections, The Seattle Public Library -
Sagamiya Confectionery | Densho Digital Archives
This 1965 photo of the Sagamiya Confectionery, located at 524 Main Street in the area previously known as Nihonmachi (see http://www.wingluke.org/single-exhibit/?mep_event=748), now Seattle's International District. Sagamiya closed in the early 1970s. Do you have a favorite restaurant or bakery in the International District? What role do restaurants play in defining their communities?
View Sagamiya Confectionery | Densho Digital Archives -
American Concentration Camps | Densho Digital Archives
After President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 was issued in February 1942, most Japanese Americans were sent to short-term detention facilities run by the Army that were euphemistically called “assembly centers.” The Army utilized existing facilities such as the Puyallup Fairgrounds south of Seattle, before moving Japanese Americans much farther inland to ten concentration camps in more desolate locations. Learning about and remembering this painful history is an important part of community healing and remembrance, especially given the current detention of migrants within the USA. What other actions must we take in order to further this process of reconciliation and prevention?
View American Concentration Camps | Densho Digital Archives -
Rainy Day History Podcast, Episode 3: Heirs of the American Experiment | MOHAI Youth Advisors
This podcast, completely researched, written, and produced by the MOHAI Youth Advisors, explores the “history of objects that are personal and political and examine[s] the legacies that the events surrounding them have left for this city.” Episode 3: Heirs of the American Experiment takes a look at the impacts of Japanese Americans’ incarceration during WWII, both during and after the war. Are there any special personal items or spaces in your life whose history you would cover in your own podcast episode?
View Rainy Day History Podcast, Episode 3: Heirs of the American Experiment | MOHAI Youth Advisors -
Seattle's Race and Segregation Story in Maps 1920-2020 - Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project
This interactive map from the Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project at the University of Washington shows racial demographic change throughout Seattle each decade from 1940 - 2020. Choose different population groups and see how they change in your neighborhood throughout the decades. Why do you think this happened the way it did? What do you think these areas will look like after the 2030 Census? or 2040 Census?
View Seattle's Race and Segregation Story in Maps 1920-2020 - Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project -
The Roots of Seattle's Filipino Community | Kuya Geo - KCTS 9
George "Geo" Quibuyen of the hip-hop duo Blue Scholars explores the history of the Filipino community's presence in Seattle's Chinatown International District, known to some as Filipino Town. Geo makes the important point that while some have accidentally or purposefully forgotten the influence of Filipinx people on the IDC and our region, they have made huge contributions throughout history and continue to do so today. How is memory made, and who gets to make it visible? How can we support less powerful groups whose history is vital to our neighborhoods and communities?
View The Roots of Seattle's Filipino Community | Kuya Geo - KCTS 9