Moy Dow  Chinatowns mayor dead vintage original photo measuring 8x10 inches from 1927 depicting the funeral procession of this legendary Chinese-American




The only historically Chinese area in New England, Chinatown, Boston is located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Centered on Beach Street, the neighborhood borders Boston Common, Downtown Crossing, the South End, and the Southeast Expressway/Massachusetts Turnpike.

 History

The first Chinese immigrants arrived in the Chinatown area in 1880s, fleeing anti-Chinese attitudes in California.[1] Prior to their arrival, between 1806 and 1843, the land was reclaimed by filling a tidal flat; the newly-created area was first settled by White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. After residential properties in this area became less desirable due to railway developments, it was settled by a mixed succession of Irish, Jewish, Italian, Syrian, and Chinese immigrants. Each group replaced the previous one to take advantage of low-cost housing and job opportunities in the area. During the late-nineteenth century, garment manufacturing plants also moved into Chinatown, creating Boston's historic garment district. The garment district was active until the 1990s.

During the 1950s, the construction of the Southeast Expressway cut into a large part of Chinatown. During the 1960s and 1970s, Tufts University constructed the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Chinatown after a long negotiation process with community leaders. The settlement of these negotiations resulted in the provision of funds for the construction of new community housing in Chinatown. During this period, city officials also designated an area adjacent to Chinatown as Boston's red light district, also known as the Combat Zone. However, the Combat Zone virtually disappeared by the 1990s, due to city pressure and a general increase in property values, encouraging building sales and the removal of former tenants.

 Modern day

Chinatown remains a center of Asian-American life in New England, hosting many Chinese, Japanese, Cambodian, and Vietnamese restaurants and markets. Chinatown is one of Boston's most densely-populated residential districts, with over 28,000 people per square mile in the year 2000. Nearly 70% of Chinatown's population is Asian, with a median household income of $14,289.

The traditional Chinatown Gate (paifang), surrounded by lions, is located at the intersection of Beach Street and Surface Road. Once a run-down area housing little more than a ventilation-fan building for the Central Artery Tunnel, a garden is now being constructed at this site as part of the Big Dig project. The Gate is visible from the South Station Bus Terminal, and is a popular tourist destination and photo opportunity.

The non-profit community newspaper Sampan provides English-language news and information about Chinatown.

 Housing development and gentrification

Currently, Chinatown is experiencing gentrification. Large luxury residential towers are built in and surrounding an area that was, by and large, small three-to-five-story apartment buildings intermixed with retail and light-industrial spaces. A property developer has purchased the Dainty Dot Hosiery building, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, with plans to transform it into condominiums. Chinese community organizations such as the Asian Community Development Corporation are also building housing developments which offer mixed- and low-income housing.

 Transportation

Chinatown has excellent local and regional transportation connections due to its proximity to South Station, Interstate 93, and the Massachusetts Turnpike. Two Chinese-owned bus services (Fung Wah and Lucky Star/Travelpack) provide hourly connections with New York's Chinatown.

 Chinatown South

In recent years, a new satellite Chinatown has been rapidly emerging approximately 10 miles (16 km) to the south, on Hancock Street in suburban Quincy. This is due to the rapid influx of Hokkien-speaking Mainland Chinese immigrants from the province of Fujian, as well as a large and growing ethnic Vietnamese population. There are already several large Asian supermarkets such as the Kam Man Foods and Super 88 supermarket chains, and other businesses that are competing with Boston's Chinatown. Several businesses operating in Chinatown now have branches in Quincy.

Moy Dow was a prominent Bostonian, held the position of Chinatown's "mayor," and was known as a "peacemaker" of the Chinese community.

His death made headlines of the major local newspapers -- the Boston Post, the Boston Globe, the Boston Daily Advertiser, and the Worcester Evening Gazette -- and, according to news reports, his Tyler Street funeral procession was attended by "thousands" of people from all over the United States, including then former lieutenant governor Everett P. Barry. One account in the Boston Daily Advertiser said it was "the largest funeral procession ever seen in Chinatown."

SAMPAN.org Moy Dow grew up in Worcester, attending church and Sunday school there "just as did any other American boy," reported the Globe.

Some news accounts say he was born in San Francisco, California, and moved to Worcester at the age of two, but Moy Dow's only remaining child said she believes he was actually born in China. Wong started researching her father's life in the 1990s, poring through microfiche copies of newspapers.

It's also unclear how old Moy Dow was when he died of heart troubles at his home in Roxbury. "Different papers have different ages," said Wong, who was seven when her father died. "There was one that said he was 56, one that said he was 54 and one that said he was 50."

She warns that other stories written about her father might also have inaccuracies.

"Some of them exaggerate a lot," she said.

But there are some consistencies in the reports, such as Moy Dow's life as a businessman and how he got his "peacemaker" moniker because he often acted as an arbitrator in the "tong wars," or disputes between Chinese gangs.

According to the Boston Post, after a "tong war" in 1925 killed several members of the On Leong and Hip Sing tongs, Moy went to Cleveland to join a committee of tong members hoping to end the violent conflicts. "He returned," said the news account, "bringing a message of peace to Chinatown."

Moy Dow's business involvement was influential. He was president of the Chinese Business Men's Association, a member of the Chinese Masonic Society, and president of the Asia Products Corporation. He also helped found the Chinese Merchants Association, created in 1903, and is said to have established one of the first Chinese restaurants in Boston, Han Kow restaurant on Harrison Avenue.

In February, 1922, Moy Dow was "elected" as the "mayor" of Chinatown, defeating his cousin Wah Sue, a previous "mayor" who was also racing for the position and replacing former mayor Yee Shue Wah.

Moy Dow, who worked for the U.S. immigration office, was also well-known for employing his interpretation skills to help Chinese immigrants.

Moy Dow met his wife in China. "She was busy with the children and spoke very little English," said Wong. When Moy Dow died, his wife was left to take care of their six children.

Despite his strong ties to the Chinese community, he was also well known among the non-Chinese, white population.

"He was thoroughly Americanized, well-educated and prosperous," reported the Boston Post after his death.

At Moy Dow's Christian-style funeral, which included flowers and gifts of meat and wine, a bystander was quoted in the Boston Post as saying: "That isn't much different from an American funeral."

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On Sep-14-07 at 13:41:51 PDT, seller added the following information: