The Save Our Chinatown Committee welcomes the Chinese New Year with a banquet, and you are invited to participate!  Due to popular request, we’ve extended our ticket sales deadline to Tuesday, February 9th!   Click here (中文) for more information.

Heavy machinery was used at the site in December to remove weeds.  Because the protective overburden (thick layer of soil) was removed in the Valentine’s Day Massacre (2009) preceding the injunction, the site is especially physically fragile now.

In spite of repeated requests by SOCC members to the RCOE, the site has not been covered over or otherwise protected.  With the injunction now removed, it lays prey to destruction from more than just the elements.

Photo 0748, September 2009.

Given the behavior we witnessed in February 2009 on the part of the developer, the City, and the Riverside County Office of Education, we are concerned for this historic archaeological site.  Prior to the February 2009 assault on the site, the weeds were cleared in a manner similar to what we have recently seen.

Photo 0748 was taken in September for the “This Place Matters” contest; you see the growth in the background.  Photos 0947 and 0949 were taken December 19^th.  You can see the vulnerable property.

Photo 0947, December 19, 2009.

Developer Doug Jacobs has used a holiday weekend for his activities on this site in the past.

Photo 0949, December 19, 2009

If you have any time to drive by the site, we would appreciate your help in monitoring it.

If you spot activity on the site, please:

• Call Kevin Akin at: Home (951) 787-0318 or cell (951) 675-2813 and report what is happening – call anytime, day or night.

• If you can, document what is going on at the site by taking photos or video evidence of the site and the people active at the site.  Take notes if you can, including the types of equipment being used.

• Call The Press-Enterprise at (951) 684-1200.

The Save Our Chinatown Committee works to protect and preserve Riverside’s historic Chinatown archaeological site, aims to create a Chinatown Memorial Park, and engages in research, education and organizing to further these goals.

RIVERSIDE CHINATOWN HISTORICAL PARK

WHEREAS, Chinese pioneers first arrived in the 1870’s in Riverside CA, not long after its founding; and

WHEREAS, Chinese knowledge of citrus horticulture and Chinese labor and tools enabled the citrus industry to succeed in Riverside where prior agricultural efforts had failed; and

WHEREAS, the citrus economy enabled Riverside to become at one time the richest city per capita in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Riverside Chinese made many other agricultural contributions, toward grape and raisin production, other orchard crops, and vegetable farming, for many decades; and

WHEREAS, Chinese workers provided other valuable needed services, as cooks, servants, laundrymen, and laborers, for the Riverside community; and

WHEREAS, the earliest Chinese settlement was forced out of downtown Riverside due to anti-Chinese political pressure; and

WHEREAS, in 1885 a second Riverside Chinatown was established near the corner of Tequesquite and Brockton; and;

WHEREAS, the second Riverside Chinatown flourished with over 450 full-time residents and an additional 2,500 workers were housed nearby during the harvest season; and

WHEREAS, Riverside Chinatown contained business buildings, boarding houses, labor halls and social halls, and a Kwan Kung temple, and served as a hub for the many Chinese in the Inland Empire region surrounding Riverside in the late 19^th century; and

WHEREAS, Chinese Exclusion led to the demise of many Chinatowns, including Riverside’s, in the 20^th century, and subsequently all above-surface structures have been demolished ; and

WHEREAS, historical and archaeological professionals have identified the presence of sub-surface archaeological remains at the Riverside Chinatown site, supported by archaeological work in the 1980’s which yielded many historical artifacts; and

WHEREAS, the Riverside Chinatown site has been recognized as a city landmark, a county landmark, a California State Point of Historical Interest, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; and

WHEREAS, the Riverside County Office of Education, the current owner of the Chinatown site, previously committed to the preservation of the site and conducted a feasibility study for development of a Chinatown Historical Park, but is now in the process of selling the site for private development; and

WHEREAS, the Chinese American Citizens Alliance has since 1895 fought to protect the civil rights of Chinese Americans and to support Chinese American communities and heritage.

NOW THEREFORE, the Chinese American Citizens Alliance hereby resolves:

1. To support the preservation of the historic Riverside Chinatown site as an archaeological, educational, and cultural resource;
2. To encourage the Riverside County Office of Education, the City of Riverside, and the people of Riverside, to consider, select, and seek financing, for the establishment of a Riverside Chinatown Historical Park for the educational and cultural benefit of all the people of Riverside and California.

Submitted by Los Angeles Lodge (August 2009)

Save Our Chinatown Committee

CHINATOWN COMMITTEE HAILS COURT VICTORY

For immediate release

Riverside, California, September 4, 2009

Judge Sharon Waters issued her decision on the Save Our Chinatown Committee’s suit to stop the destruction of the old Riverside Chinatown archaeological site on Monday, August 31, 2009.  While three defendants were named, the judge found against only two of them, based on one of the nine “causes of action.”  Finding that the agreement for the Riverside County Office of Education to sell the land to developer Doug Jacobs violated state law, she invalidated the sale.  Judge Waters ruled against the SOCC  on the other eight “causes,” but committee members believe her ruling invalidating the sale of the land opens the way to a possible settlement that will preserve the site.

“Our initial reaction is one of  relief, but we realize that there is still work to be done before we can guarantee permanent protection for this extremely important archaeological site,” said SOCC spokesperson Margie Akin.  ” The judge decided that the sale of the land was improperly handled, and that the sale of the property is not valid. However, public statements by representatives of the Board of Education have made it plain that they want the revenue from the sale of the land, and it would not surprise us if they started the process of selling the land over again.”

“The land is now owned by a public entity, which gives us some time to organize and make use of the protections it still has as a result of public ownership. If the property is sold to a private individual our ability to protect the site is severely damaged.

“In her conclusion, the judge stated that the court cannot veto political decisions made by the City Council.  This means that if the people of Riverside, and beyond, want to save this site we can not depend on the court to save us, but must bring the political will of the people to bear on the council.  The Save Our Chinatown Committee encourages all citizens of Riverside to learn more about the contributions of Chinese Americans to Riverside’s history, and to support efforts to preserve this historical and cultural resource,” concluded Akin.

For further information:  Margie Akin (951) 787-0318 margieakin@hotmail.com.