Washington Street
The Heart and Soul of Stockton Chinatown
The Crosstown Freeway
palm trees lining Washington and Lafayette Streets is where Washington Park was once located.
Courtesy of the Bank of Stockton
The Interstate Highway Act of 1956 funded the construction of more than 40,000 miles of highways and freeways throughout the United States. Road construction changed cities as people moved to the suburbs. The freeways served several purposes: they reduced traffic congestion, made coast-to-coast travel more efficient, made evacuation of big cities easier during a nuclear attack, and replaced “undesirable slum areas with pristine ribbons of concrete.”
One of the projects funded by the Interstate Highway Act was the construction of Interstate 5, which crossed through Washington, Oregon, and California, bisecting the west side of Stockton. The State of California proposed the $20 million Crosstown Freeway project (State Route 4) through Stockton, which would link Interstate 5 with Highway 99. City officials were hesitant to approve the project until highway planners and engineers convinced them that it would revitalize the downtown and bring people to the area.
Most residents displaced by the construction of the freeway were Filipino or Mexican farm laborers, or Chinese and Japanese families.
Courtesy of the State Archives, California Highways and Public Works collection.
The State Division of Highways chose the Washington-Lafayette Streets corridor, even though other routes had been proposed. The new freeway cut through what remained of Chinatown and other poor ethnically diverse neighborhoods. Community and civic leaders, religious groups, business owners, landowners, and residents opposed the project. One of the most prominent opponents of the freeway was Charles Weber III, the grandson of Stockton’s founder. Those who opposed the freeway nicknamed it the “Chinese Wall.” Many people thought it would further divide the area already affected by the West End Redevelopment Project.
On December 27, 1961, the City Council voted 6-2 to approve construction of the freeway through the Washington-Lafayette Streets corridor. It took several years for the city and state highway officials to agree on a design for the freeway. City officials wanted an elevated freeway to avoid a “Chinese Wall” and to lessen the freeway’s impact. State officials opposed the elevated freeway because it would add another $5 million to construct. Five years later, an agreement was reached for an elevated freeway.
Courtesy of the Bank of Stockton
Demolition for the freeway began in the winter of 1967 and removed 461 houses, 126 businesses, 6 churches, Washington Square Park (in front of St. Mary’s Church), a school, and 80 acres of farmland. Displaced business owners could apply for $5,000 in relocation grants and tenants could get up to $1,500 to find replacement housing. After several delays, the first phase of the project, from Fresno Avenue to Stanislaus Street, was completed in 1974. In the mid-1970s, California’s financial problems temporarily stopped the freeway’s construction. The freeway would not link Interstate 5 and Highway 99 until 1993.
The Port of Stockton can be seen in the lower left portion of the photo.
Courtesy of the Bank of Stockton
The Crosstown Freeway created a greater divide between the north and south sides of Stockton. The freeway, along with the West Side Redevelopment Project, caused the loss of a once bustling and thriving Chinatown. Today, all that is left of Chinatown is the Confucius Church, a few Chinese restaurants and markets, several low-income housing complexes, and Chinese family association headquarters.
Courtesy of the Bank of Stockton