Washington Street

The Heart and Soul of Stockton Chinatown

Stockton’s Chinese Heritage Remembered

Chinese lion dance at the dedication of the Lee Building (now the Franco Building) at Washington and El Dorado Streets on August 11, 1970.
Holt-Atherton Special Collection, University of the Pacific

Washington Street was the heart and soul of Stockton’s Chinese community. When the Crosstown Freeway cut through Chinatown, it was the final blow to a once lively and close-knit community. Since many Chinatown business owners rented their storefronts, rather than owned, they believed they could not protest the changes coming to the area. Some were saddened to lose Chinatown, while others saw the loss as an opportunity to relocate their businesses. A number of businesses and family associations chose to move to surrounding neighborhoods that had escaped the wrecking ball.

Patricia Kim poses with a bilingual street sign at the intersection of Man Kwok Lane and Washington Street.
Courtesy of the Bank of Stockton

In 1969, the City of Stockton selected the block bounded by Washington, El Dorado, E. Market and S. Hunter Streets as “Chinatown Block” to compensate for the loss of Chinatown. Buildings along the city block have pagoda-style rooflines. Embedded into the concrete of Chung Wah and Mun Kwok Lanes are two once-colorful dragon mosaics. Chinese-motif arches bookend Mun Kwok Lane at El Dorado and S. Hunter Streets.

Bilingual street signs mark the four intersections that surround “Chinatown Block.” A handful of Chinese businesses once thrived on “Chinatown Block,” including Sampan Smorgy and New Bow Bow Restaurant. Today, only the Lee On Dong and Soo Yuen family association buildings stand as a reminder of Washington Street Chinatown.

Today, Stockton’s Chinese community can be seen throughout the city. Two visible landmarks on Weber Point commemorate the contributions of the Chinese to the city: a Confucius Bicentennial Memorial and one of the entry gates to the Event Center. Two non-profits, Jene Wah Senior Services and Quan Ying Senior Housing, serve seniors in the Chinese community. Annual community events, such as the Chinese New Year Festival and Parade at the Civic Auditorium and Ching Ming at the Chinese Cemetery are reminders of our Chinese cultural heritage. A number of restaurants offer authentic Chinese food. Several churches in the area serve predominantly Chinese congregations. One of the most dominant reminders of Chinatown is the Confucius Church, located to the south of the Crosstown Freeway.

View of Chinatown Block from the corner of El Dorado and Washington Streets, circa 1970s.
Courtesy of Val Lee Acoba

Workers creating the dragon mosaic along the pedestrian mall in Chinatown Block in April 1969.
Courtesy of the Bank of Stockton

The Chinese Cemetery was established in the late 1920s on Mathews Road off of Interstate 5. In the early days, the Chinese were buried in the Stockton Rural Cemetery with the hope that enough money could be raised to send their remains back to China. Eve ntually this practice ended and the Chinese were buried in the Chinese Cemetery.
Courtesy of Donna Yee

Altar offerings of food at the Chinese Cemetery during Ching Ming. Ching Ming, also known as
Tomb-Sweeping-Day, is a traditional Chinese festival that is held in the spring. The festival honors and remembers ancestors at their grave sites.
Celebrants pray before sweeping the headstones and offering food tea, wine,
and other items to their ancestors.
Courtesy of Donna Yee

“This exhibit echoes part of the history of Stockton’s colorful old Chinatown with relics of an era long past and enlightened with tales by those who lived it.”

Honorable Frank Kim (Retired)
San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge

Washington Street

The Heart and Soul of Stockton Chinatown

Stockton’s Chinese Heritage Remembered

Reflection: How do communities come together to remember the past?