Honolulu Weekly

“Chinatown has been part of my life since I was a little boy,” says 55-year-old Rod Tam. “My grandmother would bring us down to the markets for shopping. Back then, there were two big fish markets, including the one at O’ahu Market, and in those days they actually had fish in them,” he laughs. Tam recalls his grandparents bargaining in the various food stands for the best prices. “The best time to bargain was the late morning through the early afternoon,” he says, pointing out that food markets take new deliveries in the afternoon. “And that’s still true to this day.”

Today Tam sits on the Honolulu City Council, where he represents District 1, which includes his boyhood stomping grounds. And while it’s commonplace these days to hear talk about the evolving character of Chinatown in recent years, Tam doesn’t see things that way. ” Chinatown is about the culture of the Chinese people. It still has that flavor. It always will.”

Perhaps so. But there’s no doubt that big changes have come to one of Honolulu’s oldest neighborhoods in recent years. In the 20-odd years since former Mayor Frank Fasi made cleaning up Chinatown a priority for city government and police, the eastern corner of the district in particular has seen a trickle of new economic activity rise to a steady flow. The launch of Indigo restaurant in 1994 and the subsequent re-opening of Hawaii Theatre heralded the beginning of a new era for the area of Hotel Street between Bethel and Smith streets, one that, if not quite a flood, has nevertheless reshaped a part of the area. And while community leaders express some concern about the gentrification that so often follows the entry of young upscale trendsetters into a neighborhood, some, like Tam, say they don’t expect Chinatown to lose its essential qualities.

Dr. Tin-Myaing Thein is executive director of the Pacific Gateway Center, which works to encourage self-sufficiency among immigrants and others through a variety of social and economic services. Thein is encouraged by the growth along Hotel Street and says it’s been good for keeping street crime down. “Economic development is a double-edged sword. Ten years ago, there was a lot of drug activity. Now that’s sort of disappearing with more foot traffic, First Friday and the rest. All of a sudden you saw high-end activities taking over and cleaning up the slum and blight in that area.” Still, she’s cautious. “It has helped quite a bit,” she says of the upscale trend. “We need some of the night traffic to be there. But at the same time, we don’t need gentrification. That’s what I’m worried about.”

Tam shares that concern, and says he believes strongly that business and visitors alike should be respectful of Chinatown’s history. “The arts groups and art galleries need to adopt at least some of the flavor of Chinatown,” he says. Tam relates a story about one gallery that he says he’s asked to display photos of the neighborhood’s history, to no avail. “They never responded.”

Tam sees historical parallels in the way a more monied group of business owners are moving steadily into what was once a solidly immigrant and working class area. He subscribes to the theory that at least one of the great turn-of-the-century Chinatown fires was intentionally set by American business owners unable to compete with their Chinese rivals. “For the Chinese, business is a negotiation,” Tam says. “Sometimes other interests can’t or don’t want to compete with the prices in Chinatown.” Tam says, “history repeats itself,” but doesn’t think outsiders will take away what’s most important about the neighborhood. “The character of the Chinese people comes from hard work. Chinatown will remain the same.”

Part of that confidence has to do with Chinatown’s status as a Special District; along with the neighborhood’s entry onto the National Register of Historic Places, the Special District status puts a heavy burden on developers wanting to convert existing buildings for new uses. Henry Eng, Honolulu’s Director of Planning and Permitting, explains that all proposed developments must apply for special building permits and that “all changes must be sympathetic to the original building’s character.”

“It’s premature to worry about McDonald’s coming in to Chinatown,” Thein says, pointing to its special status. In general, Thein is confident that the core of Chinatown will endure. “I’m not too worried about that part. The lei stands and the markets and the people are always going to be there.”