The Hidden History of Plum Alley, Salt Lake's Chinatown
This is how Plum Alley, Salt Lake's Chinatown, looked back in 1907.
It featured a network of laundries, restaurants, Oriental specialty
shops. Around 1,800 Chinese lived in the area.
Photographed by W. Claudell Johnson. Photo courtesy of Utah State
Historical Society (photo no. 19331)
Plum Alley was torn down in 1952 and was replaced by Regent Street
Parking Terrace. Architect William Louie was visiting what used to
be Salt Lake's Chinatown for researching Chinese history in Utah in
this photo dated 1976.
Photo courtesy of Deseret News.
"From this spot on Second South Street, a narrow sixteen
foot wide alley, lined with buildings in generally deplorable
condition, ran north to First South between State and Regent Streets.
As early as 1880s, this was Plum Alley, home
of Yee Hing Lodge (Chinese Free Masons), Hang Far Low (restaurant),
Hop Wo & Co. (dealer in fine silks), and many other businesses.
Plum Alley also provided living accomodations
for the Chinese bachelor population. However, behind the facades
of some of these businesses were the gambling joints, providing
the social outlet for many of the lonely residents."
-- William Louie
(a retired Chinese American architect born in Ogden, Utah)
More on Plum Alley:
Please visit your local library's magazine and newspaper
archives for the following articles on Plum Alley.
- Utah's Chinatowns: The Development and Decline of Extinct Ethnic
Enclaves (by Daniel Liestman, Utah Historical Quarterly,
winter 1996, v. 64, no. 1)
- Salt Lake's Chinatown revisited: Plum Alley surfaces a final
time (by Kathy Helms, Deseret News, Wednesday, August
28, 1974)
- Plum Alley and the Chinese (by Rose Mary Pedersen, Deseret
News, Thursday, May 13, 1976)
- Salt Lake City's Chinatown: Remember Plum Alley? (by Stan Bowman,
Salt Lake Tribune, March 28, 1976)
Plum Alley Today:
Plum Alley's Chinatown has been gone since the beginning
of the 50s, but the site has become Salt Lake's City
Tour Stop #11, revealing to visitors a hidden history about
the life of early Chinese immigrants. Click on the images below
for details of the plaque and its location.
City Tour Stop 11 |
Street Sign |
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