History of Baltimore's Chinese Culture
- The exact arrival of Chinese immigrants is not known. No personal accounts have been found; however migration records show an 1870s arrival.
- One of the few clues was recorded in The Baltimore Post on October 25, 1932. Gee Ott recounted coming to America as a teenager to find gold in Montana. Ott owned the Empire Restaurant in the 1880s, suggesting he arrived in Baltimore about 1885.
- Many immigrated eastward from western United States as work with the railroads completed in 1869. Almost eighty percent of the railroad construction force was Chinese.
- Another factor in their eastern migration was increasing negative sentiments in the western states fueled by economic depression.
- Baltimore's Chinatown included Joss houses, laundries, restaurants, merchants and gambling houses. Following World War I Chinatown was moved due to city renewal. In 1941 the population numbered around 400.
- Lured by the opportunities offered by the suburbs surrounding Baltimore, the residents left Chinatown fifty years ago. However, in September 2009 a redevelopment plan for Baltimore's Chinatown was unveiled by the Baltimore Development Corporation.