KONG CHOW TEMPLE - Professor Kwan Ming Chan

On the second floor of the Kong Chow Benevolent Association was the Kong Chow Temple, with its eight-foot gilded Kwan Gung surrounded by artifacts and deities. Men (and some women) prayed there for relief from their harsh labor conditions and safe return to the ancestral home land in Quantung, China. As Professor Kwan Ming Chan explains in her interviews, an early form of cultural hybridity and mestizaje began to emerge within the walls of the temple, celebrating the accomplishments and aspirations of Chinese immigrants who were took root in America. The Kong Chow Association and Temple remained in Old Chinatown until 1947, when the City wrapped up the demolition of Old Chinatown, shifting even the spiritual centers to New Chinatown as a final step in the construction of Union Station begun in the 1930's. Today, the association and its Temple are located off Broadway Blvd. in New Chinatown. Call the association for a first-hand visit to this amazing jewel of Los Angeles' history.