During my second traipse through Chinatown, I wanted to get the true tourist experience. Many tour guides have all of the hotspots to get the “Chinatown Experience” and I intended to go all the way through. I started with the Manhattan House of Detention. Because the building was built to resemble an Egyptian mausoleum, the jail came to be called “The Tombs”. The original building was torn down and eventually a new modern Manhattan House of Detention was erected. It is still referred to as “the Tombs” by attorneys and prosecutors today.

 

After some time walking, I arrived at Columbus Park.

Many elderly Chinese people come to play cards and mahjong there.  During busy hours, you’re more likely to hear musicians singing traditional Chinese songs and playing lutes. Early in the mornings you may even spot a group of people doing tai-chi. The area where the park stands now and the surrounding streets was known as Five Points, an infamous, crime-ridden slum depicted in the book and movie Gangs of New York.  Using the map provided to me by a guide, I arrived at the Church of the Transfiguration (at the corner of Mosco and Mott Sts.).

This multi-denominational, multi-lingual church has served immigrants here for more than two centuries. The building was erected in 1801 by a Lutheran congregation. The church is still Roman Catholic but its congregation is mainly Chinese making it one of the largest Chinese Roman Catholic congregation in the Western world.  Sermons are held in English as well as two dialects of Chinese, Mandarin and Cantonese.

 

Aji Ichiban Candy Store 37 Mott Street

Despite the Japanese name, this Chinese chain of candy stores sells hundreds of kinds of Asian and Western candies and dried fruits, nuts, jerky, seafood and a fabulous selection of all things gummy! There are small sample dishes next to most items – I would ecommend you sample the pre-served rose petal, a wasabi peanut and the candied baby-crab.

Pell Street

This narrow colorful street, lined with 100 year old brick tenement apartment buildings, small storefronts and awnings and flags with Chinese writing is a favorite locale among photographers and filmmakers, as no street more than Pell screams out “This is Chinatown!”  Due to the numerous barber shops and hair salons, locals sometimes refer to Pell Street as ‘Barbershop Alley’. By the early 20th century, like many of the smaller streets branching off of Mott Street, Pell Street had its share of vice in the form of brothels, gambling houses, gang hideouts and opium dens, two of which were located at 11 and 13 Pell.

Shearith Israel Cemetery

This small, hardly noticeable sliver of land is the oldest cemetery in New York, dating back to 1683. At that time, this area was outside the boundaries of New York proper and thus suitable for a graveyard. Spanish and Portuguese Jews were the original founders of the Shearith Israel congregation, the only one in New York for nearly 200 years until 1825.  Though you cannot enter this tiny cemetery, you can see some headstones with Hebrew writing. This is one of the very few pre-colonial sites left in the city yet most New Yorkers have never heard of it. It is a treasure of history tucked away and should not be missed.