Chinatown Heritage Park

Vision for a Chinatown Heritage Park

Location: Northwestern corner of Brockton and Tequesquite Avenues in Downtown Riverside

Chinatown Heritage Park seeks to:

protect and revitalize a community asset by highlighting its social, cultural, and archaeological values
create new community-serving amenities and programs in Downtown Riverside for all to enjoy

The graphic below illustrates how suggested elements could be arranged on the site. The elements are intended as suggestions to guide future study and public input after the site is secured for conservation.

After acquisition, the first priority will be to conserve the archaeological values of the site. Careful restoration and contouring of the site some feet above the original surface level is needed. Non-historic physical intrusions should be removed to allow for park-like improvements. Suggested park elements for consideration after site clean-up and stabilization include:

The overall area should have a park-like setting with appropriate turf, landscaping and trees.
An off-street parking area should be provided, and there is a suitable space bordering Tequesquite Avenue at the southwesterly end of the site.
An interpretive/visitor center would greatly enhance the visitors experience. It would best be located adjacent to the parking at the entry to the park. The center should be approximately 3000-4,000 square feet in size and primarily feature interpretive displays and archaeological materials salvaged from the site. These are presently stored by the Riverside Municipal Museum and are not accessible for public education.
The center could significantly expand its value to the community with a multi-purpose room and adjacent outdoor courtyard for educational and other community uses. Other elements should include a book/gift shop, restrooms, and other support facilities.
The primary access to Chinatown should pass through the center and lead over to the primary interpretive resource, the historic Chinatown Street. Interpretation of the street could done with a number of elements. It could be bordered by signage, building outlines, and other devices to evoke the historic street scene of Chinatown.
Reconstruction of the historic water tower which was located at the corner of Tequesquite and Brockton Avenues could be an important feature. This would be used as a visible "marker" for the park, visible to all who pass through this busy intersection.
A small formal Chinese garden is possible at the northeast corner of the site. The purpose would be as a remembrance/meditation garden for both regular park visitors as well as visitors from the hospital across the street. Chinese medicinal plants could be included and interpreted as a tie-in with the nearby medical facilities.
Another community serving facility could be a group picnic/multicultural event space . It could be used for a variety of functions including Chinese and other ethnic group celebrations and festivals. An appropriate spot where it could be located is in the northwest corner of the site. This is the approximate location of the original temporary tent overflow area used for workers during harvest time in the orange groves.
An important feature could be a demonstration garden featuring vegetables and other plants originally grown by the Chinatown residents for local use and sale. Planting of some citrus trees could also provide the connections between the Chinese workers and the groves. A suitable location could be between the events space and Chinatown.
Replantings and interpretation of the significance of the Ailanthus “Sacred Tree of Heaven” at locations in the park and around the perimeter.

PROPOSED SETTING AND RELATIONSHIPS
Establishing an appropriate setting for the overall park is also possible through the following measures:

Tequesquite Avenue is only two blocks long, but it connects Chinatown with the new Bonaminio Park where some of the historic vegetable fields tended by the Chinese were located. It is proposed that it be narrowed from four to two lanes and the extra space utilized as a path and parkway connection between the two.
Provide a pedestrian crosswalk from the hospital parking lot entry to the northeast corner of the park, where plantings and a raised viewing platform overlooking Chinatown provide a restful place for contemplation of history and nature.
Redevelop the adjacent derelict property to the north with a related business such as a Chinese restaurant with parking that could be jointly used by the park during major events.
Create physical and visual access between the site and cemetery to create a larger park-like historical space.
Provide well marked and visually pleasing walkway/trail connections, including interpretive signs, along the exterior boundaries of the site, to the greater downtown historic sites as well as to the Santa Ana River trail and the new entry up Mount Rubidoux.

A legacy of protecting Riverside Chinatown

Since its beginnings in 1885, Chinatown residents and local citizens have taken action to affirm and protect Riverside Chinatown as a community asset. Multiple historic designations and projects related to the 1984-85 archaeological study of Riverside Chinatown have enriched the City's historical record and affirmed Riverside Chinatown as a heritage site.
In the late 1980s, residents and community stakeholders were successful in obtaining a State grant to purchase the property from the RCOE to protect the site and develop a Chinatown Historical Park. Though the deal fell through in the mid-1990s, the community remained vigilant to development threats.
In 2008, the Save Our Chinatown Committee (SOCC) was formed following the city approval of a medical office development project at the site of Riverside Chinatown. One of SOCC's first actions was to file a lawsuit to prevent the destruction of the historic archaeological site.
In 2012, a panel of judges ruled City officials failed to consider reasonable alternatives to the proposed building plans and location. SOCC was successful in obtaining a court ruling which set aside the City’s certification of the proposed development's environmental impact report (EIR), its statement of overriding considerations, and project approval.
In 2014, SOCC and developers began a dialogue with the goal of finding a way to bring the medical office development to Riverside, while not destroying the Chinatown archaeological site. Talks resulted in identifying an alternative site for the medical office building project, located five blocks east of Chinatown at Olivewood Avenue off the 91 freeway and south of 14th Street. As of 2019, that medical office project has been completed.
Today SOCC is working with the Riverside County Office of Education and private citizens to protect the site for current and future generations.

Would your group or neighborhood like to learn more?

Speakers are available to share more about our area's Chinese American heritage.