Chinatown Branch

Chinatown Square (traditional Chinese: 華埠廣場; simplified Chinese: 华埠广场; pinyin: Huàbùguǎngchǎng) is a two-story outdoor mall located in Chinatown, Chicago, a mile (1.6 km) from the center of Chicago just north of the main Wentworth Avenue District (the main Chinatown Street). Chinatown Square, on 45 acres (180,000 m2) of reclaimed land from a former railroad yard, houses mostly restaurants, retail space, boutiques, banks, clinics, beauty shops, and a handful of offices. This outdoor mall is the largest Chinese mall in the US east of San Francisco and west of New York City. In the middle of the mall, there are statues of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac from Xiamen, China. Other landmarks in the mall include twin pagodas. The mall opened in 1993 as a result of the efforts of Chinese activists who wanted more land from the city of Chicago. In the 1960s, Chinatown's land was reduced due to the construction of the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/I-94) and the Stevenson Expressway (I-55). This created a problem of overcrowding and reduced the possibility of further expansion. On the present location of Chinatown Square, there was a large railroad yard in the 1980s. The conversion of this rail yard led to the creation of Chinatown Square, allowing for much needed commercial and residential expansion. New parks were created at the same time along the Chicago River. Chinatown Square was developed by the Chinese American Development Corporation.

The Chinatown Gate is a paifang installed in Chinatown, Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was designed by Peter Fung in 1975. It spans Wentworth Avenue and is modeled after a gate in Beijing. The gate was dedicated in November 1975.

Chicago's Chinatown is a neighborhood located in the South Side of Chicago, centered on Cermak and Wentworth Avenues. Over a third of Chicago's Chinese population resides in this ethnic enclave, making it one of the largest concentrations of Chinese people in the United States. The present Chicago Chinatown formed around 1912, after settlers moved steadily south from near the Loop where the first enclaves were established in the 19th century. Chinatown is sometimes confused with an area on the city's North Side sometimes referred to as "New Chinatown", which is centered on Argyle Street and is somewhat of a misnomer given that it is largely populated by people of Southeast Asian heritage.

Cermak–Chinatown is an 'L' station on the CTA's Red Line. The station is located in Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood and contains many elements of Chinese culture in its architecture. The resort has two tile murals with "Welcome to Chinatown" also written in Chinese. Passengers using the stairs or escalator are welcomed by a couple of lion statues, called "foo dogs," meant to protect against evil spirits at the entrance. The bins on the platform are painted in red and green, the Chinese color for prosperity and longevity, with Welcome written in Chinese on the next one. Like the other eight stations of the Dan Ryan Branch, Cermak–Chinatown was built by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, looking identical to 95th/Dan Ryan. Customers outside the station can also see Chinese character masks of Chinese opera and theater productions on the walls. Cermak–Chinatown is open 24/7 as part of the service on the Red Line. In 2014, an annual total of 1,567,588 passengers boarded this station.

The Pui Tak Center (Chinese: 培德中心; pinyin: Péidé Zhōngxīn; Jyutping: pui4 dak1 zung1 sam1; Cantonese Yale: Pùihdāk Jūngsām; lit. 'cultivating virtue center'), formerly known as the On Leong Merchants Association Building, is a building located in Chicago's Chinatown. Designed by architects Christian S. Michaelsen and Sigurd A. Rognstad, the building was built for the On Leong Merchants Association and opened in 1928. The Association used it as an immigrant assistance center, and the building was informally referred to as Chinatown's "city hall". In 1988, the FBI and Chicago Police raided the building as part of a racketeering investigation. The US federal government seized the building that same year. The building was purchased by the Chinese Christian Union Church (CCUC) for $1.4 million and renamed the Pui Tak Center in 1993. That same year, the On Leong Merchants Association Building was designated a Chicago landmark by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. The CCUC spent $1 million raised from community donations to renovate and update the building's neglected interior. The Pui Tak Center now hosts various religious, community, and educational programs, such as English-as-a-Second-Language courses (ESL). In 2007, the Pui Tak Center won a $100,000 grant from the Partners in Preservation, a program sponsored by American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In preparation for the restoration work, the structural and architectural engineering firm Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates completed an evaluation of the building's eastern and southern facades, focusing on its terra cotta portions. Restoration work began in spring 2009 and is scheduled for completion in early 2010. Fully restoring the building's exterior terra cotta pieces and clay roof tiles is the first step in a long-range $2 million repair plan.

The Chinese American Museum of Chicago (CAMOC) seeks to advance the appreciation of Chinese American culture through exhibitions, education, and research and to preserve the past, present, and future of Chinese Americans primarily in the American Midwest. The museum opened in 2005 in Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood. Although it suffered a damaging fire in 2008, it reopened its renovated quarters, the Raymond B. & Jean T. Lee Center, in 2010. CAMOC is governed by the Board of Directors of the Chinatown Museum Foundation (CMF), a 501(C)(3) non-profit corporation located in Chicago, Illinois.

The Chinese American Veterans Memorial is a veterans memorial in Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The granite monument is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Archer and Princeton Avenues. It commemorates Chinese and American veterans who served and died in the armed forces.

St. Therese Chinese Catholic School is a private, Roman Catholic PK - 8 school located in the Chinatown neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The school was named after St. Therese, the patroness saint of missions. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic Schools. St. Therese was also the first Chinese Catholic school in the Midwest.

Hilliard Towers Apartments, formerly known as the Raymond Hilliard Homes CHA housing project, is a residential high-rise development in the near South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was designed by Bertrand Goldberg and is bounded by Clark Street, State Street, Cullerton Street, and Cermak Road. In 1999, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Raymond M. Hilliard Center Historic District. The development was named for Raymond Marcellus Hilliard, who was the director of the Cook County Department of Welfare from 1954 until his death in 1966.

The Everleigh Club was a high-class brothel which operated in Chicago, Illinois from February 1900 until October 1911. It was owned and operated by Ada and Minna Everleigh.

The Levee District was the red-light district of Chicago from the 1880s until 1912, when police raids shut it down. The district, like many frontier town red-light districts, got its name from its proximity to wharves in the city. The Levee district encompassed four blocks in Chicago's South Loop area, between 18th and 22nd streets. It was home to many brothels, saloons, dance halls, and the famed Everleigh Club. Prostitution boomed in the Levee District, and it was not until the Chicago Vice Commission submitted a report on the city's vice districts that it was shut down.

Ping Tom Memorial Park is a 17.24-acre (6.98 ha) public urban park in Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood, in South Side, Chicago. It is part of the Chicago Park District (CPD). Located on the south bank of the Chicago River, the park is divided into three sections by a Santa Fe rail track and 18th Street. It was designed by Ernest C. Wong of Site Design Group and features a pagoda-style pavilion, bamboo gardens, and a playground. The park is named in honor of prominent Chinatown businessman and civic leader Ping Tom; a bronze bust of Tom is installed near the park's pavilion. Phase I was completed in 1999, and Phase II was completed in 2011. The fieldhouse was completed in 2013.