Historic Preservation Update - Chinese Shrine Blessing

Gray Belle Restaurant Building, c1890, 440 State Street [Photo: SPL Historic Photo Collection]

May 19, 2018 Episode.
Every few months, the City of Salem's Historic Preservation Officer, Kimberli Fitzgerald, joins us to report on local preservation projects and happenings. This time, Kimberli's report had an international component that reminds us that our local history connects us here as well as around the globe.

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Nohlgren's Restaurant, c1950 [Photo: SPL]

Apartment Interiors, 440 State Street [Photos: KEF]

440 State Street, 2012

In the photo above, the Gray-Belle Restaurant, c1890, at 440 State Street is pictured. This building had a facade restoration in 2012 to restore its historic profile. Contractors discovered a second-floor apartment stuck in the 1940s-50s when access had been apparently closed in a subsequent renovation. The redevelopment proposal the Historic Landmarks Commission (HLC) is set to review (HIS18-11) would once again provide access to the second floor.

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Kimberli reported that redevelopment proposals are also anticipated in the coming year for the Marion Car Park on Commercial Street NE, the vacant McMahon's Furniture site on State Street, and the recently demolished Belluschi Building/First National Bank site on Liberty Street NE. As these proposals will all be reviewed by the HLC, public input is welcome. Additionally, she reported on the formation of a Main Street group working on improvements in the Downtown Historic District. They are currently researching the history of the alleyways in the downtown core and hope to showcase them in future projects. If you are interested in being on the mailing list for information on any of these projects, please contact Kimberli at [email protected].

Salem once had a thriving Chinatown, beginning in the 1860s until it was condemned in 1903 following the Chinese Exclusionary Act of 1882. In the photo above, left, George Sun, his daughter Mary Lai, and his son Woo Lai  are pictured in his store. In the photo above, right, Mr. Sun is pictured with Dr. Kum Bow Wo, a prominent physician. George Sun was the "mayor of Chinatown." His headstone was one of those recently discovered at Salem's Pioneer Cemetery as part of the Chinese Shrine public archaeology project. One of the goals of the HLC is to interpret the history of the under-represented or marginalized communities in Salem, and the Chinese community is their first endeavor.

Kimberli and the Chinese Shrine advisory group have been working with researchers at Wuyi University in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, China, who have a Root Tracing program for Chinese immigrants. These headstones are typically engraved with the family's ancestral heritage which can be traced back to their original villages. Traditionally, the bones were disinterred to be sent back to China within 10 years of death so that families could stay together in eternity. Unfortunately, after the Communist Revolution in 1948-49, the last shipment of bones of 600 people from Salem and Portland was turned away at the Chinese port and languished in a "bone house" for many years. Kimberli will be traveling to China soon to trace these roots as part of the research for her master of archeology thesis, a very interesting, albeit lengthy, document which contains many more photographs. Feel free to contact Kimberli for more information on this document.  

George Sun's Ancestral Community Shrine in Taishan Province, China [Photo:KEF]

Qing Ming Festival - Grave-Sweeping Ceremony at Chinese Shrine, Salem 2018 [City of Salem-FB]

And lest you forget, May is National Historic Preservation month. Salem events include the History Fair at the Capitol Building (including tours up into the Gold Man), the HLC's Historic Photo Contest, and the annual awarding of the Virginia Green and Ben Maxwell awards by the HLC for recognition of individual preservation efforts and the best preservation project. You'll want to check  them all out!

~~Posted by Deb Meaghers