# Chinatowns **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2010, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161 "2010-11-10T12:22:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161/21 "2010-11-10T23:49:03Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Why would you ever go by land area when asking a question like this? Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161/22 "2010-11-10T23:50:06Z")
The Denver metropolitan area has over 2.5M people (closer to 3M if you include Boulder-Longmont) and has no Chinatown. Interestingly, there used to be one where Coors Field sits today, but it was razed in the 1940’s ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161/23 "2010-11-11T10:18:47Z")
It’s not on the Wiki-list, but Portland also has a [Chinatown](http://www.oldtownchinatown.net/), although it usually is called Old Town. It’s been a long time since there’s been a sizable number of Chinese living there, but I expect that’s true of most Chinatowns. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161/24 "2010-11-11T13:34:22Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > My list was largest city by population. If we do largest city by size (area) it would be Yakutat, Alaska. In fact, the largest city (by area) to have a Chinatown (according to Wiki) would be Houston, which is the 10th largest city by area. Houston had an “old” Chinatown, Downtown; freeway construction & a convention center have pretty much erased it. Mostly, the Chinese-Texans\* moved\* to the 'burbs & took their businesses with them. [New Chinatown](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_Houston) sprawls southwest of town. And, as Wikipedia says, includes “many other ethnic groups.” There are plenty of Chinese (& other Asian) businesses found _throughout_ the Greater Houston Area. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161/25 "2010-11-12T03:13:09Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown. I’m mildly surprised it took someone this long. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161/26 "2010-11-12T05:25:18Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown. Ironically, the LA Chinatown of the period of the film (pre-WWII) was about a square block. I don’t know what Jake was doing in Chinatown, but it couldn’t have been very much. (Of course, Jake says he was doing “as little as possible,” but still, one would think that the D.A. would assign an investigator a slightly larger beat.) The contemporary Los Angeles Chinatown is about four blocks by three and is mostly occupied by cheap crap stores, half of which are operated by Vietnamese immigrants. You’ll actually find more ethnic Chinese in the Toy District. Everybody wants to come to LA to see Hollywood, Chinatown, and Santa Monica Blvd., and everybody leaves disappointed with what a grungy place Los Angeles actually is (compared to their preconceptions). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161/27 "2010-11-12T15:13:14Z")
What percentage of properties must be occupied by ethnically Chinese people to constitute a real Chinatown? A majority? A plurality? ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161/28 "2010-11-12T16:12:26Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Count DC in that category. Our Chinablock is becoming less Chinese (and less Asian overall) every year - it’s just about as common to refer to it as Gallery Place as Chinatown. I think that there are still a few Chinese restaurants left in Chinatown. The better question is are any of them any good. None of the ones I’ve tried there are. The best ones seem to be in the suburbs. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161/29 "2010-11-12T16:29:37Z")
Interestingly, the last meal I had in the DC Chinatown–some years back–was at a _Burmese_ restaurant. It was quite good. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161/30 "2010-11-13T05:45:26Z")
This website says that there are 19 Chinese restaurants in the D.C. Chinatown. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161/31 "2010-11-13T05:52:21Z")
I forgot to include the URL: [http://www.urbanspoon.com/nf/7/611/613/DC/Chinatown/Chinese-Restaurants](http://www.urbanspoon.com/nf/7/611/613/DC/Chinatown/Chinese-Restaurants) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatowns/560161.md?page=1)