Chinatown and Little Italy is a

business revitalization zone A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within whichever businesses elect to pay an additional fee (or assessment) in order to fund projects within the district's boundaries. A BID is not a tax, as taxes fund the government. BID f ...

(BRZ) created by the City of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, roughly comprising the informal

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

and

Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...

ethnic enclave In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...

s in the city's inner neighbourhoods. The boundaries of the BRZ includes only the "commercial strips" within those enclaves and the BRZ itself straddles the official neighbourhoods of McCauley and Boyle Street.

History

Chung Kee or John Kee, was the first Chinese to settle in Edmonton, arriving by stage-coach from

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

in late May 1890 to establish a laundry. In 1899 there were only 13 Chinese men in Edmonton, one restaurant and two laundries, about half lived in Strathcona. By the early 1900s a small Chinatown began to emerge after several Chinese merchants arrived to establish their businesses at the intersection of Namayo Street (contemporary 97 Street) and Rice Street (contemporary 101A Avenue). By 1911 the original 13 Chinese people residing in Edmonton had swelled to 154 (150 males, 4 females) and by 1921 it increased further to 518 (501 males, 17 females). From covering an area of 3 city blocks in 1911 (bounded by Jasper and Elizabeth Avenue as well as Fraser and Namayo Street, to expanding eastward as far as Kinistino Street (Modern 95 Street). Despite this substantial increase in size of the Chinese community, the Chinese people still only accounted for 1% of Edmonton's population. In 1911, some 150 Chinese happily greeted the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

by cutting off their queues and celebrating, though

Sun Yat Sen The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction, reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei ...

did not visit Edmonton, he did visit Calgary in February 1911. In 1913, when Sun left the government of

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...

, Chinese Edmontonians formed a "Dare to Die Brigade" to go to China and support him. Trained by Morris Cohen (also known as General Two-Gun Cohen) they never got the chance to go to China, as Sun fled to Japan. In 1914, at the start of the First World War the Dare to Die Brigade offered to go to Europe to fight, however their request was turned down and they were disbanded. When Dr. Sun Yat Sen died in 1925, a large memorial service was held in Edmonton. Edmonton's current Chinatown consists of two parts, Chinatown South is the older part, easily recognized by the presence of the

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

Gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*gatan'', meaning an opening or passageway. Synonyms include yett (which comes from the same root w ...

and other Chinese-themed

street furniture Street furniture is a collective term for objects and pieces of equipment installed along streets and roads for various purposes. It includes bench (furniture), benches, traffic barriers, bollards, post boxes, phone boxes, streetlamps, traffic ...

. Chinatown North lies just to the north of its older counterpart. Chinatown North also includes a large Vietnamese presence and blends into the multicultural "Avenue of Nations" (107 Ave) which runs east-to-west along the northern edge of both Chinatown and Little Italy. The

Edmonton Remand Centre The Edmonton Remand Centre (ERC) is a correctional facility in Goodridge Corners, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The facility is operated by the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta. The original prison, correctional facility original ...

, located at 9660 104 Avenue, closed in April 2013 after relocating to a new facility at 127 Street & 186 Avenue in early 2013. The facility was turned over to Alberta Infrastructure and demolition of the building began in June 2023 and is expected to be completed in 2025.

Chinatown & Little Italy Business Association

The smaller enclave of Little Italy lies just few blocks to the east of Chinatown. By the early 21st century, it had ceased to be an area of major Italian settlement but continues as a shopping district.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinatown And Little Italy, Edmonton Chinese-Canadian culture in Alberta European-Canadian culture in Alberta

Shopping districts and streets in Canada Geography of Edmonton Tourist attractions in Edmonton Business Revitalization Zones in Alberta