Fifty years ago on June 25, 1938, California's Governor Merriam dedicated Los Angeles Chinatown's Central Plaza. Chinatown Central Plaza was one of the Nation's first malls and certainly the first modern American Chinatown. Central Plaza would provide for a growth into the famous colorful, vibrant Chinese American community.
Chinatown consisted of many notable restaurants, shops, an herbal store, a grocery store, a bean cake factory, a Chinese deli and offices. Now Chinatown boasts colorful Chinese festivals and processions held on the famed Spring, Yale, Bernard, and Cesar Chavez streets. Chinese restaurants and shops are found on streets branching off Gin Ling Way, known as the "Street of the Golden Palace."
