Reimagining Denver’s Historic Chinatown
Mural & Historical Markers
Funded by Andrew Mellon Foundation and Denver Arts & Venues, Colorado Asian Pacific United installed a mural and three historical markers strategically across Downtown Denver to honor the history of our forgotten Chinatown.
In the late 1800s, Denver was home to a vibrant and thriving Chinatown that spanned between 15th to 17th Street on Wazee St. A variety of causes saw to the eventual driving out of the Chinese community in Colorado including the Anti-Chinese Race Riot of 1880 in Denver, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and a general hatred for those that were different. Today, there is little to no physical existence of the Chinatown’s existence. Even though hundreds -if not thousands- of people walk past this area each day, very few of them would be able to recognize the historic significance and diverse history of the area.
The installation of the mural and historical markers is a metaphorical and physical way of reclaiming our stories and homes.
Explore the murals + markers below
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Explore the murals + markers below ↓
Chinatown’s Past, Present, and Future Mural
Nalye Lor installed the beautiful Chinatown mural on 1890 Lawrence Street to celebrate the resilience of the Chinese immigrants. Read below for her artist statement:
“They say that a picture paints a thousand words, and I have always thought that to be such a magical skill to possess. What I didn't know how to convey with words, I could accomplish through drawings. Because of this, I have always been enchanted with visual storytelling since I was young. Through my art, I have always sought to create that connection between stories and people—between what can be seen and what can be felt. My creative journey has been an exploration of the fantastical people and mesmerizing worlds beyond the horizon, with my goal to paint those thousands of words.
The story of Denver's historic Chinatown was important, as is the inclusion of the present and tomorrow's future. I intend for this mural to encapsulate all of that, and to spark wonder in the viewer to learn this story more in depth. Part of my creative process is to immerse myself in the moment, following what feels right and letting intuition guide my hand. This led to the endless movement throughout the mural. In this particular piece, I strived to cultivate interest from the public eye through that line movement, utilizing bright colors to draw attention to the details. There is boundless beauty that surrounds us, full of life and rich cultures that have been unfolding for centuries, many of which are unheard of. I think art is a wonderful and powerful way to not only tell these stories, but to share them with others.”
1520 16th Street- The Chinatown Story
Denver's Chinatown was one of the largest and most prosperous of the over 200 Chinese communities that once existed in the American West. Chinatown’s origins can be traced to an anonymous Chinese immigrant who arrived in Denver in June 1869. He was probably one of the Chinese railroad workers primarily responsible for building the western half of the famous Transcontinental Railroad that unified the country economically and culturally.
Chinatown was located on Wazee Street between 15th and 17th Streets, extending up to 22nd Street. It was a flourishing frontier community that provided a wide range of ethnic goods and services in a welcoming environment to Chinese immigrants working in Colorado and the Intermountain West. The Chinese immigrants performed mainly physical labor, such as working in mines and building infrastructure. Eventually, they were relegated to marginal livelihoods such as laundrymen and cooks.
Even though there were comparatively few Chinese residents, the local white population perceived them as an economic and cultural threat. Chinese encountered racial hostility and were denied civil rights, economic opportunity, and social equality. This hostility gave rise to “The Chinese Question,” a national controversy over whether Chinese laborers should be allowed to immigrate to the United States.
Local antagonism led to Denver’s anti-Chinese race riot. On October 31, 1880, an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 Denverites descended upon Chinatown to rape and pillage. During the mob’s rampage, they lynched and beat a laundryman named Look Young to death. Though the murderers were brought to trial, they were acquitted of the crime. Despite continued tensions, most of the Chinese community remained to rebuild Chinatown.
National laws preventing Chinese immigrants from establishing families in America and even entering the country sounded the death knell of Denver's Chinatown. Adding insult to injury, Denver’s anti-Chinese riot was cited as one of the reasons why the US Congress enacted the disreputable Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) to ensure social stability. In other words, they blamed the victims for their victimization.
Since the end of World War II, Chinese and other Asian Americans have returned to Denver to live and work. With ethnic enclaves like Little Saigon and Sakura Square, the Asian American community continues to thrive.
1620 Wazee St Marker- Denver’s First Race Riot
Denver’s first race riot occurred on October 31, 1880. It started when several drunken white men entered John’s Place, a saloon located in what is now 1620 Wazee Street, where they began to harass two Chinese men playing pool, hitting one without provocation. Upon hearing of the fight, a mob estimated to be between three to five thousand, approximately 10 percent of Denver’s population, descended upon Chinatown to rape and pillage. The rioters sought to destroy the community and drive out its 450 residents. During the mob’s rampage, they lynched and beat a laundryman named Look Young to death. Though severely damaging Chinatown and seriously injuring many of its inhabitants, the rioters failed to force them out of Denver. Most Chinese Denverites remained to rebuild their community. They refused to be driven from their homes.
However, national laws preventing Chinese immigrants from establishing families in America and even entering the country sounded the death knell of Denver's Chinatown. Ironically, Denver’s anti-Chinese riot was cited as one of the reasons why the US Congress enacted the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) to ensure social stability. It was extended ten years later and then made permanent in 1902. When China was an American ally during World War II, Congress repealed the exclusion laws in 1943 and allowed 105 Chinese to immigrate to America. It also permitted some Chinese immigrants living in the United States to become naturalized citizens, though they were still denied property-ownership rights.
Denver’s anti-Chinese riot was one of the worst episodes of ethnic cleansing that befell the Chinese in the Interior American West. The Honorable Mayor Michael B. Hancock issued a proclamation designating October 31, 2020, as Denver’s Chinatown Commemoration Day to memorialize the 140th Anniversary of the anti-Chinese riot. On April 16, 2022, Mayor Hancock signed a letter to officially apologize to Chinese immigrants and their families for failing to protect them from the rioters. Denver is the fifth city in the United States to apologize for its history of anti-Asian discrimination and violence, and the first outside California to do so.
As with other Chinese immigrants, all Look Young (陸揚,Lu Yang in Mandarin) wanted was to make a living and support his family in China. He was a native of Hock Sun, one of the five counties of the Pearl River Delta, Southern Guangdong Province. This region saw countless Overseas Chinese migrate to North America, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Like most Overseas Chinese who immigrated to America at the time, Look Young probably worked as a laborer to build the infrastructure that made the American West inhabitable. Despite their contributions to the country’s development, he and most of his fellow compatriots were eventually relegated to the margins of the American economy to work as laundrymen or cooks
1890 Lawrence St Marker- Lynching of Look Young
Look Young had worked in the United States for four and half years and in Denver for only six months before becoming a casualty of the city’s anti-Chinese riot on October 31, 1880. He was only twenty-eight years old when his life was tragically cut short. Look Young’s quest for the “American Dream” ended with an “American Nightmare.” Rioters caught him at his place of work, Sing Lee’s laundry, tied a rope around his neck and dragged him along Arapahoe Street toward 18th Street. The mob shouted, “cut off his queue, cut off his nose.” His tormenters tortured him, then hung him from a lamp post. The physicians who tried to save him had never seen such a horrifically mutilated body with such massive injuries, including ruptured blood vessels in his brain through blunt-force trauma. Look Young died from his injuries, leaving his wife, mother, and father behind in China. His death jeopardized his family, for they depended on him for their survival.
James Corrigan, Edward Troendle, Frederick Miller, and William Krueger were brought to trial for beating and kicking Look Young to death. Despite having eyewitnesses to this heinous crime, the jurors found them “not guilty.” As has happened many times in American history up to the present day, perpetrators of racial violence often escape justice.
The Honorable Mayor Michael B. Hancock issued a proclamation designating October 31, 2020, as Denver’s Chinatown Commemoration Day to memorialize the 140th Anniversary of the anti-Chinese riot and the murder of Look Young. On April 16, 2022, Mayor Hancock signed a letter to officially apologize to Chinese immigrants and their families for failing to protect them from the rioters. Denver is the fifth city in the United States to apologize for its long history of anti-Asian discrimination and violence. Denver is the fifth city in the United States to apologize for its long history of anti-Asian discrimination and violence, and the first outside California to do so.