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Good morning Blue Bird,

I hope you are having a good day. In the sixties and seventies, Chinatown Los Angeles was full of people. It was one of the best places to go and eat. The area expanded with new restaurants and buildings to the north and across the street to the west. As you have noticed, today it is nothing and it is ALWAYS empty. What happen?

In the eighties, drugs and the homeless hit all over Los Angeles. Gangs were developed for control of the drug trafficking. The Chinatown gangs were some of the worst gangs. The Chinatown Boys, the Black Dragons, The United Bamboo, the Triad Boyz, and the Wah Ching fought for control.

There were also problems with newly arrived Vietnamese gangs coming into the area. There were actual shootouts right on the streets in Chinatown just like the Hollywood movies. The business leaders complained, but the Los Angeles Police Department, at the time, had one policeman who could speak Chinese.

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After solving the language barriers, the police found there were extortions and many social problems. Police started finding out gambling was big in the area. Illegal gambling had been going on for years. But the combination of gangs, drugs, and smuggling of immigrants started new updated investigations.

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Although the downtown Los Angeles area is being cleaned up, Chinatown Los Angeles has not recovered. I don’t know if Chinatown will ever recover. I still go and pick up a strawberry cake from the Phoenix Bakery (I highly recommend) to give our out of town guest a sending off gift for the plane ride home. I still have good memories of the food and dancing in Los Angeles Chinatown. I still make a wish and throw a dime in the “wishing well”.

Blue Bird, you and your family have a beautiful day. Peace, from Los Angeles.

L.A. is a big sprawling county of 84 towns and 450 sq. miles. They probably go to Chinese restaurants near where they live, whereas in San Francisco which is only 47 square miles, there is only one Chinatown. Los Angeles has Chinese restaurants in many areas. People would not be on the streets since there is nowhere to walk to. People drive everywhere because everything is spread out.

It could have been the day of the week or the time of day. Like many other areas Chinatown isn't all that busy on weekdays. I always go on Saturday or Sunday and usually there are lots of people about. Try to go for the upcoming Full Moon Festival too.

Maybe it's just like that on the weekdays. I usually go there on the weekends and it's always so crowded. The streets and shopping areas are pretty much packed with people.

It's the economy. People don't have the money to eat out that much.