New York City has always been known for its diversity. It is arguably the most culturally and racially cosmopolitan city in the world, presumably having residents who trace their roots from the Mayflower to the exiles of Tibet. It is no wonder that New York City's Chinatown, a culturally rich city within a city, in the Lower East Side is recognized by many as a vital area, an integral part of what makes up the distinct flavor of Frank Sinatra's New York, New York-the city that never sleeps.

For several decades, the existence of this place called "Chinatown" in New York was necessary for immigrants, not just for Chinese and other Asian immigrants, but also for the Irish and the Italian immigrants during the turn of the century. It is part of a tradition and a history that has long been overlooked. The Museum of the Chinese in the Americas was built in an effort to preserve and produce more historic facts about Chinatown, its residents over the years, and the history of the Chinese in the Americas. However, the museum does not exclusively deal with the history of anachronistic relics of the past; in an effort to depict its vital humanity, it sees the people of Chinatown as its primary focus. Nestled on 70 Mulberry Street on the corner of Bayard, it would not be surprising for a passerby to miss the Museum of Chinese in the Americas (formerly known as the New York Chinatown History Project until it received its Museum Charter in 1992 and was renamed the Museum of Chinese in the Americas in 1995). MoCA, as it is called by those familiar with the community museum, is located in a century-old brick building that used to be P.S. 23. A museum located in what used to be a school? Not a typical museum house, definitely not a typical museum. The museum, located on the second floor, shares the building with different organizations, such as the Chinatown Manpower Project and the Mulberry Street Dance Company.

The museum's main exhibit, consisting of old family photos, laundry equipment used in the early part of the twentieth century, a three-inch shoe from a woman's bound foot and other such items, is housed in a room shaped like a Chinese lantern. Designed by famous Asian-American architect, Billie Tsien, it was created specifically to give the museum visitor the impression of walking through a living room.

One of the founders of the project turned museum is New York University's very own Professor Jack Tchen, head of the Asian Pacific American Studies Department. In a lecture workshop designed for museum volunteers this past February, Prof. Tchen explained the origins of MoCA-beginning from a basement workshop in the late 1970's as part of the Chatham Square Library Exhibit. The project that burgeoned into the creation of MoCA was formerly the "New York Chinatown Historical Project," which was an effort to document the history of Chinatown. The New York Chinatown Historical Project was particularly important at the time because many shops and stores historically associated with Chinatown, such as the cigar store in Chatham Square, were closing down due to the expiration of leases made during the early twentieth century and because of the increasing Chinese population in Chinatown caused by the repeal of immigration exclusion laws in 1965 and the 1970s. The need to build a more substantial historical project was realized when Prof. Tchen and his contemporaries found no historical documentation of the places and people in Chinatown, even receiving cynical and angry comments from various members of the community, like "Laundry has no history," in reference to the laundry stores opened by some community members during the early twentieth century. Artifacts found today within the museum's premises are garbage salvaged from dumpsters of houses and old buildings, especially from stores that were closing down, or are donations from various community members who recognized the relevance of the project's efforts to preserve the history of the New York City Chinatown-the largest Chinatown in the Americas.

The museum welcomes students, community members, and all those interested in learning more about the Chinese in the Americas, the history of Chinatown, and contemporary issues faced by Asian-Americans today. For more information, call (212) 619-4785.