Thai Town, Los Angeles
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Thai Town (Template:Langx) is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. In 2008, it was one of the five Asian Pacific Islander neighborhoods in the city—along with Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Historic Filipinotown, and Koreatown—that received federal recognition as a Preserve America neighborhood.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is the only officially recognized Thai Town in the United States.<ref name=AmericasOnly>Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, America's Only Thai Town Celebrates 15 Years in Los Angeles, NBCNews.com, October 30, 2014</ref>
History
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on October 27, 1999, to designate the neighborhood as "Thai Town," the first place in the United States with that name. The designation was proposed by Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, who said the move would bring neighborhood pride, economic development and promotion of tourism to the area.<ref name=CityCouncil>"City Council Designates Area as 'Thai Town,'" Los Angeles Times, October 28, 1999</ref> At that time, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) was instructed to install signage to identify Thai Town.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
It was significant to Goldberg that the staff of the Thai Community Development Center includes other Asians, Latinos and whites, all intent on improving the East Hollywood business community in general. "They're already calling Thai Town the 77th province," said Thai Chamber of Commerce President Niphun Rojanasopondist, referring to the 76 provinces that made up Thailand at the time.<ref name=LAsNewest/>
In 2000, the center won a $15,000 Department of Public Works matching grant to create a garden and to bring from Thailand four golden statues of kinnari (mythical creatures who are half angel, half bird) to mark Thai Town's borders.<ref name=LAsNewest></ref>
In 2008, the Thai Community Development Center expanded its partnership with the four Asian Pacific Islander communities in Los Angeles to pursue a national designation by the White House of all five API towns as a Preserve America Neighborhood. The other communities are Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Historic Filipinotown and Koreatown. They formed the API Preserve America Neighborhood Coalition. First Lady Laura Bush presented the "Preserve America" designation, signifying value as a cultural and historic asset. The designation made Thai Town eligible for up to $250,000 in Preserve America grants, along with $250,000 in other public and private matching funds.<ref name=ABoost>Teresa Watanabe, "A Boost for Thai Town," Los Angeles Times, August 3, 2008</ref>
In August 2019, on Queen Sirikit’s birthday, a health fair (health expo) was held in Thai Town by the Thai Los Angeles Temple Royal Thai Consulate-General and Thai Nurses Association of California, where medical personnel offered free health check-ups to the Thai community. The event garnered over 300 participants.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In June 2020, as a result of outrage over the George Floyd police brutality case, businesses, including a Thai restaurant were damaged due to rioters and looters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Geography
Thai Town is a six-block neighborhood flanking Hollywood Boulevard between Normandie Avenue and Western Avenue,<ref name=CityCouncil/> its entrances being marked by two statues of apsonsi (a mythical half human, half lion angel in Thai folklore).<ref>[1] Template:Webarchive CRA/LA Art Projects</ref>
Thai Town is bordered by the neighborhoods of Los Feliz to the north and east, central Hollywood to the west, and Little Armenia to the south.
Neighborhood
In 2000 a Los Angeles Times writer said Thai Town was a place where
gourmands can stock up on bitter melon and round Thai eggplant. A Thai dessert shop offers preserved jackfruit, Pandan cookies and Kring Krang, crisply sweetened rice. The large Silom supermarket occupies the middle of a block near Hobart Boulevard, its exterior the rose-hued color of dusk with ornate trimming and a spirit house, draped with colorful garlands and a stone-faced Buddha image, guarding the entrance from destructive forces.<ref name=LAsNewest/>
M. Padoongpatt also states that Thai Town houses an abundance of Thai restaurants which has been a significant channel in which Thai-Americans justify the occupying of spaces.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>
Demographics
The neighborhood has been the home to immigrant groups, including Armenians and Latinos, for a long time, and Thai Americans began settling there in the 1960s.<ref name=LAsNewest/><ref name=ANew/> It is estimated that there are approximately 300,000 Armenians currently living in or near Thai Town.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref>
The influx of Thai people into East Hollywood made the neighborhood a "point of entry" for the 80,000 Thais estimated to be living in Southern California.<ref name=LAsNewest>Carla Rivera, "L.A.'s Newest Place: Thai Town," Los Angeles Times, January 29, 2000</ref> Many came with the intention to attend Southern California universities. <ref name=LAsNewest></ref> Another pull factor was a historically booming restaurant industry at the time which attracted business owners in search of economic opportunity.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Data for the area show that 27% of households live below the poverty line—a rate 12 percentage points higher than the county average.<ref name=ANew> </ref> Fueling the persistent poverty has been the arrival of thousands of working-class Thai immigrants in the last two decades who have flooded sweatshops, restaurant kitchens and, most recently, massage parlors, said Chancee Martorell, executive director of the Thai Community Development Center, which has conducted several studies on the plight of Thai Town.<ref name=ANew>David Pierson and Anna Gorman, "A New Take on Thai Town," Los Angeles Times, August 2, 2007</ref>
Public transport
The area is served by the Metro B Line subway at the Hollywood/Western station in addition to Metro Local bus lines 2, 180, 206, 207, & 217.
Holidays
On the first Sunday in April, Thai Town celebrates Songkran, the Thai New Year, by closing off Hollywood Boulevard within its boundaries, and setting up food stands and entertainment on the street along with a parade on the street from New Hampshire Avenue to Winona Boulevard.<ref>[2] Thai Community Development Center</ref>
Songkran celebrations in Thai Town also include religious ceremonies, cultural performances, folk dances, along with collaboration with the Thai Christian Church.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite book</ref>
In April 2011, proceeds from the celebration of Songkran Festival (Thai New Year) were donated to Japan’s Red Cross Earthquake and Tsunami Relief, to aid those affected by a recent earthquake and tsunami.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Figures
Kavee Thongprecha, often named "Thai Elvis" is a local entertainer who impersonates and performs Elvis Presley songs at a restaurant in Thai Town.<ref name=":1" />
See also
References
Further reading
External links
- Google maps link
- Colin Marshall, "A Los Angeles Primer: Thai Town," KCET50, July 16, 2013 (a survey of Thai Town tourist attractions)
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