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Pinoytown Virtual Tour
Discover where Filipino families and businesses in San Jose once thrived from the 1930s to 1950s
Introduction
Since 2019, the Filipino American National Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley (FANHS SCV) has welcomed the public to participate in their Pinoytown Historical Walking Tours . The tours, in partnership with and led by Manong Robert Ragsac, retell the stories and revive the history of the Filipino community that once blossomed in San Jose’s Sixth Street Chinatown.
The inaugural Pinoytown Historical Walking Tour was held on March 3, 2019. (Photo by Abe Menor)
Complimentary to the in-person walking tours, this story map aims to connect online visitors with an immersive, virtual experience of Pinoytown. This easily accessible and shareable resource is an extension of FANHS SCV’s mission to promote understanding, education, enlightenment, appreciation, and enrichment through the identification, gathering, preservation, and dissemination of the history and culture of Filipino Americans in Santa Clara Valley.
For Pinoytown Walking Tour inquires, please email FANHS SCV at pinoytownsj@gmail.com .
Map of Heinlenville and the Sixth Street Chinatown & Pinoytown enclave, compared to the current Japantown area.
Beginnings in Heinlenville Chinatown
In 1887, a German immigrant and businessman named John Heinlen established a settlement for San Jose's Chinese population that had been displaced from four previous Chinatowns. Having experienced anti-German sentiments during his family's time in the midwest, he understood the difficulties of establishing a community and raising a family as in immigrant in America. Heinlen sympathized with the Chinese and sought out to help create a new Chinatown.
Braving intense opposition, including death threats, Heinlen recruited architect Theodore Lenzen to design what eventually became nicknamed as Heinlenville. Located in the area bounded by North Sixth and North Seventh Streets, and Jackson and Taylor Streets, Heinlen leased property to the Chinese at low rates. To protect its inhabitants, an eight-foot-high fence surrounding Heinlenville was locked every night, while foot patrols provided security.
The settlement came to flourish, growing to a community of about 2,000 residents. When Japanese field laborers began populating the valley in the mid-1890s, many of them found lodging, Asian dry goods, and foodstuffs in Heinlenville. Filipino field laborers, who arrived in the 1920s, worked and lived on local farms and ranches and patronized Heinlenville's businesses. The familiar lodging, entertainment, restaurants, and shops provided comfort and safety from prevailing anti-Asian racism.
Heinlenville met its demise in the 1930s. Many of its original inhabitants passed on, and their children had integrated into the outside community. Immigration dwindled under the Chinese Exclusion Act, further diminishing the population. When the Heinlen estate went bankrupt in the midst of the Great Depression, Heinlenville became the property of the city and its buildings were eventually razed.
Left: Benrabe Ragsac in front of Ideal Laundry Co., ca. 1930. Right: The building's facade still has its decorative window tiles, May 2022.
As Heinlenville Chinatown declined, many Chinese shops and residents moved to Sixth Street, becoming the main Asian-friendly neighborhood. This enclave grew in businesses and residents and became known to outsiders as “Chinatown” or “Sixth Street.”
From the early 1930s throughout the 1950s, Sixth Street was home to many of the buildings, businesses, and gathering places frequented and favored by the local Filipino community. This historical enclave, and its nearby points of interest, is known as Pinoytown.
Exploring Pinoytown
For instructions on navigating the virtual tour of Pinoytown, scroll through the following guide for easy-to-follow tips.
Note: The virtual tour is best viewed on a desktop computer. While the accompanying guide reflects how the tour is displayed via desktop, the interactive features will function similarly when viewed on mobile and tablet devices.
Site Information As you scroll down the page, detailed information about a featured site will appear in the lower right panel.
Site Map Featured site locations are noted on the map in the upper right panel. As you scroll through the page, visiting site to site, this map will adjust its view to show the location of the site featured in the information panel. Click the navigation buttons (home, + , – ) to adjust your view of the map. You can also click/hold/drag to move and reposition the map.
If you want to skip and jump around to sites in no particular order, click the site numbers on the map.
Site Images Images associated with the featured site will appear in the large panel. Click this area for expanded/collapsed views of the images.
Site Image Information Hover over the circled "i" icon in the top left corner to view information about the displayed image.
Image Scroll Click the arrows on the left and right side of the image panel to view multiple images associated with the featured site.
Pinoytown Tour Map
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Epilogue
By the 1960s, the Sixth Street area ceased to be a culturally unique neighborhood. As the Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino population aged, their children matured and moved on, changing the demographics of the area.
Left: Pinoytown was a popular meeting place for second generation Pinays. Hanging out at the corner of Sixth and Jackson are (clockwise from top left) Dolores Escalante, Tillie Duag, Lily Bacosa, Frances Bacosa, and Ramona Escalante, ca. mid 1940s. Right: The neighborhood continues to change, but the Del Monte (now Mariani) water tower remains.
Businesses disappeared and buildings were demolished. In turn, the area was no longer a destination for shopping, entertainment, or visits. Pinoytown faded away, leaving the Filipino Community Center as the sole survivor and remnant of a once-thriving Filipino enclave.
Resources
Organization Links
References
- Bandlamudi, A. (2021, June 17). San Jose had 5 Chinatowns. What happened to them? KQED. https://www.kqed.org/news/11877801/san-jose-had-5-chinatowns-why-did-they-vanish
- Chinese Historical & Cultural Project (2022). Heinlenville Chinatown. https://chcp.org/Heinlenville-Chinatown/
- City of San Jose. (2000). Historic resources inventory. https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments/planning-building-code-enforcement/planning-division/historic-preservation/historic-resources-inventory
- Fukuda, C. & Pearce R.M. (2014). San Jose Japantown : a journey. Japanese American Museum of San Jose.
- Herhold, S. (2008, April 15). Herhold: German immigrant helped Chinatown get off the ground. The Mercury News. https://www.mercurynews.com/2008/04/15/herhold-german-immigrant-helped-chinatown-get-off-the-ground/
- Japantown Community Congress of San Jose (2022). Programs. https://www.jcc-sj.org/programs
- Japantown San Jose (2022). History of Japantown San Jose. https://jtown.org/history
- Potter, L., Yamane, M., Mau, M., & Lister, B. (2011). San Jose Chinatowns heritage fair. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Archaeology Center.
- Ragsac, Sr., Robert V. (2015, October 19). Forget them not. Positively Filipino. http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/forget-them-not
- Ragsac, Sr., Robert V. (2020). Memories of Pinoytown San Jose. Filipino American National Historical Society, Santa Clara Valley Chapter.
- San Francisco Planning Department. (2019). National Register Nomination: Gran Oriente (Case No. 2016-008192SRV). San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Planning Department.
- San Jose Public Library. (2013). Looking Back: San Jose’s last Chinatown to today’s Japantown. https://www.sjpl.org/blog/looking-back-san-joses-last-chinatown-todays-japantown
- San Jose Public Library. (2014). Looking Back: Will Japantown Nishioka Building survive? https://www.sjpl.org/blog/looking-back-will-japantowns-nishioka-building-survive
- Sanchez, T. (2016, September 12). San Jose: Wenzhou noodle restaurant in historic Japantown landmark. The Mercury News. https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/09/12/san-jose-restaurant-breathes-new-life-into-historic-japantown-landmark/
- Simpson, K. (2021, August 17). An art project explores the 'hidden histories' of San Jose’s Japantown. KALW. https://www.kalw.org/arts-culture/2021-08-17/japantown-art-project
- Sonoma State University Anthropological Studies Center. (2008). Historical Context and Archaeological Survey Report: Heinlenville/San Jose Corporation Yard Archaeological Project, San Jose, California. Rohnert Park, CA: Sonoma State University Anthropological Studies Center.
- The Filipino Community of Santa Clara County (2021). History. https://thefilipinocommunityofsantaclaracounty.org/history
- U.S. National Park Service. (2004). Five Views: An ethnic historic site survey for California: Ken Ying Low Restaurant. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/5views/5views3h45.htm
- Vintporium Architectural Salvage (2017). Visiting Nishioka Fish Market/Ideal Laundry Building. https://vintporium.myshopify.com/blogs/news/vintporiums-virtual-california-vintage-tile-gallery-nishioka-fish-market-ideal-laundry-building
- Webby, S. (2008, March 16). Digging for traces of San Jose’s lost Chinatown. The Mercury News. https://www.mercurynews.com/2008/03/16/digging-for-traces-of-san-joses-lost-chinatown/
- Yu, C. (1991). Chinatown, San Jose, USA. San Jose Historical Museum.
Image Sources
Images courtesy of the Ragsac Family, the Bacosa Family, the Quibelan Family, and Jen Valenzuela.