Fresno Chinatown Preservation, Inc.

Save Chinatown's Cherished Site: Bow On

The Fresno Chinatown Preservation Committee's goal is to promote and preserve Chinatown as a vital part of our diverse local and state history. Chinatown became a dynamic economic stimulus for growth in Central California. Its most meaningful feature was the variety of immigrant groups that resided in and around Chinatown. Beginning in 1870, Chinese immigrants and eventually other groups provided the multitudes of laborers needed to grow the Valley’s agricultural economy, making it the richest in the world.

Chinatown now faces a crisis due to deterioration and abandonment by the City. The current plans ignore its diverse historical past. It emphasizes a “mixed-use” neighborhood plan that features low and extremely low-income housing, and businesses that continue to struggle within the constraints of a blighted district.

The Bow On building is one of the oldest structures in Chinatown, well over 100 years old. The building burned down in 2020, and now the City has taken steps to take possession of the property to build more low-income residential facilities. They have created a situation where they are forcing the Chinatown Preservation Committee to turn over the Bow On and another property to them.

While building low-income residences is admirable, our leaders shouldn’t have to abuse their authority to move their agendas. We should expect them to support rather than destroy our community's historical sites.

The Bow On building burned, although it had existed for

decades without any problem. Unfortunately, the City failed to respond to local business owners' calls regarding regular intruders.

We must now struggle to salvage the site which will require clean-up, removal of the debris, and eventual reconstruction.

To achieve our goals, we need your support. This GoFundMe site will help us raise the funds necessary to wage the required grassroots effort to protect Chinatown’s history and its most cherished historical sites.

We ask that you help save Chinatown; the first step is preserving the Bow On property.

Please contribute to this effort!