Chinatown

Chinatown is a commercial and residential district in the heart of downtown Honolulu, on the western edge of the financial district, roughly bounded by Nuʻuanu Stream, Beretania Street, Nuʻuanu Avenue and Honolulu Harbor. It grew up along Honolulu Harbor in the nineteenth century, and after the Chinatown fire destroyed almost all of it, most of today's buildings went up in the early twentieth century. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district. By day, markets such as Maunakea Marketplace and Oʻahu Market sell fruit, seafood and curiosities, and Oʻahu Market still trades from its original building of bricks and coral blocks at North King and Kekaulike Streets. The historic buildings hold shops, herbalists, lei makers, antique dealers, temples, bars and restaurants, with food from dim sum to Vietnamese, Malaysian, Cuban and French. Temples include the Izumo Taishakyo Mission Shrine and the Kuan Yin Temple, and the historic Hawaiʻi Theatre hosts live music and shows. Art galleries and artists' studios have joined the traditional businesses, and part of the Honolulu Arts District lies inside the historic district. The art walk runs along and around Nuʻuanu and Bethel Street during First Friday each month. Koichiro Miyamoto, the son of the founder of Musashiya, created the first Hawaiian aloha shirt in the Armstrong Building on North King Street, which housed the Musashiya Fabric Store.