Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Church of the Transfiguration
BuiltbytheEnglishLutheranChurchin1801andsoldtotheRomanCatholicChurch
of the Transfiguration in 1853, this Georgian-style stone church with Gothic win-
dows is typical of the influence of successive influxes of immigrants in New York.
Thechurchhaschanged withthenationalities ofthecommunity itserves, firstIrish,
then Italian, and now Chinese. As the focal point of today's Chinese Roman Cathol-
ic community, it offers classes and services to help newcomers and holds services in
Cantonese and Mandarin.
• 29 Mott St
• Open 7:30-9am & 11:30am-1pm daily, 5:30-7pm Sat, 8am-2pm Sun
• Free
Columbus Park
Chinatown's only park was created in the late 1890s as a result of the campaigning
of newspaper reporter Jacob Riis and other social reformers. It filled a stretch of the
city that at the time was New York's worst slum, where Riis reported a stabbing or
shooting at least once a week. Though it features more concrete than greenery, the
park is popular today, filled with Chinese kids at play,
mah jong
players, and people
practicing
tai chi
and martial arts. On the weekends, Chinese fortune-tellers some-
times set up shop in the park.
• Bayard & Mulberry Sts
Bloody Angle
The name for this sharp curve on Doyers Street was coined by a newspaper because
this was the site of so many gangland ambushes during the 1920s. It was a period
whentheHipSingandOnLeong
tongs
,groupssimilartocriminalgangs,werefight-
ing for control of the opium trade and gambling rackets in Chinatown. The
tong
wars continued off and on until at least the 1940s, and their rivalries continue in the
present-day youth gangs.
• Doyers St near Pell St
