Chinese Owned Businesses in Jamaica Plain

In September 2018, Cathy Huang contacted the Jamaica Plain Historical Society because she had found a 1913 International Chinese Business Directory that had been complied by the International Chinese Business Business Directory Company (Wong Kin, President) in San Francisco. She wanted to let us know that it had four entries for JP! The Directory sought to assist United States Postal Service workers to be better able to deliver mail from China. Here are the four Chinese-owned business listed:

Using period maps that our friends at the Digital Commonwealth have made available online, we can find the locations of the four businesses:

Charlie Ging’s Laundry at 70 Chestnut

Chin Bong’s Laundry, 93 1/2 Boylston

Jee Kee & Co Silk Goods, 771 Centre Street

Leong Lung’s Laundry, 211 Green (corner with Washington Street)

Not surprisingly the laundries are all located very close to transportation stations, either the train or the elevated. While the silk goods store is in in the heart of the shopping district right off Monument Square.

In 2018 Jamaica Plain:

771 Centre St is the location of AAA Appliances (in a building built after 1913)

70 Chestnut Ave has residential housing dating from the early 21st century

211 Green Street is slated for redevelopment

93 1/2 Boylston Street no longer exists due to the construction of the Orange Line and SW Corridor Park

We are grateful to Ms. Huang for alerting us to this piece of Jamaica Plain history