Message #232272

[Athena Goldsmith]

China Alley, California

Photograph by Gosia Wozniacka, AP

China Alley, a Chinese neighborhood in tiny Hanford, California, was settled by immigrants in 1877 and once bustled with a temple, herb shops, and gambling dens.

Today, most of China Alley's historic buildings (pictured June 14) are suffering from deterioration and disuse.

Though China Alley is located in a local historic district, the city government has no trained preservation staff and no historic-preservation commission—leaving the buildings vulnerable to insensitive development or reuse, according to the National Trust's website.

Published June 23, 2011