Chinatown-International District Segment
- Distance: 1.2 miles
- Routes: S King Street, S Weller Street, 7th Avenue S, Maynard Avenue S, S Jackson Street
- Estimated Walking Time: 34 minutes
“Located in the heart of the city, the International District has been the historical, cultural, and political center for Seattle’s Asian American communities. The International District was one of the few places where Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino immigrants could live. For first-generation immigrants, it was their first home in America. For their children, the second generation, it was the neighborhood they grew up in. For their grandchildren, the third generation, it was the neighborhood which gave them their identity as Asian Americans and the opportunity to repay their elders. For me, the International District became a central part of my life, beginning with the times I spent as a child in my father’s hotel room and in the restaurants, barbershops, gambling parlors, and pool halls of the area. For all of us, the International District meant a sense of community.”—Uncle Bob Santos, Make Hum Bows, Not Hot Dogs
The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience serves as the trail anchor for the Chinatown-International District Segment. It is still the only area in the continental United States where Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, African Americans, and Vietnamese have settled together and built one neighborhood. The 15 sites along this segment lead along historic alleyways, past residential hotels, beloved community gathering places, and reclaimed gardens, with lots of good food along the way.
