Chinatown residents carry signs, a banner, and bullhorns as they demonstrate against the proposal to build a garage on Parcel C in Chinatown.
August 1993
In the foreground, demonstrators carry a banner that reads: “NO GARAGE ON OAK ST.” Mayoral candidate Bruce C. Bolling is standing second from the right holding the banner. In the background, the demonstrators carry signs that read: “VOTE. LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE on NEMC’s garage proposal on PARCEL C!”

Courtesy of Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections

Protest signs placed in a box at a demonstration regarding Parcel C in Chinatown.
August 1993

Courtesy of Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections

Chinese people march in Boston, protesting against the NEMC’s proposal to build a parking garage on Parcel C.
September 1993
This September march was held in advance of the people’s vote on the fate of Parcel C.  On September 12-13, 1993, Chinatown residents voted on a referendum regarding the New England Medical Center’s proposal to build a parking garage on Parcel C.

Courtesy of Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections

Information table for the community referendum on the New England Medical Center’s garage proposal on Parcel C.
September 1993
The Coalition to Protect Parcel C for Chinatown, among other organizations worked hard to inform and prepare community members for voting on a community referendum that would designate Parcel C for community development.

Banner in English and Chinese that says “Keep Out! Chinatown Not Allowed on Parcel C, NEMC [New England Medical Center] Property.”
August 1994
This banner was photographed hanging on a chain-link fence during the celebration of Recreation Day in Chinatown. This banner was also held during a ribbon cutting ceremony on recreation day.

Courtesy of Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections

Children in a playground next to Parcel C in Chinatown on Recreation Day.
August 20, 1994
Recreation Day, an event held on Saturday, August 20, celebrated the Chinatown community’s success in preventing the New England Medical Center from building a parking garage on Parcel C in Chinatown. Recreation Day demonstrated the intention to use Parcel C to build a recreation and community center.

Courtesy of Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections

Fliers for “Rally to Win Parcel C for Chinatown”
October 1994
Flier printed in both English and Chinese encouraging community members to show up and protest at a rally at city hall in October. The flier also includes a timeline of the fight for Parcel C in Chinatown.

Courtesy of Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections

Seated guests listen to musicians performing in the Josiah Quincy School cafeteria, at a dinner marking Chinatown’s victory to build a community center on Parcel C.
November 1994
In 1994, the New England Medical Center’s plan to build a parking garage on Parcel C in Chinatown was halted and the Chinese Progressive Association was formally granted permission to build a community center on the land. This photograph is a later celebration of Chinatown’s victory.

Courtesy of Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections

Transparencies with the design and land development proposals for Parcel C.
Ca. 1997-1998
After receiving permission to build a community center on the land of Parcel C, plans were set into motion for designing buildings for Oak Street and the parcel. These transparencies or plans for the Chinatown Community Center and the various phases of the project.

Courtesy of Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections

Residents of Chinatown and board members of the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center lift their shovels in the air at the groundbreaking ceremony of Parcel C in Chinatown.
August 2003
In 1994 the Chinese Progressive Association was formally granted space for a community center on Parcel C in Chinatown. In 2003, construction began. Parcel C is now the Metropolitan, a mixed-income and mixed-use high-rise, and the permanent home of the Chinese Progressive Association.

Courtesy of Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections