In Chinatown Gateway, how is the History discussed?
In 1984, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association proposed construction of a paifang, or gate. Architect Yu Tang Wang and artist Sun Chau completed a design. The gate was built by Ting Hwa Architects in Taiwan, then shipped to Portland and installed in one week. It was dedicated in November 1986 and presented to the City of Portland as "gesture of goodwill from the Chinese community". The gate cost $256,000 and was the largest in the country until one in Washington, D.C. was completed several months later. Harlan Luck, who served as the structural engineer, built the gate's foundation underground as well as the marble platforms that support two bronze lion statues. One lion is male and the other is female, representing yin and yang.In 2011, an organization called Friends of Portland Chinatown held a ceremony to commemorate the gate's twenty-fifth anniversary.
paifang Washington, D.C.