Around 1860 a number of the Chinese who had left the plantations began to open small businesses in an area of Honolulu known as Chinatown.
These businesses were mostly small shops specializing in specific trades such as grocers, jewelers, bakers and tailors, as well as the restaurant trade.
Today, Chinatown is a triangle shaped area in Honolulu bordered by Nuʻuanu Avenue on the east, N. Beretania Street on the north, and S. King Street forming the diagonal. It is an area that has seen much history since the late 1800's.
Within a period of four years, two major fires struck Chinatown. The first was in 1886 and the second in 1900. The 1900 fire was deliberately set, officially, to burn out rats which had brought bubonic plague to Honolulu.
However, the fire got out of control and the entire district was virtually destroyed. There are those who believe that, in fact, the fire was intended to destroy the area and, with it, the economic threat of the Chinese businesses.
