Quong Yuen Shing & Co. at 32 Mott Street
位于勿街32号的广源盛办庄

12 September 2019
Left:Building facade ca. 1992; Right:Postcard depicting interior ca. 1919, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection
左:广源盛建筑正面,大约1992年;右:明信片,广源盛内部,大约1919年,美国华人博物馆
(MOCA)馆藏

Quong Yuen Shing & Co., also known as the 32 Mott Street General Store, was Chinatown’s longest continuously operating store before it closed in 2003. Founded in 1891 by Lee Lok, the last owner’s grandfather, the store originally sold typical goods like herbs, groceries, and silks while also functioning as a crucial social hub, post office, and banking center for the Chinese bachelor society. While the store’s functions shifted across generations, including selling souvenirs and handling utility bills for elderly and undocumented residents, its interior remained unchanged for over one hundred years – MOCA co-founder Jack Tchen told the New York Times that \"the interior is one of the most important surviving historical sites as far as I am concerned in the whole city from the 19th century.\"

But after 9/11, with Chinatown sequestered and left without aid following the event, local businesses like 32 Mott Street began to fail. Paul J.Q. Lee, the last owner, was one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit to reopen Park Row. But after he lost more than half his old revenue and fell behind on rent following 9/11, city marshals evicted Mr. Lee in 2003; MOCA salvaged the store’s sign from the trash. As of 2004, Mr. Lee still was still living next door to 32 Mott but painfully refused to enter its new incarnation when it reopened under new ownership selling tourist trinkets – while the skeleton of the original store’s cabinetry and shelves remains, the rest of its history has been stripped away.


广源盛办庄(Quong Yuen Shing & Co.),又叫勿街32号百货商店(32 Mott Street General Store),在2003年关闭以前,是唐人街营业时间最久的商店。由Lee Lok于1891年创建,他是最后一位店主的祖父,这家店最初主要销售草药、杂货和丝绸等典型商品,同时也是中国单身汉社区的重要的社交中心、邮局和银行中心。尽管随着世代的交替,商店的职能也在不断变化,包括售卖纪念品以及为老年人和没有身份的居民处理水电费帐单等,但是它的内部一百多年来一直未曾改变。MOCA的联合创始人陈国维(Jack Tchen)告诉《纽约时报》说“就我所关注的19世纪以来的整个城市而言,广源盛的内部是最重要的幸存历史遗迹之一。”

但在9/11事件之后,唐人街被隔离,没有得到任何的后续援助,像勿街32号这样的当地企业开始倒闭。最后一位店主Paul J.Q. Lee,是要求重新开放Park Row的诉讼案的原告之一。但在9/11事件后,他失去了一半以上的原有收入,房租也没能按时支付,于是城市警察在2003年把他驱逐了;MOCA从垃圾堆里捡回了商店的招牌。截至2004年,李先生仍然还住在勿街32号隔壁,但却痛苦地拒绝进入新的店主重新开张后专卖旅游小饰品的店中——尽管原始商店的橱柜和货架等架构依然保留着,但其历史的其它部分已被一扫而光。

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