Every major city seems to have an ethnic neighborhood where Chinese immigrants put down roots in American soil. Those neighborhoods retain the Oriental flavor and for many, it's almost like taking a vacation to another land just by going out for dinner.
They're calling it an "oriental enclave", what they'd like to see develop in an area filled with historically significant Georgian buildings that are currently rotting away.
The Dublin Trust would like to see the buildings maintained and restored to their original facades, but the types of low-rent businesses that occupy the storefronts aren't conducive to architectural rehabilitation. There's simply not enough money coming in to spend lavishly on a pretty face.
Why look to
That's pretty much what the area is. Asian businesses are keeping the street alive, although not keeping it attractive.
While the Trust would like the Dublin City Council to do its job in policing property usage, it wouldn't mind if the council put some thought into the area's master plan and organized all the Asian bits into one particular area, where Oriental architecture could be utilized to craft a more ethnic-looking enclave.
The significant buildings could be restored to what they once were, without the ethnic-looking signage and illegal uses.
Dubliners and tourists looking for a decent General Tso's chicken would have a place to go, with scenery and facades familiar to residents of other big cities with their own Chinatowns. Anything that brings in foot traffic would improve the area, which would make an investment in a Georgian building (and its subsequent restoration) less of a risk.
Simple enough in concept and not all that difficult to enact.
Just don't be calling it "Chinatown".
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