The map outlines the route of
Criss-Cross. The orange circle demarcates the intersection of 10th and Callowhill Streets, the locus of this project. From there, branching out in the various directions, one is able to experience the different forces of change taking place in Chinatown North. To the south, there is a steady momentum of redevelopment (Hing Wah Yuen, Eastern Tower) and in-place community anchors (Holy Redeemer Church, Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation). Most of these sites abut Vine Street, and are directly across from the main Chinatown just across the Vine Street Expressway. To the east and west, various examples of the area's industrial past are evident. To the northwest, the change taking place in Chinatown North comes into interplay with a different growth trajectory of the Callowhill neighborhood.
The disparate forces have no real center, but if one were to select a geographical location that might best represent the multiplicity of these phenomena, the intersection at 10th and Callowhill is a clear choice. It is here where fast-moving traffic along Callowhill Street intersections with a 10th Street corridor that is bridging a long-lost link between Chinatown and Chinatown North, and it is also here where the diagonal Ridge Avenue cuts across the intersection and makes things just a little bit more complex than they already are. In other words, 10th and Callowhill is a suitable metaphor for the nuanced complexities of the Chinatown North area.
