Update: ‘I couldn’t stop crying.’ Fire destroys historic Chinatown building in Fresno
A fire overnight destroyed the roof and guts of a historic building in Fresno’s Chinatown, according to a battalion chief.
The fire started around 1:30 a.m. Friday in an at least 90-year-old building on F Street north of Kern, Battalion Chief Thomas Cope said.
The building that predates at least 1930, Cope said, is one of several downtown marked with a red X as a warning to firefighters it is unsafe to enter, he said.
So crews knocked down the flames from the outside and cannot enter to finish it off, he said. No one is believed to be inside.
Flames continue to smolder at the bottom of the building, meaning it could collapse, he said. So F Street between Kern and Tulare streets will be blocked off for what could potentially be days.
“The fact that it’s probably a historic building only complicates what we can do,” Cope said.
The structure is traditionally called the Bow On Association Building, and is one of five that are “super historic” in Chinatown, according to Jan Minami, the project director for Chinatown Fresno.
A Chinatown historic survey from 2006 says records show a building permit that goes back to 1920.
The historic building and the other four like it were homes to groups similar to social clubs and often illegal activity, like gambling, according to Morgan Doizaki, owner of Central Fish and chairman of Chinatown Fresno’s board.
“I understand that the guts are all destroyed, but to keep the facade — it’s such history,” he said. “It’s a major part of Chinatown and it’s as historic-looking as we get.”
He said the building is at the heart of Fresno’s Chinatown and it’s important to try to retain some of its history.
The 2006 historic survey says the building was owned by Chinatown Revitalization Inc., a nonprofit that has since been renamed as the Fresno Chinatown Preservation Inc., according to Kathy Omachi, who heads it.
She said she spoke with the city early Friday and said the building needed about $20,000 in work to hold onto what is left. The organization can’t afford the costs so it will be demolished, she said.
“People sent me photos of it as it was burning,” she said. “I couldn’t stop crying.”
Fresno’s Chinatown dates back to about 1860, she said, and was a refuge for people of many different ethnic groups.
“We are a unique place and it just tears my heart out that our building is gone,” she said.
The 21st annual Fresno Chinese New Year Parade is scheduled on that section of road on Saturday morning. Cope said the building represents a danger and fire crews will likely still have the street closed Saturday.
Omachi said the festivities are set to continue as planned from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the parade at noon. The parade will divert because of the fire issues, but will still be on F, E, Kern and Inyo streets, she said.
A neighboring business — Ho Ho Kafe — has not sustained any damage, according to Cope, but will be shut while the historic building is considered a fire hazard that could collapse.
This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 7:08 AM.
