How Chinatown Grew, Block by Block: A Walk on 11/07
Ninety minutes on foot with a MOCA educator, from the Lenape village of Werpoes Hill to the storefronts still standing, reading Chinatown's streets as a record of who arrived and what they built.
🏮 One Neighborhood, Many Layers
🧱 What the Blocks Hold
The route strings together the oldest streets in Chinatown, a busy neighborhood park, a Catholic church with several layers of history, Chinatown's oldest general store, and a Chinese eatery that once fed the neighborhood's turn-of-the-century bachelor society. The educator uses those same buildings, streets and shopfronts to explain how the community took shape, so the lesson stays on the sidewalk where the history happened.
🚶 How the Ninety Minutes Go
The group leaves the museum lobby at 215 Centre Street at 11:30 AM and is back at the same door by 1:00 PM. Routes change from walk to walk, so the shops and streets may differ, and the usual walk runs one to one and a half miles with the return counted. No time is built in for eating or shopping, and public seating is scarce, so plan to stand. The educator can also end the tour at the last stop.
🎟️ Before You Book
Reserve ahead, since each walk caps at fifteen people. For the November 2026 sessions, tickets run USD 25 for adults, USD 20 for students with ID and visitors 55 and over, and free under 5, with museum admission included. MyMOCA members get one tour free each year, then USD 15. Galleries close at 6 PM on Saturdays, and the walk suits ages 12 and up. The Tenement Museum below is a separate visit with its own admission.
