{"id":682,"date":"2022-03-08T04:32:47","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T04:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/?p=682"},"modified":"2022-03-08T04:32:47","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T04:32:47","slug":"little-vietnam-in-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/little-vietnam-in-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"“Little Vietnam” in Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image by Author<\/p><\/div>\n

After the end of the Vietnam war, there was an influx of Vietnamese immigrants who resettled in the United States (U.S.), especially in the 80s and 90s. As a result, there are many \u201cLittle Vietnams<\/em>\u201d or \u201cLittle Saigons<\/em>\u201d established in big cities throughout the U.S., where one can find Asian groceries and Authentic Vietnamese restaurants. Over the next few weeks, I will introduce some of them to you through my blog posts. Perhaps you can visit one near where you live and immerse yourself in the language and culture of a Vietnamese-American community. One such neighborhood is \u201cAsia on Argyle<\/em>\u201d on the northside of Chicago, Illinois.<\/p>\n

Whenever I have a chance to visit Chicago, I always try to satisfy my craving for Vietnamese food in the \u201cAsia on Argyle<\/em>\u201d neighborhood on Argyle street, located between N. Wintrop and N. Broadway streets. It is anchored by the Argyle L stop on the red line with its distinct, Asian-themed roof. But, don\u2019t confuse Asia on Argyle with Chicago Chinatown on Chicago\u2019s near southside. Argyle is much smaller, but caters more to Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, Laotian, and also Chinese immigrants. Many of Vietnamese who settled in Chicago were ethnically Chinese.<\/p>\n

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Image by Author<\/p><\/div>\n

Last weekend, I had a chance to visit \u201cAsia on Argyle<\/em>\u201d again. The area has a number of shops that were closed during the pandemic and seem to have struggled. The image was quite different before the pandemic. Walking up and down Argyle street, I found some interesting b\u1ee9c<\/em><\/strong> tranh<\/em><\/strong> t\u01b0\u1eddng<\/strong><\/em> (murals).<\/p>\n

At the intersection of Argyle St. and Winthrop Ave, a surprising sign caught my eyes. It says \u201cHonorary John Vietnam Nguyen Way<\/em>\u201d I\u2019m ashamed to admit that I had no idea who John<\/em> Vietnam Nguyen<\/em> was. After a quick internet search, I learned John was a gifted, young, Vietnamese-American hip-hop artist raised in the Uptown neighborhood in Chicago. He tried to save his friend who panicked during a morning swim on Lake Michigan. The friend was rescued, but John drowned. The event happened in 2012. John was only 19, and a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The mural to honor him was created by his artist friends. With that, John was the first Vietnamese-American honored with a street named for him in Chicago.<\/p>\n