Chinatown Fair
| Chinatown Fair Family Fun Center | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Former names | Chinatown Fair |
| General information | |
| Type | Video arcade |
| Address | 8 Mott St, New York, NY 10038 |
| Town or city | Chinatown, Manhattan,New York City |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 40°42′50″N73°59′55″W/ 40.714009°N 73.998511°W |
| Opened | 1944 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Chinatown Fair Family Fun Centeris avideo arcadecenter located onMott StreetinChinatown, Manhattan.Historically, the arcade catered toward competitivefighting games.The original arcade opened in 1944 and closed in February 2011, but reopened in May 2012 under different management. Chinatown Fair has been widely regarded asNew York City's "last great arcade".[1][2][3][4]
History
[edit]Chinatown Fair opened in 1944, taking over the first floor of the popular Port Arthur Chinese Restaurant building located at 7-9 Mott Street in New York City; previously, the first floor had been occupied by Soy Kee & Co., exporters, as well as the Eastern Trading Company.[5][6]Chinatown Fair operated as a penny arcade and small museum for many years, before becoming a video game arcade in the 1970s.[7]Indianimmigrant Sam Palmer purchased the business in 1982 after having a "religious vision".[8]
One of its first attractions was a dancing chicken. The dancing chicken was later replaced with atic-tac-toeplaying chicken, which was retired in the early 2000s.[9]In the 1970s and 1980s, the arcade hosted many retro generation games includingPac-ManandSpace Invaders.In 1991, after the release ofStreet Fighter II: The World Warrior,Chinatown Fair switched focus to competitive fighting games. By the late 1990sStreet Fighter,Marvel vs. Capcom,The King of Fighters,Soulcalibur,Tekkenand other fighting games were commonly played. Top players such asJustin Wong,NYChrisG,Michael "Yipes" Mendoza, and Sanford Kelly frequented the establishment.[10]
As of 2010,The New York Timeswrote that Chinatown Fair was among the last video arcades in the city. Video arcades have been in decline with the rise of home video games. The newspaper reported that it became "a center for all the outcasts in the city to bond over their shared love" of classic arcade and fighting video games no longer popular in modern arcades, with titles including the originalStreet Fighter II(1991),The King of Fighters(1994), andMs. Pac-Man.Other groups congregated aroundDance Dance Revolutionmachines and racing games. Unlike the norm at other arcades, where winning players continue until deposed, Chinatown Fair players play a maximum of three or four continuous games.[10][better source needed]
In February 2011, Chinatown Fair closed down. On May 5, 2012 over a year later it reopened under a new name "Chinatown Fair Family Fun Center" with new manager and part owner, Lonnie Sobel.[8]Former competitive players criticized the new arcade for catering toward casual players, with the new ownership explaining that they were targeting a new clientele.[11]Competitive fighting game players relocated toNext Level,aBrooklynarcade owned by Chinatown Fair's former manager, which opened in 2011.[12]
Media
[edit]In 2011, filmmaker Mark Hayes releasedChinatown Fair,a short documentary capturing the period between the arcade's closing and re-opening.[13] [14]
In 2015, Chinatown Fair was the focusThe Lost Arcade,a feature-length documentary.The Lost Arcadewas released inNew York Cityon August 12, 2016.[15]
References
[edit]- ^Kopfstein, Janus (2011-02-23)."The Odd History And Uncertain Future Of Chinatown Fair, NYC's Last Great Arcade".Vice Motherboard.Retrieved2016-07-26.
- ^Kaminer, Ariel (2011-03-11)."Chinatown Fair's Closing Leaves Gamers Bereft".The New York Times.Retrieved2016-07-26.
- ^Rosenberg, Zoe (2015-11-13)."Manhattan's Last Coin-Operated Arcade Memorialized In New Documentary".Curbed.Retrieved2016-07-26.
- ^Williams, Alex."The Last of Manhattan's Original Video Arcades".The New York Times.
- ^Lin, Jing (2014-09-08)."A Stretch of Mott Street, Remembered".Voices of NY.Retrieved2016-08-06.
- ^French, Paul (2012-11-20)."The Port Arthur Restaurant, Mott Street, New York City".China Rhyming.Retrieved2016-08-06.
- ^Maurer, Daniel (2015-11-18)."Cut Class and Catch This Documentary About Chinatown Fair Arcade".Bedford and Bowery.Retrieved2016-08-06.
- ^abCarlson, Jen (2015-11-13)."Video: Revisit The Old Days Of Chinatown Fair In This New Documentary".Gothamist.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-06-01.Retrieved2016-07-26.
- ^Gregory, Kia (10 June 2012)."Chinatown Fair Returns, but Without Chicken Playing Tick-Tack-Toe".The New York Times.Retrieved2016-07-26.
- ^abChibber, Kabir (4 August 2010)."An Arcade Offers Face-to-Face Fighting in the Age of Online Gaming".The New York Times.Retrieved2016-07-26.
- ^Kopfstein, Janus (2012-05-07)."New York's Chinatown Fair arcade reopens, but the game has changed".The Verge.Retrieved2016-07-26.
- ^Saxena, Jaya (2011-03-07)."Chinatown Fair Resurfaces in Brooklyn As Next Level Arcade".Gothamist.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-05-20.Retrieved2016-07-27.
- ^Kill Screen Staff (2011-08-10)."Beloved arcade eulogized in documentary".Kill Screen.Retrieved2023-02-23.
- ^Hayes, Mark (2011-07-26)."Chinatown Fair: a documentary".Vimeo.Retrieved2023-02-23.
- ^Hester, Jessica Leigh (2016-07-21)."When Video Game Arcades Were Community Centers".CityLab.Retrieved2016-07-26.
