Plum Alley East

Plum Alley, now a narrow passage in downtown Salt Lake City, once formed the center of the city’s original Chinatown. Established by Chinese laborers following the completion of the transcontinental railroad in eighteen sixty-nine, the alley evolved from a simple dirt path into a dense collection of tenements, laundries, grocery stores, and restaurants. At its height, the enclave provided a self-contained community for hundreds of Chinese immigrants who found work in mines and as laborers throughout the Intermountain West.