Font size options
Increase or decrease the font size for this website by clicking on the 'A's.
Contrast options
Choose a color combination to give the most comfortable
contrast.
Register 6 Seats Remaining
Exploring Indianapolis Chinese History
Indianapolis Special Collections Room (ISCR) Program
2025-06-29 14:00:00
2025-06-29 15:30:00
America/Indiana/Indianapolis
Exploring Indianapolis Chinese History
Join us in the ISCR at Central Library with Public Historian Kelsey Green to explore the experiences of Indianapolis's earliest Chinese immigrants and their early 1900s businesses.
Central Library -
Sunday, June 29
2:00pm - 3:30pm
Add to Calendar
2025-06-29 14:00:00
2025-06-29 15:30:00
America/Indiana/Indianapolis
Exploring Indianapolis Chinese History
Join us in the ISCR at Central Library with Public Historian Kelsey Green to explore the experiences of Indianapolis's earliest Chinese immigrants and their early 1900s businesses.
Central Library -
Join us in the ISCR at Central Library with Public Historian Kelsey Green to explore the experiences of Indianapolis's earliest Chinese immigrants and their early 1900s businesses.
Culture, History, and Society: Historic Indianapolis
The Business of Belonging: Chinese Immigration and Entrepreneurship in Indianapolis—Public Historian Kelsey Green explores the lived experiences of Indianapolis’s earliest Chinese immigrants. By the early 1900s, many Chinese residents operated chop suey restaurants, Chinese goods stores, or hand laundries in the Circle City, providing novel services and goods to their Hoosier neighbors.
This presentation explores the realities of Chinese Exclusion after 1882 and the complex navigation of midwestern Chinese immigrants who, living outside of a Chinatown, established themselves. By opening businesses and attracting Hoosier customers, these early immigrants acted as cultural emissaries in Indianapolis, introducing Chinese cuisine, goods, customs, dress, and language. Ultimately, the history of Chinese immigrants in Indiana reveals not only hardship and discrimination but also their success, resilience, and community building.
Location: This program will be held in person in the Indianapolis Special Collections Room (ISCR) on the 6th floor of Central Library.
Parking: The Central Library has a parking garage available to visitors during their time there. See the parking garage pricing information. The garage can be accessed on Pennsylvania Street.
This in-person program is part of the Culture, History, and Society: Historic Indianapolis programs hosted by the Indianapolis Special Collections Room (ISCR) on the 6th floor of the Central Library.
Contact: Special Collections Librarian, Montoya Barker
AGE GROUP: | Seniors | Educators | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Multicultural | Lecture/Panel Discussion | Indianapolis Special Collections Room |
TAGS: | iscr programs | iscr lectures | ISCR history programs | Indianapolis special collections room | Indianapolis | history | historic indianapolis | early indianapolis | Circle City | Chinese Immigration | Chinese History | America250 |
Central Library
Hours
About the branch
As the hub of the Indianapolis Public Library system, Central Library showcases renowned architecture and services. The original 1917 building, designed by Paul Cret and constructed of Indiana limestone in the Greek Doric style, was considered one of the most outstanding secular buildings in the U.S. Its six-story glass and steel-framed addition, designed by Evans Woollen, opened in 2007.