Pacific Grove mulls a request to build a pavilion to honor the history of Chinese Americans.

Almost two years ago Pacific Grove officially said goodbye to the Feast of Lanterns, the town’s troubled faux Chinese pageant, beloved by some residents but deemed racist by others. After members of the Chinese American community and allies came forward to publicly voice their objections to the P.G. City Council in 2022, the FOL board voted to end the pageant once and for all.

Now the Monterey Bay Chinese Association wants to build a traditional pavilion and a moon wall in a park to honor the history of Chinese Americans in P.G. It was Chinese immigrants who founded a fishing village in the town in the 1850s, and contributed to the local economy. The village was destroyed by fire in 1906 – how it began is disputed, but there is evidence that efforts to save it were sabotaged. Afterward, white officials blocked its rebuilding.

MBCA leaders first requested a joint project with the city along Monterey Bay near the village site, but it didn’t make it into the budget. MBCA leaders came back asking to locate the pavilion in a city park financed by their own fundraising. Working with city staff and the P.G. Recreation Board, Elmarie Dyke Park next to Chautauqua Hall was chosen. A moon wall at the entrance to the park was added to the proposal. The estimated cost of construction for both is $120,000-$150,000.

The park’s lineage makes the choice potentially awkward, as noted by former mayor Carmelita Garcia at a P.G. City Council meeting on Dec. 20.

“We have to keep in mind Elmarie Dyke is associated with the Feast of Lanterns,” Garcia said, referencing Dyke’s revival of the event in 1958. Garcia said she was in favor of the project, but against the proposed location: “It would be somewhat contradictory to put a Chinese pavilion there.” She favored an outdoor space behind the P.G. Museum of Natural History.

Councilmembers voiced their overall support for the pavilion and wall, but asked city staff to assess other locations and come back with alternatives.