Is the Willow tree, planted in the CT Plaza in 1938, by the beautiful Anna May Wong, with the opening of the new Chinatown, still in existance? It has been three or four years since my last visit, and I just don't recall if it was still there. I have checked online, but can find no further reference to it, since its planting?
About every two weeks, my wife and I usually go to the de facto Chinatown, of Monterey Park/San Gabriel for dim sum, and our specialty item, grocery shopping. However, now armed with a deeper understanding of the history of old and new (1938) Chinatown in the downtown; I may wander around a little more, and take greater note of some previously overlooked aspects--including the sole surviving Garnier Bldg.
Jenny Cho--Chinatown in Los Angeles/UCLA
ebay
I have been reading/researching deeper about her life, since first seeing her mentioned, in a couple of the old/new Chinatown L.A. history websites.
UPDATED INFORMATION:
After some research and talking to some folks in old China Town, I have come up with the answer to my own question:
The tree is no longer in existence, and was cut down to make way for a building, built some years later, directly to the rear of the historic Wishing Well.
The photo of her planting the tree, shovel in hand, was a view from the rear of the wishing well, which at that time, was open ground. The tree stood just a couple of feet or so, within the interior of the north wall of the building.
It is too bad, that at the time it was cut down, most likely in the 1960's, its historical significance was not in mind or view, just the investment in one more building, a souvenir store, squeezed in on the property, for commercial use.
