Letter from Mayor Brown

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

You are no doubt familiar with the history of the International hotel and its significance to the community. After more that 30 years since the initial eviction notices were placed on the doors of the elderly Filipino and Chinese residents, and their subsequent eviction in 1977, the Manilatown Heritage Foundation was created in 1994 to advocate for the rebuilding of the International hotel and the preservation of the “Manilatown” legacy.

Inspired by the spirit of the I-Hotel struggle, the Manilatown Heritage Foundation’s mission is to foster community development; create an accessible historical and cultural environment; celebrate Filipino American Community and to record and share the Filipino American community’s history and contributions to American life.

The future Manilatown Center will be built on the ground floor of the 104-unit, 15 story new International Hotel Senior Housing. The new International Hotel will combine much needed, housing, social services and cultural programs to both residents and the broader community under one roof – it is a “Link to the Past and a Bridge to the Future.”

In the spring of 2005 the new International Hotel Senior Housing will open. It is with a deep sense of pride and justice served that I ask you / your organization, to support the development and building of the Manilatown Center in the new I-Hotel. In order to complete the project, Manilatown will need to raise additional funding to build out the center. “When we turn the lights on for the first time in the new I-Hotel, let them also illuminate the Manilatown Center and throughout the Filipino American community.”