Hidden Places,
Forgotten Spaces
Communities that helped build a place—and the histories that remain when a neighborhood changes, disperses or disappears.
This project grew from Stacey Ellison’s MA research on Riverside’s Chinatown. Read the revised paper that started this project.
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Every place has a history.
Drag to pan · Use + / − to zoom · Select a marker or a community below. Gold lines show documented connections; proximity alone does not establish a relationship.
Generalized modern reference outline, not historical boundaries. Alaska and Hawaii are inset at different scales. Initial coverage is selective; U.S. territories are not yet mapped. Pins are approximate community locations, not parcel boundaries.
Select a community to read its history, sources and research questions.
Scope, evidence and image rights
This project documents particular neighborhoods and settlements. The loss of buildings does not mean a people or culture disappeared. Continuing institutions, descendants and community-led preservation belong in the story.
Dates, locations, population estimates and explanations of change may be uncertain. Starter records are a selective research sample. They are not a demographic census or an independently reviewed national inventory.
Public access is different from permission to reproduce. Gallery previews require recorded reuse terms and attribution; other images remain links to their holding institution. No historical image is generated or reconstructed.
Bibliographies use the Chicago notes-and-bibliography system. Generated entries are working citations: verify authors, editions, archival descriptions and dates. A manual citation field accommodates complex material. Chicago’s citation guide.