Wing Luke Museum facts for kids
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The East Kong Yick Building, the third and current location of the museum, in 2008
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| Former name | Wing Luke Memorial Museum (1967–1987), Wing Luke Asian Museum (1987–2010) |
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| Established | May 17, 1967 |
| Location | 719 S King Street Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Type | Ethnic history museum |
| Public transit access | Link light rail (International District/Chinatown), King County Metro, First Hill Streetcar |
The Wing Luke Museum is a special place in Seattle, Washington, USA. It teaches people about the culture, art, and history of Asian Pacific Americans. You can find it in Seattle's Chinatown-International District. The museum started in 1967. It is connected to the Smithsonian Institution and is the only museum of its kind in the country that focuses on all Asian Pacific American communities. The museum has moved twice since it began. Its current home, the East Kong Yick Building, opened in 2008. In 2013, it became one of the special "affiliated areas" of the U.S. National Park Service.
Contents
What You Can See
The Wing Luke Museum has over 18,000 items in its collections. These include old objects, photographs, important papers, books, and oral histories. Oral histories are stories told by people about their lives.
You can see some of the museum's collections online. The museum also has a special lab where staff and visitors can record oral histories.
Exciting Exhibits
The Wing Luke Museum often changes its exhibits. It also has permanent displays about Asian American history, art, and cultures. The museum shares stories from more than 26 different ethnic groups.
The museum works with communities to create its exhibits. This means they ask people and groups to help decide what goes into an exhibit. A special group called the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) helps guide each exhibit. Museum staff then do research and gather materials. They also record oral histories with guidance from the CAC. The CAC helps decide how the exhibit will look and what it will say. This whole process can take 12 to 18 months.
In 1995, the Wing Luke Museum won an award for its exhibit process. One of its award-winning exhibits was "Do You Know Bruce?". This 2014 exhibit was about the famous martial artist Bruce Lee. It won the 2015 Exhibit Award from the Association of King County Historical Organizations.
How the Museum Started
The museum is named after Wing Luke. He was a Seattle City Council member. He was the first Asian American elected to public office in the Pacific Northwest. In the early 1960s, Wing Luke thought a museum was needed in the Chinatown-International District. He wanted to save the history of the neighborhood as it changed quickly.
Wing Luke died in a plane crash in 1965. His friends and supporters then gave money to start the museum he had dreamed of. The Wing Luke Memorial Museum, as it was first called, opened in 1967. It was in a small storefront on 8th Avenue.
At first, the museum focused on Asian folk art. But soon, it started to show more programs that reflected the many different people in the local community. The museum showed art from new local artists. By the 1980s, exhibits about all Asian communities, made by volunteers, became very important to the museum.
In 1987, the Wing Luke Museum moved to a bigger building on 7th Avenue. It also changed its name to Wing Luke Asian Museum. In the 1990s, it became well-known across the country. This happened under the leadership of local journalist Ron Chew. He was a leader in creating exhibits that put people's personal stories at the center.
In 2008, the museum moved to an even larger building. This new home is at 719 South King Street. It is in the East Kong Yick Building, which was built in 1910 and then renovated. The museum continued to focus on civil rights and social justice. It also kept historic parts of the building. These include the old Gee How Oak Tin Association room, the Freeman SRO Hotel, a family apartment in Canton Alley, and the Yick Fung Mercantile.
In 2010, the museum changed its name again. It became the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience. People often call it "The Wing" for short.
On September 14, 2023, nine of the museum's windows along Canton Alley were broken. The Washington State Department of Commerce and the City of Seattle gave money to the museum to help. The broken windows were replaced with a decorative mural.
Where the Museum Is
The Museum Building
The East Kong Yick Building is where the museum is located. This building, along with the West Kong Yick Building, was built in 1910. About 170 Chinese immigrants helped pay for them. Besides shops, the East Kong Yick Building also had the Freeman Hotel. Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino immigrants used this hotel until the 1940s.
Today, the museum's galleries share the building with recreated rooms. These include the Gee How Oak Tin Association's meeting room, kitchens, and apartments that were inside the hotel. The museum also keeps everything from a general store called Yick Fung Co. The owner donated the entire store to the museum.
The Neighborhood
The museum is in Seattle's Chinatown-International District. It is right next to Canton Alley. This alley was historically a place where people lived, worked, and gathered. The Wing Luke Museum offers Chinatown Discovery Tours. These tours started in 1985. They take visitors to important places within the neighborhood.
