Contents

• Garnier Building: Home of MCAH
• Proclamation
• President's Message
• James Wong Howe
• Benefactor's Gala
• Museum Supporters
• Artifacts: Thousands of Points of Light
• Our Newest Acquisition
• Gifts
• How You Can Help by Volunteering
• From the El Pueblo Park Director
• Museum Article Written in Chinese

The Garnier Building in 1942
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The Garnier Building today in 1998

Appropriately, the home of the Museum of Chinese American History will be located in a historic brick structure in what was part of the original Chinatown in Los Angeles. This handsome brick building was constructed in 1890 and was immediately occupied by Chinese merchants and businesses. An important tenant was the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, an umbrella organization for many Chinese organizations. This body performed as an arbitrator among its members. A representative in official matters dealing with the outer society. Celebrations and social functions were held in its many rooms. This brick building is among the twenty-seven put aside as historical landmarks in the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument.

Chinatown's residential community was located directly across from the museum site. It was affectionately referred to by its residence as Ferguson Alley. That was its main thoroughfare. Those who were born there became among the very first to be the city's first generation Chinese Americans. This tightly knit community was torn down in 1938 and replaced by the present Union Station.

The long needed and awaited Museum of Chinese American History will preserve and chronicle the determination and contribution of a single ethnic group, The Chinese Americans.

The Council motion created a new City department, the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument Authority. Within this new ordinance in Article I, Creation and Purpose, are woven the words, A Chinese history museum shall be established in the Monument.

The wording was the consequence of meticulous advocacy through the convoluted byways of City government led by the Friends of the Museum of Chinese American History and President Dan Louie, Jr. Important support was derived from the Chinese American community and key organizations such as the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Chinese American Citizens Alliance, and Chinese American Lawyers Association. The visibility and the obviously strong community interest had caused the Museum project to be a City Council campaign issue in Chinatown. Councilman Mike Hernandez, who won the seat, inserted the special language when the ordinance was before his subcommittee for review.

The passage of the ordinance bill helped to insure extension of State Historic Preservation grant of $61,000 for the restoration of the Garnier Building's north bay site of the Museum. The Garnier Building represents the oldest remaining Los Angeles structure symbolic of Old Chinatown and exclusive Chinese habitation.

The MCAH project began over six years ago when El Pueblo and some then-leaders and members of the Chinese American community convened an advisory group, the Museum Committee, to examine the concept of a Chinese American history museum on the site of historic Old Chinatown. The idea was embraced and quickly became exciting reality in City project. The Museum Committee held a seed money drive, conducted a community workshop and several studies to develop input for research, development, organization, and exhibits, and formed the Friends to continue these activities.

With this completed Council action, the Friends now focuses on additional fundraising and support for the site preparation design, acquisitions, and eventual Garnier installation of the Museum.

Well, what's been happening? Here's the update:

1. As you know, we had a very successful major fund- raiser in November 1990 at the Four Seasons hotel, raising about one hundred thousand dollars to be used for renovating the Museum site in the Garnier Building (to an historical standard) as well as obtaining artifacts and memorabilia. Please see the list of major donors printed in this newsletter.

2. These funds will be augmented by money previously raised by the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California for the museum, part of which has been used to buy most of the furnishings of a Chinese herb store. Some of these date back about 90 years.

3. Most of 1991 was spent by your board going to many meetings with the city officials and contacting many others concerning legal matters such as the establishment of a new City Authority to oversee the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument, as well as extending a grant of sixty-one thousand dollars from the State toward construction. (We seem to have succeeded!!)

4. In February of this year during the Chinese New Year we had a very successful show commemorating cinematographer James Wong Howe.

James Wong Howe, receipient of two Oscars

That outstanding person was the world's noted cinematographer James Wong Howe. This celebrated artist has won 2 coveted Oscars and has been nominated for this honor 11 times. The highest honor was achieved for the films, The Rose Tattoo and Hud. His was a career that started before the moving pictures could talk and continued through 60 years and over 125 films.

Mr. Howe was not only a person who pioneered the development of film techniques but many of his inventions are now considered a necessity. One such object is the camera dolly.

He established himself early in a profession that had no person of his ethnicity in any capacity, much less one dictating how a film should be made.

A special exhibit had been installed in the foyer with photographs reflecting different aspects of the history of the Chinese American settlers in Los Angeles. A few of the artifacts that have been donated for the museum were also on display.

Mistress of Ceremonies Dolores Wong introduced Dr. Dan Louie, Jr., president of the Museum of Chinese American History who paid a warn tribute to the ten major donors to the museum and thanked them for their very generous gifts. The Chinese Historical Society of Southern California was recognized for its strong support to the project. All the major donors were presented with an original ceramic sculpture by noted artist Wei Pin Hsu that he had created especially for the occasion. In accepting their awards the honorees eloquently and enthusiastically expressed their endorsement of the museum. Dr. Louie thanked all of the many other contributors, donors, and community leaders who were present to lend their support.

Discussion of this special evening would not be complete without mentioning the delicious dinner provided by the elegant Four Seasons Hotel, the beautiful flowers arranged by Ray Hom and dancing music by the Liberty City band. Honored guests included noted actor Key Luke and Bruce Philips, President of the Old L.A. Company, future developers of the Pico-Garnier Block.

The committee in charge of the dinner included Suellen Cheng, Jerry Jann, Edith Jung, Kiphan Kan, Munson Kwok, Dan Louie, Tom McDannold, and Jean Bruce Poole.

By 1980, Union Station was to be the hub for an integrated intra-urban and inter-urban transportation system with the Metro Rail Red Line as the first segment. Construction and excavation for the rail line occurred in what was Old Chinatown. As work progressed, many artifacts were unearthed during the periods of October through November 1989 and February through March 1991.

The artifacts were impressive in volume (thousands of items) and extensive in content: handmade bricks fashioned in Los Angeles, clothing, jewelry, kitchen utensils, game pieces, figurines, tooth brushes, medicine vials, spittoons, liquor bottles, opium apparatus, ceramic containers, rice bowls, tea pots, plates, spoons, pistols, fish/animal bones, and the list continued.

Many of todays Chinese Americans participated in the process of bringing Old Chinatown to light. Greenwood and Associates, the archeological firm responsible for the excavation and analyses, actively encouraged community involvement. They provided tours of the dig, sought help in identifying objects and worked to make sure Chinese language inscriptions were translated correctly. Members of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California visited the excavation site and helped with the research and translation, and helped to sort, identify and count artifacts in the laboratory.

Fortunately, the material of Old Chinatown will not be lost again. Reconstructed artifacts and objects of significance have already been brought together as displays at various interpretive locations.

Part of the Hing Yuen Hong collection will be used as a component of the museum exhibit to illustrate an often moderately flourishing trade which provided the medical assistance and Chinese herbal medicine till this day. This significant collection will also allow future researchers to study the herbs and medications used by the Chinese Americans in Los Angeles and other residents.

This new important collection includes cabinets and furniture originally belonging to Choy Jee Tong herb store of San Francisco in the early 1900s. Most of the equipment and furniture were purchased and moved to Los Angeles in 1939 for the grand opening of the Hin Yuen Hong herb store. More than 400 kinds of herbal medicines, prescriptions, apothecary bottles, motar and pestle sets, abacus, boxes, storage cans, scales, a hundred or more small drawers, and a sales counter were also acquired.

A crew of five, the Park staff, and at least a dozen volunteers worked together to complete the sorting, disassembling and moving tasks. All cabinetry and furniture are now carefully recorded and catalogued to assist future reassembling in a most authentic manner.

There is a great need for help on the following areas:

• locating old documents
• restoring artifacts
• assembling library
• researching historical events
• identifying old objects
• cataloguing photographs
• raising funds
• repairing fabrics
• conducting oral histories
• setting up computer programs
• writing for newsletter
• and more.

The Museum of Chinese American History attracts a dedicated corp of volunteers. We have been very fortunate to have contributed their talent and time. To name a few, Nana Cooper, Jim Fong, Agnes Fung, Elmo Gambarana, Lissette de Groot, Cici Hong, Gerald Jann, Robert Large, Calvin and Winifred Lee, Margaret and Albert Lew, Thomas McDannold, Connie Ng, Dorothy Siu, Herbert Tom, Jo Yang.

You can volunteer too!! Please contact us.

The El Pueblo Park hosts almost two million visitors per year. Since its creation, it has always been the Parks mission to preserve and interpret the rich, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural heritage of the city and to offer an accurate and honest history to our visitors and to the public. The Park staff strives to achieve this goal both today and in the future. Thus, it is highly appropriate for the Park to present the story of the Chinese Americans, whose original neighborhood was centered in the area now occupied by El Pueblo Park.

Since the inception of the MCAH project, the support of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California has been outstanding. In the last three years the Friends have provided us with encouragement and new strength. We are most grateful for this wonderful community support and hope that good relations continue to grow between El Pueblo and the Chinese American community.

The museum continues to seek volunteers, new ideas, and fresh inputs We invite you to be part of this exciting and challenging project. By working together we came make El Pueblo a strong center for the Los Angeles history.

Anthony D. Gonzalez
Park Director

Scene From Old Chinatown
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