Wing Luke Museum

Photo: Eddie Kim via Google Maps

The Wing Luke Museum fills a 1910 building on South King Street in Seattle’s Chinatown International District, and it tells the stories of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander people through art, history and the voices of the communities themselves. The museum bills itself as the only pan Asian Pacific American community based museum in the United States. It is a Smithsonian affiliate, the first in the Pacific Northwest, and a National Park Service Affiliated Area.

What makes it worth the trip is how personal it feels. Exhibits are built with community members rather than simply about them, and a tour upstairs takes you into the rooms of a historic hotel where working people once lived. Pair it with lunch in the neighborhood and the streets outside start to tell their own story.

What You’ll See

• The historic hotel tour: complimentary guided tours of the building’s preserved hotel spaces. The top two floors were once the Freeman Hotel, home to workers from the canneries, lumber mills, farms, restaurants and laundries.
• Honoring Our Journey: the centerpiece of the galleries, tracing immigrant and refugee experiences.
• Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee: an interactive look at the philosophy and life of the martial artist.
• Community galleries: ongoing exhibits including the Cambodian Cultural Museum, Hometown Desi on South Asian traditions in America, and I Am Filipino, built from personal stories.
• Wing Luke and the Museum: an exhibit on the man the museum is named for and the mission he inspired.
• Canton Alley and Nihonmachi Alley: public, outdoor exhibit spaces in the neighborhood that extend the museum into the streets around it.

The Story Behind It

Wing Luke was the first person of color elected to the Seattle City Council and the first Asian American elected to public office in King County. He championed the Open Housing Ordinance before he died in a plane crash in 1965 at age 40. Two years later, the Wing Luke Memorial Foundation was created in his honor. The museum later moved into a converted garage known as the China Garage in 1987, and in 1993 a Community Advisory Committee created its first exhibit, setting the community based approach the museum still uses.

In 2008 the museum moved into the East Kong Yick Building. In 1910 businessman Goon Dip led a group of Chinese American pioneers who, with no backing from a bank, pooled money from about 170 community members to build it and its twin. The same year, the museum was designated a National Park Service Affiliated Area.

Tips for Your Visit

• Hotel tours are first come, first served, so call ahead to check availability. Tours may be cancelled if the temperature reaches 85 degrees.
• Link light rail’s Chinatown International District station is about four blocks west of the museum, and bus routes 7, 14 and 36 stop nearby.
• Street parking is free on Sundays and holidays, and there are pay lots within walking distance.
• The Marketplace gift shop does not require a ticket, so you can browse even if you are short on time.

Plan Your Visit

Address: 719 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: 206.623.5124
Website: wingluke.org
Hours and admission: Check the museum website for current days, hours, and admission before you visit.
Directions: View on Google Maps