Choy Residence by architect Eugene Choy, 1949. Photo by Julius Shulman

Choy Residence by architect Eugene Choy, 1949. Photo by Julius Shulman

Breaking Ground: Chinese American Architects in Los Angeles (1945-1980)

January 19, 2012 - June 3, 2012

Breaking Ground: Chinese American Architects in Los Angeles (1945-1980) will showcase the architectural achievements of four pioneering Chinese American architects whose contributions were critical to the development of Los Angeles' urban and visual landscape between 1945 and 1980. The exhibit will focus on the lives and work of Eugene K. Choy, Gilbert Leong, Helen Liu Fong, and Gin Wong, architects who played pivotal roles in the development of Mid-Century Modern and Googie Architecture movements unique to California's Post-War architectural renaissance.

Breaking Ground is part of Pacific Standard Time. This unprecedented collaboration, initiated by the Getty Foundation, brings together more than sixty cultural institutions from across Southern California for six months beginning October 2011 to tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene. Pacific Standard Time is an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America.

Additional funding is provided by the MetLife Foundation's Museum and Community Connections program.

Click here to learn more about Pacific Standard Time.

Exhibit Sponsors:

• The Getty Foundation
• MetLife Foundation Museum and Community Connections
• Institute for Museum and Library Services
• Japanese American Community Services of Southern California / Cecilia Nakamura Fund
• Friends of the Chinese American Museum
• El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument

Click here to view the Exhibit e-brochure (PDF)
Click here to view the press release (PDF)

Journeys

This exhibit narrates Chinese immigration to the United States with an emphasis on community settlement in Los Angeles. The display is outlined into four distinct time periods. Each period is defined by an important immigration law and event, accompanied by a brief description and a short personal story about a local Chinese American and their experiences in that particular historical period.

Sun Wing Wo General Store and Herb Shop

This exhibition is a recreation of an actual store that was housed in the Garnier Building in the 1890’s. The Sun Wing Wo store opened in 1891 and remained in this building until 1948.  The store was a multi-purpose space that showed how self-sufficient the Chinese were and had to be due to racism and discrimination, while also being responsive to the needs of their community.  Even though the store predominantly served the Chinese, there were European, Japanese, and Mexican Americans who also came to purchase Chinese merchandise.

On one side of the gallery, people can find merchandise sold at the general store such as food, clothing, furniture, firecrackers, and dishes; they can also find western products that were popular at the time such as cigars and perfumed soaps. The store also provided banking, postal, and letter writing services for the community.

On the other side of the gallery, the Museum recreated the herb shop where Chinese could practice their traditional form of healthcare - Chinese Medicine. There were acupuncture services and prescriptions of herbal remedies provided.

Meet Albert Lew

Engage in a lively chat with Albert Lew as he relives his childhood days in the original Sun Wing Wo Store. Experience what it was like inside the hustle and bustle of this vital community center as seen through the eyes of a then thirteen-year old Albert, who worked in the store upon his arrival to the United States in 1937.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Albert Lew moved to China with his parents at the age of five during the Great Depression. In 1937, Albert Lew was thirteen years old when he came back to the United States to earn money to support his mother and younger siblings in China. Upon his arrival, Albert worked in the Sun Wing Wo general store and herb shop, located in Chinatown, and owned and operated by his uncles and cousin. After working at the store for six months, his older sister and her husband arranged for Albert to join them in San Francisco. Albert eventually served in the U.S. Navy and worked for the Department of Water and Power. He has since retired in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

Scheduled appearances: The SECOND WEDNESDAY of every month.