San Diego Chinese Historical Museum

Our museum is housed in a building originally built in 1927 as a Chinese mission.  The Chinese Historical Society of Greater San Diego and Baja California found out the building was slated for demolition in the 1980’s and was able to save and move the building from its original site on First Avenue to the historic heart of old Chinatown on Third Avenue.  Architect Joseph Wong was in charge of renovating the Mission building to make it the cornerstone of the Asian Pacific Historic District.  Now a museum, the building’s gallery displays models of early Chinese American settlements, artifacts excavated from old Chinatown and equipment salvaged from local businesses of yesteryear.  Relics such as a jade burial suit, a limestone Buddha head, and a warlord’s bed frame, provide a brief glimpse into China’s history.  

Over the past 27 years, the museum has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors, collected thousands of ethnographic artifacts, and hosted hundreds of educational programs and exhibitions. Today, SDCHM remains a piece of living history to celebrate multiculturalism, enrich the community, and showcase San Diego as an international and cultural tourist destination.