Wo Hing Chinese Museum - Lahaina, Maui Island, HI
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denben
N 20° 52.579 W 156° 40.832
4Q E 741306 N 2310200
The Wo Hing Chinese Museum is located at 858 Front Street in the Lahaina Historic District in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.
Waymark Code: WMR9G5
Location: Hawaii, United States
Date Posted: 05/26/2016
Views: 1
Chinatown in Lahaina began as one-story shops and housing on Front Street, and as more Chinese were attracted to the area, two-story wooden buildings were built to accommodate them.
The Chinese immigrants maintained social and political ties with their ancestral home and in the early 1900s, they formed the Wo Hing Society. At one time, it was a branch of the Chee Kung Tong (a fraternal society with chapters worldwide) but it is no longer affiliated.
The society recognized the need for a social meeting hall. In 1912 using private donations, Wo Hing Society built an attractive two-story building that still stands on Front Street. Upstairs is a temple with an altar for religious ceremonies. Downstairs was the social hall, which serves as museum space and a gift shop today. Engraved on the calligraphy boards around the temple are characters for Wo, meaning “peace and harmony” and Hing, which means “prosperity.”
In 1983, Lahaina Restoration Foundation took steps to restore this valuable site for Lahaina. Under a long-term agreement with the Wo Hing Society, the foundation provided funds to bring the buildings back to life and maintain them as a museum.
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