History
Twenty years ago, a group of dedicated Chinese Americans founded the Chinese Historical Society with the goal of rescuing the old Chinese Community Church building and turning it into a museum. The first three presidents: Sally Wong, Tom Hom and Alexander Chuang, provided the leadership and vision that has made the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum (SDCHM) what it is today. From its humble beginnings in 1996, SDCHM has outgrown its original building, renovated a new extension to house temporary exhibits, welcomed over 800 current members (1/3 of whom are not ethnically Chinese), launched successful education and community outreach programs and become a landmark in the downtown community.
Specialties
The mission of SDCHM is to collect, preserve and share the Chinese American experience and Chinese history, culture and art to educate our diverse community and its visitors. We present a variety of artistic and cultural exhibits, informative lectures, and Chinese holiday celebrations. The museum offers a variety of education programs for children and adult groups available at the museum or onsite. And we also have a small Chinese garden with waterfalls and koi pond, which is available for events.