CONTINUING EXHIBIT

During the late 1840's, the majority of the Chinese immigrants arriving in California went to work in the gold mines to pursue their dreams for immediate wealth. After several years of limited success, many of them returned to the city and assumed other occupations. By 1851, a large Chinese enclave had developed in San Francisco.

In the spring of 1851, a Chinese man named Wah Lee opened the first Chinese hand laundry in the United States. It was in a small, leased storefront and basement in San Francisco. He posted a sign that read: "Washing and Ironing," and undercut the going rate for washing to "$2 for a dozen pieces". Wah Lee was immediately overwhelmed by customers. In less than three weeks, he had twenty washer men working three shifts a day. Within three months, dozens of other Chinese hand laundries sprung up all over the city.

Before long, Chinese laundries emerged wherever Chinese immigrants settled; from small mining towns to towns where railroads were being built. By the 1870s, there were Chinese laundries in the large towns all across the country. By the 1880s, there were at least 1,000 Chinese laundries in the city of San Francisco alone. By 1900 most large American cities had Chinese laundries, which employed 75% of all Chinese men.

Chinese immigrants chose to open laundries because it was the quickest way to become their own boss. It didn't require them to speak much English and it didn't take much money to start one. Initially, Chinese laundries were welcomed because washing other people's dirty clothes was considered an undesirable job by most Euro-Americans.

Eventually, the railroads that the Chinese helped build brought more women out West to cook and wash clothes. As others became more interested in the laundry business, prejudices towards Chinese laundry owners also grew. Advertisements and editorial cartoons depicting Uncle Sam trying to send Chinese laundrymen back to China became quite common. During the early 1900s, anti-Chinese-laundry legislation was passed to drive them out of business, even back to China.

Nobody is really certain when the first Chinese laundry opened in San Diego. According to the San Diego County Medical Society, one of the city's first resident physicians was Dr. Sing Ping, a graduate of the Peking Medical School of Meka-Quak. It was noted that in 1865, Dr. Ping was practicing medicine and the art of laundry at the same time. By the 1870s, there were a few Chinese hand laundries in the city's Chinese Quarter. Sixteen years later, when the first edition of the San Diego City & County Directory (1886-1887) was published, there were still only 3 Chinese hand laundries listed: Hong Sing Laundry at 6th between I and J St; Jim Lee Laundry at 3rd and H St; and Sam Gee Laundry at 6th and J St.

Initially, the laundries in the Chinese Quarter catered primarily to Chinese customers. As they spread into other parts of the city, they began to expand their clientele. Most laundries concentrated on walk-in business (shirts, collars and undergarments). Laundries like Quong Chong and Hop Lee gravitated towards doing hotel linens and tablecloths. Some of the larger laundries were equipped to wash as well as press, while some of the smaller laundries sent their washing out and only did the hand finishing.

What really set Chinese laundries in San Diego apart from those in any other city was its military presence. During World War II, both the Third Navel Fleet and Seventh Navel Fleet operated out of San Diego. With scores of war ships stationed here, and hundreds of thousands of uniforms that needed washing, a new breed of Chinese laundry was born (i.e. Wong Lee Laundry, New Life Laundry, Welcome Laundry, and Eagle Laundry). Over the years, they cleaned and pressed shiploads of Navy uniforms and were even known to work shifts around-the-clock.

This exhibit on Chinese hand laundries in San Diego was researched and developed by John LeeWong, who's parents ran the Wong Lee Laundry near State Street and E Street from 1938 until they retired in 1974. Many of the artifacts on display are from their laundry while others were acquired from various collectors and individuals across the country. This exhibit is dedicated to Earnest and Helen LeeWong and all of the Chinese families who operated hand laundries in San Diego during the past one-hundred and eighteen years.