Picture what it was like to be Chinese in America during the Gold Rush, transcontinental railroad construction or Beat heyday in this 1932 landmark, built as Chinatown's YWCA by Julia Morgan (chief architect of Hearst Castle). CHSA historians unearth fascinating artifacts, such as 1920s silk qipao dresses worn by socialites from Shanghai to San Francisco. Exhibits reveal once-popular views of Chinatown, including the sensationalist opium den exhibit at San Francisco's 1915 Panama-Pacific International Expo, inviting fairgoers to 'Go Slumming' in Chinatown.
Rotating exhibits are held in this graceful red-brick, green-tile-roofed landmark building; check CHSA's website for current shows, openings and events.
