Chinese Historical Society of America

This was a great place to stop in and learn some history of some of the first Chinese immigrants to the U.S. The museum is basically composed of a few rooms with large poster boards describing various events, some video, some exhibits, etc. I found it to be very educational and interesting. I took the time to explore all of the exhibits, read most of them, and was in and out in less than an hour.
I was very impressed that the exhibit is completely free and am curious how they keep it running. I enjoyed this museum much more than many of the paid ones I’ve attended elsewhere, and encourage you to make a donation if you have a chance to stop in and check this place out.

Definitely worth going to. A good use of an hour, and it’s free. The exhibit about the underground certainly taught me something. If you find yourself in Chinatown, this should definitely be one of your stops. Learn something about the culture! It’s so much more than tea and cheap souvenirs.

We came to the Chinese Historical Society of America to see the Underground Chinatown exhibit. For those architecturally inclined, the building is a Julia Morgan design.
But first we saw Frank Wong’s Chinatown Miniatures Collection in the main gallery. It was cool to see miniature rolls of toilet paper, a box of Oreos, rice cooker, packages of laundry, and a wok, among other things. Perhaps the most amazing thing we saw was the mini mahjong tile set and table.
Naturally, you have to go downstairs to the see the Underground Chinatown exhibit. At the base of the stairs is a huge mural from the PPIE’s Joy Zone. I thought was a little incongruous since the PPIE was located nowhere near Chinatown.
There are period pictures of Chinatown on display, most of which are not flattering. Lots of images from opium dens. There is also a map of Chinatown in the 1880’s. I noticed most of the street names are still the same. It’s amazing how that «census» listed so many gambling houses and houses of prostitution.
Some opium pipes are on display, including information on how they were used. Other drug paraphernalia is on display, including scales. Movie clips on how Asians were depicted in the cinema is on endless loop (you can see non-​Asians playing Asians). The exhibit was smaller than I expected, I was hoping for more.
Back upstairs is an exhibit on the Transcontinental Railroad. Above it is a beautiful lion head like you would see in the Chinese New Year Parade.
Best of all: the museum is free!

A good place to stop while visiting Chinatown. Short and interesting exhibits staffed by passionate docents. A good perspective on American Asian history and culture especially as it relates to the city.

Came here to do some research on my family and learned a lot! There are four main pieces. There is a huge section which talks about the immigration and labor history of Chinese. Second, there is a culture and customs section on cultural changes such as how garments changed over time and how people lived in Chinatown. In the culture section is an archive area in honor of Him Mark Lai where you can do research based upon the study of his roots project. A third exhibit is from the 1915 international expo which offended the Chinese community with scandalous portrayals of drug opium dens. The final section is a guest curated section featuring the custom of lion dancing.
Housed in the old Julia Morgan building which for many years was a YWCA, entrance fee is free. Street parking anywhere in Chinatown is difficult. If you are a tourist interested in learning about Chinese history without the commercialism, this place is a great stop.
A couple of takeaways for me? There are roughly only 4 million Chinese people in the US. I also had this old spoon like thing on my shelf and found out it was sometimes used to measure opium.

As an American of Chinese descent, this museum is near and dear to my heart. However, I would hope that ANYONE visiting Chinatown would take the time to stop in here to gain some understanding of the true nature of the place and its people. Try taking home some knowledge and understanding – the most precious of souvenirs!

Chinatown, San Francisco, CA: This place celebrates the history of Chinese in America.
Other Unilocalers have pretty much touched on all the bases about why it is a worthwhile stop and what you can expect when you are inside. Tags on the displays are posted in both Chinese characters and in English.
Worth a stop in for a quick overview of Chinese in American history. Artist Frank Wong’s miniture dioramas are amazing to look at.
Admission is free, although donations are gladly welcomed.

I had no idea this was here until I googled «free museums in San Francisco» and it popped up! I headed over after I went to the Cable Car Museum because they are quite close to one another.
Although it’s a rather small museum it definitely packs a punch. The exhibits were very informative and interesting, and I learned a lot about the lives of Chinese immigrants throughout the 18 and 1900s. I didn’t know that Angel Island was the Ellis Island of the West! They also have a little movie playing as you walk in on the right side, and you can sit down and relax for a bit.
The only thing I found annoying here was that one of the exhibits continuously played a recording of a man questioning a Chinese person. It was quite distracting to me as I was trying to read some of the other informational exhibits.

The former YWCA designed by Julia Morgan now houses the CHSA. The museum was free when I stopped by (though I’m not sure if it’s permanently free). It’s a small space with an exhibit about the history of the CHSA (not that interesting) and a larger exhibit on the history of Chinese Americans in CA during the gold rush and railroad days. Unfortunately there’s nothing on Julia Morgan except a small electronic display which wasn’t working. It’s nice and informative (90% of Chinese immigrants up to WWII came from Guandong province) but small — 20 – 30 minutes tops.

YAY, another FREE thing to do in SF.
They’re closed on Sunday though…
Museum is awesome and every Chinese American should visit this place. I appreciate my heritage, history, and culture so much more now.

I come here on the 1^st thursday of the Month in July which was after July 4^th which was free I saw this in the cheap sf website. I also learn that Chinatown wasn’t badly damage by the Earthquake it was destroyed by the great fire. But the great fire wasn’t that great until they use dynamites to stop the fire but actually turn it in the unstoppable Great Fire. I also work upstairs in the apartment of this place.

I really like museums… being chinese american I really wanted to LOVE this museum. But I guess I was a little bit disappointed.
Awesome that there is an entire museum dedicated to the history of the Chinese in America. Totally important, particularly all of the migrant workers who sacraficed everything to come here and work, etc. I was kinda hoping that there would be a little bit more than that… I was hoping for some things that were more current, yes part of our recent history too. We have made great strides in the last 100 years but the museum focuses mostly on the 1800s.
I probably will not go back but I am still glad this museum is here. Not trying to bust my own peeps’ chops but I learned everything that is in this museum in a couple hours.

This is a cute little museum – kind of tucked away in Chinatown. I saw it on a list of free museums for the first Thursday of the month and visited. If I hadn’t known the address, I think I would have walked right by. The collection isn’t extensive but displays are thoughfully arranged and thought provoking. I actually learned quite a bit. The lady behind the counter was super nice, even giving tourists directions to their next stop. Pictures are allowed – so now I finally have a close up of a lion dancer costume – I can never get a good one during the parade when they move around lol. There is a video presentation about the life of Sun Yat-​sen in a room with benches, which makes for a nice rest if you have been climbing hills to get there. I enjoyed my visit

Free for the month of November and December 2011 thanks to corporate sponsors! Yay!
I am of Cantonese descent and I took my parents to the Museum when they came to visit. It’s a small museum (you can walk the entire thing in 30 minutes-​1 hour) but it was quite an interesting place. It was interesting learning that most of the men that built the railroad came from the Pearl Delta Region which is where my parents came from. It was cool experience having my parents point out where on the map of China we came from.
There’s a cool exhibit of an artist right now that is on display as well with great use of water color depicting scenes of Chinese from the gold rush and the 50’s and 60’s.
Exhibits are in both Chinese and English which is great for all generations.

FREE! now that I have your attention, let me qualify by saying admission here is free on the first Thursday of the month… which fortuitously is when we happened to stop by.
Hubby is a museum freak and can immerse himself in one without getting bored. I on the other hand can do so under a time limit. The size of this one lent itself perfectly to my limitations so I was engaged the entire visit. The exhibits traced the journey of the Chinese immigrants in America. I was fascinated by some of the facts and while I do absorb and seek out Chinese American heritage, I found material here that I had not seen elsewhere.
The missing paintings of Jake Lee is unique to San Francisco, but other exhibits are less local and pertain to the Chinese immigration in North America.
I highly recommend that you visit if you are of Chinese heritage and especially if your relatives came to America prior to and around the 1950’s because the information is very relevant to your heritage.
It is located in a quiet section of Chinatown on Clay Street.

We stumbled upon this museum during a recent tourist soujourn to Chinatown. After a long morning and early afternoon of walking we figured we would stop into somewhere flat, and this museum, which is advertised only on the banners throughout Chinatown, was the perfect fit.
The museum, located in San Francisco’s original YWCA building, features an exhibition documenting the history of Chinese immigrants in the city, showing the progress of Chinese immigration from crossings to integration. with the dark periods in between, as well as the various professions into which early immigrants entered.
Admission to the museum is only $ 5 for adults, which is reasonable given that one can easily spend an hour there and it is a very fascinating topic. The only downside, as always with museums, is that there is not enough for my taste, but I am a history buff, so my expectation are always extreme.
So, if you are looking for an informative museum on a unique part of the San Francisco experience, or are just looking for a break from climbing the hills of the Financial district and Chinatown, stop here. You will not be disappointed.

I was strolling around the neighborhood and came upon the Chinese Historical Society of America. Since I am Chinese, I figured I owed it to my heritage to stop by.
Apparently, admission is $ 5 but I totally missed the person in the front and I didn’t even realize I was supposed to pay until 5 minutes ago (when I saw someone else’s Unilocal review). I suppose my 4 star review is contingent on my «free» visit. Upon further consideration, for $ 5, I’d give it 3 stars.
Anyway, the building that houses the museum was built by Julia Morgan. Although it has some distinctly «Chinese» features on the inside, she tried to stay away from the stereotypical shapes on the exterior. As a Chinese person, I appreciate that as too many buildings in Chinatowns throughout the US look like they’re mocking Chinese culture.
The main museum area is pretty small but it covers Chinese-​American history from the 1800s to today. There are a lot of pictures to look at, videos to watch, artifacts to enjoy.
On the stage area, there is currently an exhibition of fantastic watercolors by Jake Lee that depict life of Chinese immigrants. These are not to be missed.
I’m not really sure if this review is that useful. Again, it’s 4 stars based on my experience; 3 stars if I had to pay $ 5; 2.5 stars if I wasn’t Chinese or particularly interested in Chinese history.

Really enjoyed finding this museum. We were just walking by looking for a place for a pit stop. We kind of got a private tour since there wasn’t anyone else there. The displays were very imfornative and thoughtful. We joined as family members even though we live far awy.

I went to the Chinese Historical Society of America to check out the museum. Admission $ 3.
Small museum you probably can see in about 1hr. Main gallery is showing exhibit called «The Chinese of America: Toward a More Perfect Union» — about the Chinese coming to the US during the 19^th Century through today. Another room had «Architecture of SF Chinatown» — video you can watch.
The building was designed by Julia Morgan for the Chinatown YWCA (relocated), now it’s for the Chinese Historical Society of America in Chinatown.
Website:

CHSA is a great community resource that has been around for long time — co-​founded by hubby’s grand uncle too — and it’s current location is in the old Julia Morgan-​designed YWCA buliding.
After a freaking nightmare experience with Imperial Tea Court — see my review here
— the hubby had a great idea, why not have our Chinese wedding tea ceremony at CHSA instead? Beautiful, historically significant, culturally relevant. We inquired, looked at the small center garden, and the price was right (you can actually write it off as a donation), so we booked it. They are very easy going, allowed us to use the kitchen to prepare tea, and luckily it’s not ever crowded.
I wanted the fountain turned on but did not see that happen, and we were not able to get a parking space reserved in back, but it all went over fine in the end and the backdrop was gorgeous.