MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee's Chinese Laundry era will soon be commemorated with its first historical marker at the YWCA of Southeast Wisconsin building. The marker recognizes a 110-year period from 1874 to 1984 when Chinese immigrants in Milwaukee found ways to build lives and provide for their families.
Anna Moy Wong, with the Organization of Chinese Americans Wisconsin Chapter, said the Wisconsin Historical Society provided an opportunity to tell stories of underserved populations whose histories have never been shared before. The organization received two markers through the William Pomeroy Foundation, with the Laundry Era marker being installed at the YWCA.
"This is a history where a lot of the early immigrants of Chinese Americans came and throughout the country, and in Milwaukee, there were over 60 laundries at one point in the 100-year history of laundries in the Milwaukee area," Wong said.
Watch: Chinese Laundry Era gets first historical marker in Milwaukee
Wong, a third-generation Chinese American, said she remembers growing up in a laundry.
"We're sitting on the foundation of all these people that came before us," Wong said.
The YWCA Southeast Wisconsin purchased the building that once housed the Moy family laundry. The building remains intact, and visitors will be able to tour the space where the family operated their business and lived.
By the 1980s, the Chinese Laundry era ended as private washing machines and laundromats became more common. Wong noted that while only a few of the original laundry buildings remain standing, the foundation built by these early immigrants continues through fourth, fifth and sixth generations still living in Milwaukee.
The historical marker will be unveiled Friday at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Reservoir Avenue at the YWCA Southeast Wisconsin building.
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