New Wing Luke Museum opens after a decade of planning

For decades, it was just another empty building in Chinatown. But first thing Saturday morning, the lines began to form. The long-neglected East Kong Yick Building had been transformed into the new Wing Luke Asian Museum, and a broad swath of the community was waiting to take a look around.

There were Japanese elders and college-age hipsters; transplants from Guam and white soccer moms; African-American thirty-somethings and youngsters from Taiwan. By 11 a.m., volunteers were apologizing to the newest arrivals and saying that because of the crowds, they wouldn't get in for hours.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise. Saturday's grand opening was the culmination of a decade of planning not just by official museum types, but by the larger Asian-American community.

It has been hoped that the Wing Luke, named for the first Asian American to hold elected office in the Northwest, will be both a tourist destination and a place for locals to connect with the area's Asian heritage. Or, just as likely, with their own.

Howard King, who is so keen on the museum that he plans to work there and volunteer, said that on his first look at the spotlight exhibit, called "Honoring Our Journey" — which showcases the immigrant experience — he noticed a naturalization certificate and thought, "this guy looks familiar."

"I looked closer," he said, "and it was my dad."

It took Albert King nearly 40 years to become a naturalized citizen, after emigrating from China around 1920.

"I was really proud of it," Howard King said, his face lighting up. "I didn't know it existed until I came here."

Though Lien Sandy Lam is from an entirely different generation than King, she, too, hoped to connect with her family's past. Upon seeing a depiction of mythological figures called the Eight Immortals, the 21-year-old University of Washington senior was eager to learn more. Who are they? What do they signify? Lam wasn't exactly sure, even though she's schooled enough in her culture that she speaks Cantonese at home. "I am of Chinese background, but I'm a little more assimilated as an American than as a Chinese person," she said.

Her parents were so busy working, she said, that they couldn't spend much time teaching her about their heritage. Now, the museum offers her that opportunity.

By "inviting people into the International District," she said, the museum can help everyone learn and grow, whether they're Asian American or something else entirely.

Downstairs in the museum, an African-American man was taking instruction on how to make an origami frog from an 8-year-old girl named Quan Huie. A Filipino caregiver was escorting an elderly Chinese man in a wheelchair.

And Ruby Luke, the late Wing Luke's sister, was beaming.

"I know my brother would be very impressed," she said.

Wing Luke, who was elected to the Seattle City Council in 1962, believed that people aren't all that different, no matter their backgrounds. The museum that bears his name is clearly a place where all are welcome.

Ruby Luke helped with Saturday morning's ribbon-cutting ceremony, and halfway through the day was still clad in her "ceremonial" attire — a short dress of green sequins and a feathered hat.

"Since I was going to have my picture taken," she laughed, "I figured I might as well dress up for it."

In a flash, the petite Luke sister was called away by another well-wisher, her white feathers bobbing through the crowd.

Maureen O'Hagan: 206-464-2562