Museums & Heritage Sites

Hing Hay Park
423 Maynard Avenue S
This park plaza is the International District's primary public square, and features an ornate Chinese Pavilion that was a gift from the people of Taipei.

Wing Luke Asian Museum
407 Seventh Avenue S
May 2008: 719 S King Street 206.623.5124
The Wing Luke Asian Museum is the only pan-Asian Pacific American museum in the country. It is the first Smithsonian Institution affiliate in the Pacific Northwest, and its displays explore issues related to culture, art and history. The Museum is named in honor of Mr. Wing Luke, who joined the Seattle City Council in 1962, the first Asian American to hold elected office in the Pacific Northwest. Chinatown Discovery Tours begin at the Museum and offer guided tours of the Chinatown/International District. After May 2008, the Museum relocates to its new facility in the East Kong Yick Building. www.wingluke.org

Uwajimaya 600 Fifth Avenue S, 206.624.6248 In 1928, Fujimatsu Moriguchi began selling homemade fishcakes and other items from the back of his truck to Japanese laborers working in logging and fishing camps in the Puget Sound. Uwajimaya is still a family run business, and is a feast for the senses, providing ingredients for Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese cuisine. It also offers cooking classes, a selection of restaurants and gifts in a space that fills a square block. www.uwajimaya.com

Kobo at Higo
604 S Jackson Street, 206.381.3000
Kobo occupies the former home of the Higo Variety Store, which was run by the Murakami family continuously for 75 years. Vintage store fixtures, antique paintings and historic exhibits complement a contemporary gallery featuring furniture, textiles, works on paper and photography.
www.koboseattle.com

The Panama Tea House

Panama Hotel & Tea House
607 S Main Street, 206.515.4000
The Panama Hotel is a National Historic Landmark, and provides a unique glimpse into Seattle's Japanese American history. Built in 1910 in the center of Seattle's Nihonmachi (Japantown), the hotel operated a sento, or traditional Japanese bathhouse, in the basement. The Panama continues to operate as a hotel and tea house, and offers educational tours. Historic photographs of the neighborhood are on display, and a cut-away portion of the tea room floor offers a poignant view of items left behind by Japanese Americans who were interned during WWII and did not return to Seattle to claim their personal belongings. www.panamahotelseattle.com

Kubota Garden 9817 – 55th Avenue S, 206.684.4584 This extensive garden in the Rainier Beach neighborhood is the work of Japanese American Fujitaro Kubota, who founded the Kubota Gardening Company in 1923 and created the garden in 1927. The garden presents Pacific Northwest plant materials in a traditional Japanese manner. This elegant landscape is now a city park, and is supported by the non-profit Kubota Garden Foundation. www.kubota.org

Seattle Asian Art Museum
1400 East Prospect Street in Volunteer Park, 206.654.3100
The elegant art deco building in the Capitol Hill neighborhood opened in 1933 as the original home of the Seattle Art Museum. The building became the domain of Asian Art in 1994 when SAM opened a new museum downtown. Today, it houses one of the nation's premier collections of Japanese, Korean and Chinese art. Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi's iconic Black Sun is located outside the museum. www.seattleartmuseum.org/visit/visitSAAM.asp

Japanese Garden, Arboretum 1075 Lake Washington Boulevard E, 206.684.4725 Located within the Washington Park Arboretum, this 3 ½ acre formal garden was created in 1960 by renowned designer Juki Iida, and features hundreds of granite boulders from the Cascade Mountains placed among azaleas, flowering trees and evergreens. The garden also features stone bridges and lanterns, a traditional tea house, and a koi pond wreathed in water lilies. www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/japanesegarden.htm

Bruce Lee's Grave
Lakeview Cemetery, 1554 – 15th Avenue E, 206.322.1582
Acclaimed martial artist, actor and director Bruce Lee is buried in Lakeview Cemetery, just north of Volunteer Park. His grave, and that of his son Brandon Lee, are located east of the circular drive in the center of the cemetery, and are often visited by fans wishing to pay tribute to the kung fu legend.

Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)
2700 – 24th Avenue E, 206.324.1126
MOHAI's permanent exhibit Essential Seattle features Asian American stories and characters from throughout the city’s 150 year history. An exhibit titled Salmon Stakes highlights the complex relationship between Asian American cannery workers and the fishing industry. www.seattlehistory.org

Burke Museum 17th Avenue NE & NE 45th Street, 206.543.5590 The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is located on the University of Washington campus. The museum’s long term exhibit Pacific Voices features the arts, ceremonies and stories of Asian and Asian American cultures and communities around the Pacific Rim. www.washington.edu/burkemuseum

Sadako Peace Park NE Pacific Street & NE 40th Street The Peace Park at the northwest corner of University Bridge near the University of Washington is named in honor of Sadako Sasaki, a young Japanese girl who survived the bombing of Hiroshima but later died from radiation sickness. The park was created in 1990 by peace activist Floyd Schmoe. The statue of Sadako is often draped with garlands of folded paper cranes which symbolize hope for peace in the world. www.sadako.org

Pike Place Market First Avenue & Pike Street Seattle's hundred year old public market has a strong connection to Asian American communities. In the early 20th century, the majority of market stalls were filled by Japanese American farmers, who supplied Seattle residents with an abundance of berries and seasonal vegetables grown on truck farms in the Green River Valley and other nearby areas. Today, many Hmong and other Southeast Asian immigrants grow and sell summer bouquets and a variety of produce. www.pikeplacemarket.org Photo: Jack Storms

5th Avenue Theatre 1308 Fifth Avenue, 206.625.1900 Opened in 1926, the interior of the magnificent 5th Avenue Theatre incorporates design motifs from Imperial China's Forbidden City, Temple of Heavenly Peace, and Summer Palace. Frequent performances as well as free guided tours (call in advance to schedule) provide opportunities forvisitors to see the theatre. www.5thavenue.org

Seattle Central Library 1000 Fourth Avenue Artist George Tsutakawa's Fountain of Wisdom graces the Fourth Avenue entrance of the Central Library. This abstract bronze sculpture was the artist's first fountain commission, and was created for Seattle's previous library built on the same site in 1959. Tsutakawa's artwork enhances many of Seattle's public spaces, including Sandworm at 5th Avenue & James Street; Naramore Fountain at 6th Avenue & Seneca Street; and Heaven, Man & Earth at Maynard Avenue S & S Jackson Street. www.spl.org

The Chinese Room at Smith Tower
506 Second Avenue, 206.622.3131
The Smith Tower was Seattle’s first skyscraper when it opened in 1914, and remained the tallest building west of Chicago for almost 50 years. The elegant Chinese Room and open-air Observation Deck on the 35th floor offer commanding views of Seattle, the harbor and surrounding mountains. The Chinese Room is appointed with an antique hand-carved ceiling, lacquered furniture and artwork, all gifts of the last Empress of China. Opening times vary. www.chineseroom.com

Beacon Hill Parks
The Beacon Hill neighborhood is one of Seattle's most culturally diverse, and two parks commemorate aspects of Asian American heritage and offer views of Seattle and the surrounding area.

Dr. Jose Rizal Park at 1008 – 12th Avenue S is named in honor of a hero of Philippine independence. The Park features artwork by Filipino American artist Valeriano Laigo, and views of downtown Seattle and Elliott Bay. Taejon Park at 1144 Sturgus Avenue S is named in honor of Seattle's South Korean sister city. The Park features a traditional Korean pavilion and views of Mount Rainier.