Chee Kung Tong Society Building, Chinese fraternal society building in Wailuku, United States.
The Chee Kung Tong Society Building was a rectangular two-story wooden hall on Vineyard Street, about 55 by 34 feet, with covered verandas on both floors. Its intersecting gabled roofs were covered in fish-scale shingles painted in various colors, and the facade had a scalloped archway, chamfered posts, and a carved bridgeboard. A concrete gate with Chinese characters stood at the street.
Maui County records list the hall as built in 1897, while a December 1904 Maui News article reports its completion celebrated on January 14 and 15, 1905. It served Chinese immigrants, mostly single men on the sugarcane plantations, and by 1928 was used as a dormitory for single men until the 1960s. After the last occupant died the property was neglected; part of a wall fell in September 1988, and the wood building collapsed on April 17, 1996, from rot, termites and gravity.
The building served as a gathering place where Chinese immigrants could practice their traditions and receive support from their community. It functioned as a center for religious observances, political guidance, and shared social life.
The site sits at 2151 Vineyard Street in Wailuku, where the gate and adjoining walls, stairs, sidewalks, foundation pillars and cinderblock addition stand in decrepit condition. Trees obscure the front of the property, and the phrase "Everyone is equal" on the back of the lintel is barely discernible. A 2010 sale listing noted no water meter and possible building restrictions under a redevelopment authority.
The only surviving element is a concrete gateway inscribed with Chinese characters, standing like a silent monument at the building's original site. This solitary structure carries the memory of an entire community that has since disappeared from the landscape.
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