6. South on 7th Avenue S

A short walk south on the west side of 7th Avenue S leads you to the Wing Luke Asian Museum, whose name honors the first Chinese American elected to the Seattle City Council. Its excellent displays document the history of the area's diverse Asian American communities, and the basement theater offers performances and community events. The rest of the west side of the street is filled by the Milwaukee Hotel, built by Chinese Consul Goon Dip in 1911 and a major impetus for development of Seattle's second Chinatown.

The east side of the 400 block of 7th Avenue S is dominated by the ornate former Lin Yuen Apartments and Republic Hotel, built in 1920, and the older New American Hotel, built in 1916 and home of the Bing Kung Association, an early family association or "tong." Note its elaborate upper story balcony on S King Street. Another such treatment can be seen farther east atop the Hip Sing Association building at the corner of S King and 8th Avenue S.

Courtesy Walt Crowley

Courtesy Walt Crowley