Since the mid-1950s, this building has been a beehive of activity, especially for Chinese language and culture classes for Chinese American youngsters. Joe Shoong, a rare Chinese American tycoon and philanthropist in his day (National Dollar Stores), financed a portion of the construction of this building, at the corner of 9th & Harrison Streets.

Click Here to View the QuickTime Movie

William Wong was born and grew up in Oakland’s Chinatown. He went on to a distinguished journalism career (The Wall Street Journal, Oakland Tribune, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer). He is the author of Yellow Journalist: Dispatches from Asian America (Temple University Press, 2001) and Images of America: Oakland’s Chinatown (Arcadia Publishing Co., 2004).

Visit his web sites, http://www.yellowjournalist.com and http://www.oaklandchinatownhistory.org.