Museum of Chinese in America

211 Centre Street | also 147 Lafayette Street, 151 Lafayette Street, 213 Centre Street | Little Italy | built 1915

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

2009
The Museum of Chinese in America moves into a Maya Lin-designed home
The museum began in 1980 in Chinatown as the New York Chinatown History Project, founded by historian John Kuo Wei Tchen and community activist Charles Lai. In 2009 it moved to 215 Centre Street, into a space designed by architect Maya Lin that was six times as large as its old site.
Source: Wikipedia
2021
July 15
The museum reopens after a fire threatens its collection
In January 2020 a fire struck 70 Mulberry Street, where the museum stored its collection of about 85,000 items. Much of the collection turned out to be salvageable, and after restoration work by disaster-relief specialists the museum reopened to the public on Centre Street on July 15, 2021.
Source: Wikipedia
2022
Maya Lin is tapped for a $118 million expansion of the museum
In 2022 the Museum of Chinese in America engages architect Maya Lin, who designed its 2009 Centre Street home, for a new expansion estimated at $118 million. The project aims to nearly quintuple the museum's footprint to about 68,000 square feet, though construction timelines shift as the museum works to secure funding.
Source: Wikipedia
2024
February
The museum buys its Centre Street building outright
The Museum of Chinese in America purchases its main Centre Street building for $51.1 million, giving the institution ownership of the Maya Lin-designed home it had occupied since 2009 while it plans a major expansion.
Source: Wikipedia

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