Eng family celebrate sale of CID homestead to Wing Luke Museum

By Assunta Ng
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

The unique little homestead in Chinatown-International District (CID), sold for $1.8 million, reflected the struggles and triumph of Chinese American pioneers amid a dark period of American history, and above all, a creative version of the American Dream. On April 22, five generations of the Suen King Eng family gathered to celebrate the Wing Luke Museum’s acquisition of the property. 

Five generations of the Eng family attended the ceremony for Wing’s acquisition of their family property. A number of them were unable to attend. (Photo provided by Tuck Eng)

A ceremony marking the Wing acquisition of the Eng building on April 22. The Eng family members sat in the front row. (Photo by Assunta Ng)

How Eng overcame adversities

Built in 1937 during the era of housing discrimination and the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the homestead was CID’s last remaining and most intact single-family home. To get around the rule that Chinese were not allowed to own property, Eng deeded the house to his 8-year-old American-born son. 

But the idea to build a new house in the CID came from Eng’s wife, Sue Fong Wong, according to Tuck, one of Eng’s six children. Tuck, 89, recalled different tales illustrating his mother’s deep intuition and that his parents “were ahead of their time,” even with limited education. They were “resourceful” and entrepreneurial. Despite his mother speaking no English, she learned to adapt quickly and explored unconventional ways to make money through hard work in the new American society. The couple complemented each other—she was a visionary and he was a problem-solver and idea implementor.

Eng came to America in 1921 at the age of 21 to be his uncle’s chauffeur. A few years later, he rode his Indian motorcycle for an hour to Burien to learn knitting. Soon, he imported knitting machines from Germany and opened Ming Hing Knitting Co. on South King Street, near Hing Hay Park. Later in life, he was also one of the two people in the CID who had a car. First, he bought a Ford sedan in 1934 and later a Buick sedan during America’s Great Depression, when one out of four people were unemployed.

In 1924, Eng went back to China to find a bride at his father’s urging. With a matchmaker’s help, Eng found her. His mother and sister arrived in 1929, but “they were held in immigration (locked up) and interrogated for nine months before finally being released in 1928,” said Tuck.

The couple had lived in different parts of the CID. In one apartment, Sue Fong sensed it was “spooked” and refused to move in. Later, a past tenant confirmed that the place was indeed spooked. From Canton Alley to living next to a noisy tofu factory, Sue Fong told her husband, “I don’t want to live in old places because they are likely spooked, and I love Chinatown, so you must build me a new house in Chinatown.”

In acquiring the property and during the building process, Eng experienced countless instances of discrimination and other challenges. First, he found out that he couldn’t own land. Though a building permit was granted, the city building department suddenly interrupted Eng’s plans with a stop order, saying that “the city just rezoned to industrial, and no wood frame structures can be built on the west side of 8th Avenue South,” said Tuck, so it had to be redesigned. Consequently, construction cost increased from $2,500 to $3,500. Without any credit, Eng knew he couldn’t get a bank loan so he borrowed money from his relative and friend. During construction, Eng had to sleep in his car to guard the construction materials, as people were trying to steal them. 

When the house was built, Sue Fong learned to raise bean sprouts in the basement from Mrs. Chinn from Wah Sang on South King Street (now an acupuncture clinic). But that’s not the only way she made money. Since Eng had a car, they drove to Richmond Beach every week. Soon, she discovered watercress growing in a creek, and she cut and bundled them to sell to CID grocery stores for 10 cents each. The money they made was more than Eng’s monthly salary.  Seaweed was another gift they found. They dried them and also sold them at CID stores. Even with six kids, the mom’s curiosity and drive motivated her to seek a wild herb over the mountains. Again, she was met with great success, according to Tuck.

Though the family vacated the house in 2005, three generations of the Eng family including Tuck’s grandmother lived there. Tuck has fond memories of her mom making sure the kids had fun celebrating Easter, Halloween, and Christmas. How she learned about American traditions, Tuck didn’t know for sure. 

“There was no television at the time,” he said. “She probably learned from English magazines.” But his parents might learn from the movies too as he recalled that they went to the Coliseum theater every weekend for moves.

Tuck lived with his parents since he was 5 years old and then for another year after he got married to his wife, Dee, since he was unable to find housing due to discrimination.  

“I couldn’t find housing in Chinatown since Dee is white,” said Tuck. Nor could he find housing outside Chinatown because he is Chinese. 

Possibilities for the property

The whole site is 8,300 square feet, including a 5,600-square foot parking lot, and a 1,350-square foot masonry block structure. The house still looks intact. Its backyard used to be filled with fruit trees, and has turned into a parking lot. 

All three brothers—William, Nelson, and Tuck—brainstormed on who the property should be sold to. Although it was appraised at $3.8 million, Tuck said their goal was to preserve the history of the Engs as a homestead. The family just couldn’t maintain the property anymore.

“If the Eng Family Association’s building had not been burnt down (two years ago), the family would probably consider them, too,” Tuck said. All three brothers negotiated the deal together for two years with the Wing Luke Museum and then William and Nelson died, one after another, in their 90s.

With the scarcity of land in CID and being a prime location in Seattle, the Wing had unlimited possibilities. Joel Barraquiel Tan, the Wing’s executive director, said in an email, “Plans for the Homestead include preserving the house and enhancing the front and back yards; we also are working on developing a master plan for enhancing Canton Alley for neighborhood activation. Through the Homestead, we will be able to expand our tours, education programs, and neighborhood activation.”

Tan said his team is “diving in to envision possibilities for redevelopment of the parking lot… also taking into account neighborhood needs and priorities since the pandemic, the Museum has initiated a vision and strategic planning process…to determine our plans for the next 5 to 25 years.

“Ultimately, we want to contribute to the wellness and future advancement of the Chinatown-International District neighborhood,” Tan said.

He said he welcomes community feedback on how to develop the space. 

Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.