City of Waterloo Museum – “Show Me the City: Chinese Heritage on King Street”

Nominated for the ACO Public Education and Engagement Award

City of Waterloo Museum’s on-street and virtual exhibit, ‘Show Me the City: Chinese Heritage on King Street’ was developed for Waterloo’s Winterloo Festival January 28, 2023. Museum staff researched and documented the many Chinese entrepreneurs who contributed significantly to Uptown Waterloo’s vibrancy. They turned this research into seven engaging placards making passersby aware of Chinese entrepreneurs’ significant, enduring contributions to the city. Each one has a QR code which takes the viewer to the museum website where additional information can be found.

Sadly, many of these modest laundry and restaurant buildings have been torn down, making these placards and this website crucial to the understanding of Waterloo’s social and commercial history. Additional materials on the museum website, including historic photos, newspaper ads and video interviews with descendants of two early Chinese entrepreneurs, flesh out their impact on the larger community. For example, China Kitchen’s early introduction of take-out food revolutionized women’s workload in the 1970s; the hugely popular Dragon Court Restaurant’s participation in an early AIDS Awareness luncheon helped de-stigmatize the disease; and Chinese restaurants made significant contributions to the 1980s “We’re for You” fundraising campaign for University of Waterloo’s and Laurier University’s development.

Researchers were challenged by the Eurocentric focus of most heritage and historical preservation work, but met this by combing through historic newspaper files and city directories for any mention of Chinese businesses, contacting Chinese cultural associations for information about post-1970 businesses, extensive use of personal networks, and just great detective work.

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