A Milestone in Walla Walla Real Estate
Lee Gee, the proprietor of the Eagle restaurant, becomes the first Chinese resident in Walla Walla to purchase property, planning a two-story brick building.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
To Lee Gee, proprietor of the Eagle restaurant on Main street, falls the unique distinction of being the first Walla Walla real estate owner among the Chinese residents of the city. Lee Gee has just concluded the purchase of the Spencer lot in East Alder street, just east of the telephone exchange, and is negotiating with local architects for the erection of a modern two-story brick building in the spring. Lee contemplates the expenditure of nearly $11,000. The new building will have a frontage of 22 1/2 feet, but the depth has not been decided upon. The lower floor will probably be devoted to store purposes and the upper floors to a lodging house.
“To Lee Gee, proprietor of the Eagle restaurant in Main street, falls the unique distinction of being the first Walla Walla real estate owner among the Chinese residents of the city.”
This story highlights a rare moment of civic participation by a Chinese resident in an era dominated by exclusionary politics and anti-Chinese sentiment in the West. It serves as a reminder of the historical presence and economic agency of Walla Walla's early immigrant communities, often obscured by the discriminatory laws of the time.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.