191-193 Canal
American Legion - Lieutenant B.R. Kimlau Chinese Memorial Post 1291
Architect: Poy Gum Lee / Renovated ca. 1950
2024
191-193 Canal
1940s
Interview
WITH KENNETH WONG (VICE COMMANDER AND FORMER POST COMMANDER OF THE AMERICAN LEGION LIEUTENANT B.R. KIMLAU CHINESE MEMORIAL POST 1291) AND PAUL WAN YU TAM (BUILDING MANAGER)
Interview conducted in July 2022.
+ Would you give me a brief introduction of yourself and your connection to Chinatown? How long did you live in Chinatown?
Kenneth: I was born in Hong Kong and came over from Hong Kong when I was eight years old with my parents and two sisters. That was back in 1962, 1963. I stayed in what was called “Chinatown” on East Broadway, at 95 East Broadway between Allen and Forsyth by the Sun Sing Theatre. We also had the Governor Theatre (Joung Dook) in Chatham Square, where the Citibank is now. We would walk over to Bayard, Mott, Pell to go to Chinatown, unlike what we have today — today Chinatown extends north to Houston!
I lived on East Broadway since we came. I attended P.S. 2 on Henry Street and Pike, then Junior High School 65 (which was knocked down in 1982 and then became Sun Yat Sen School) and then Seward Park High School. I also attended the True Light Church for years, as soon as we came over, as my aunt and uncle were members. I was a member of the church and did Chinese School. I spent a year at CCNY (City College of New York) before I joined the Navy. I stayed in Chinatown until I joined the Navy. When I joined the Navy, we still had the draft. I didn’t wait for the draft — I knew it was coming. When volunteering, it was a minimum of four years of active duty.
Kenneth Wong at his desk at the American Legion Post 1291 building in Chinatown, photographed during our interview session, July 2022.
I have a total of 25 years in the Navy, both active and reserved — that was the period of the Vietnam conflict, right up through the Gulf War. I did my basic training in the Great Lakes, Illinois, about 15 miles north of Chicago. I trained as a hospital corpsman, a medic. Then I went on a ship, a destroyer, a relatively small ship less than 600 feet long. I went as far up the north Atlantic to Iceland / Newfoundland and down south as far as Argentina, out to Europe. Our home port was in Norfolk, Virginia.
My father fought in World War II with the Kuomintang against the Japanese.
Kenneth points to a photograph display in the building, 2022.
+ Growing up, what was Chinatown like then? What do you remember most about Chinatown’s landscape at the time?
Chinatown wasn’t exciting until the 1970s. There were a lot of gangs in Chinatown in the 1960s.
I didn’t have much time to roam the streets because I was involved with the church. John Wong was the elder, the deacon, of the church. He looked at me like a nephew since we were both Wongs. During the summer of 1965-1966, I worked with him in his garment factory at 41 Elizabeth Street. Back then in the 1960s and 1970s, the ladies’ garment factories were very popular in Chinatown and many ladies worked here.
Prior to 1971-1972, all of the coffee shops were the same old Chinatown type. You didn’t have much dim sum, just a few things – small shops with har gow, siu mai. This guy, HSF — Hay Sheung Fung, opened up the very first dim sum shop on the Bowery and that was the first and only dim sum restaurant at the time. It was one of the highlights of the 1970s. Everyone flocked there! There were lots of lines. A couple of years later, a few other teahouses (cha lou) opened up. That’s when more people were coming over from China and Hong Kong.
+ How long have you been involved with the American Legion Post 1291 and what’s your role here?
I joined the American Legion in 2004. As long as you served in the military, you could join. Back then you had to be on active duty during one of the wars – World War I, World War II, the Korean War,the Vietnam War, the Gulf War. I thought this was kind of stupid. They’ve since changed this.
I am a past Post Commander (2016-2018) with two consecutive terms. I first served as Vice Commander from 2012-2016 and am presently serving a fourth tenure as Vice Commander (2021-2022, 2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-2025).
+ Describe the building — how many floors are there and what takes place on them?
There are six floors and a basement. We rent out the fourth, fifth and sixth floors along with the first floor.
The second and third floors are used for the Post. We use the floors for recreation. On the second floor is an auditorium for general meetings and in-house parties, and on the third floor is the office and recreation room.
From the 1960s to now, it’s been half a century! Things have evolved a lot. Back then, everywhere you went, there were gambling dens used to play mahjong until around the late 1980s, 1990s. Then the gambling stopped. All of the old timers said: Enough! They stopped everything.
Now, we use the space for meetings, for community support (we have direct support for the CCBA), celebrations – there are two major parades a year (Memorial Day and Veterans Day), the Installation Ceremony for a new Commander after elections, Thanksgiving, Christmas.
At the beginning, I believe they rented the sixth and part of the fourth floor. Half of the building was rented out.
+ Does the American Legion Post 1291 own the building? When did they acquire it?
We used to be across the street at 196 Canal Street, from the end of World War II, around 1945 until… I’m not quite sure what date.
This is the only Post in Chinatown. We bought the building in the 1960s. They did it through Peter Woo, a past Commander who served in World War II. He’s the one who told us that if we wanted a building, we could take it over. He put down $20,000 as a down payment. The previous owner contacted Peter to ask him if he wanted to buy the building. Peter was a big businessman in the seafood business, from the 1950s on. He used to control all of the seafood coming in from the Gulf of Mexico, including the abalone, lobster and shrimp. Then the members fundraised a bit and chipped in to pay the mortgage monthly.
+ When was this building constructed?
The building is roughly around 100 years old.
The Chairman Peter Woo Auditorium in the building, 2022.
+ Can you share any information about the building’s history, or its past lives?
Do you know of any major renovations or changes to the building since it was first constructed?
Paul and Kenneth: We recently did a renovation around four years ago, both on the second and third floor. We redid everything. We gutted it all and refinished the floors. Downstairs, we fixed up the stage in the auditorium as well as the floor itself. We did a lot of touch-up to make it look better. We wanted to update the look; everything was old and falling apart. The electrical wiring was old, so we redid it. The piping was old too and we updated the bathrooms.
One of the renovated floors in the building. A framed photograph of Lt. B.R. Kimlau is displayed on the wall, 2022.
In the 1960s, this area we’re in now on the third floor used to be a kitchen. They used to cook over here and eat all together. The structure and wall partitions are still relatively the same, but back then there were wood paneled walls.
The tenants in the ground floor storefronts are the same since the 1990s as they are today — Golden Jade and Good Luck, a jewelry store. I believe they came in the late 1980s, early 1990s.
+ Who are the American Legion Post 1291’s members?
How often do they visit the building?
Kenneth: We have around 560 members. It used to be 1000. It’s still the largest Post in New York. Members come and go. We are open from 12PM – 4PM, Monday through Friday. Over the weekend, we open doors at 9AM. Older members are leaving us; we only have a handful of members who are vets from World War II. The rest are mostly Gulf War and Vietnam War vets.
Paul: I used to come here two times a week, then I started coming every day.
+ What are your fondest memories of this building?
Kenneth: When I became full Commander here in June 2016, it was exciting. Right around the time, we had just finished renovations in our auditorium. It used to be tile floor and is now oak planks. The stage was redone and it felt like… Wow!
+ Did you experience racism in the military?
I would say that overall, I see more racism now than back in the 1960s. When I first went into the Navy in the early 1970s, when they found out who I was (as Chinese) – they thought it was an honor to know you. I never had any racial problems when I was in the service. I have had more racial problems when I first stepped into this country as a kid.
Even on my first ship, there were rednecks who had problems with everyone. One time this big guy who was from down south asked me, “Where you from?” I answered — “New York.” You’re shipmates and you’re there together for so many years. You have to run into each other all the time. That guy ended up becoming one of my good friends! Sometimes, I find that it’s your personality that can change things.
Past Commanders of the Post are honored, 2022.
+ What do you think this building means for the community?
We’re the American Legion, but most of the members are of Chinese descent. Our Post’s full name is the American Legion Post 1291 — Lieutenant Benjamin Kimlau Chinese Memorial Post 1291. He was an American World War II flyer of the Army Air Corps who was a jook sing, born in the U.S. He flew missions all over and his plane was shot down over New Guinea, where he perished. When the guys came back from the war, they decided to name the Post after him.
Interview
WITH GABE MUI (ADJUTANT OF THE AMERICAN LEGION LIEUTENANT B.R. KIMLAU CHINESE MEMORIAL POST 1291)
Interview conducted in February 2025.
To read more of Gabe’s interview, please check out Kimlau Square.
+ How long have you been involved with Chinatown, with the Post and the monument?
I joined the Kimlau Post in 2000. Once I joined, I was fully involved with it. I was here regularly every week. At the time, I was still working. I was only working at Con-Edison on 14th Street, very close by. Once I joined the Post, I got involved right away. At the time, we were doing the 60th anniversary journal. Because of my background, I’m pretty good with computers and graphics.
I studied to be a power engineer. and I began working in Con Edison in the Planning Department. We would plan for how a certain area would have an increase in power, what we would need to build to supply that, etc. After a while, I got involved with computers. I really love working with computers. At the time, the PCs were just coming out in the 1980s. Later on, I transferred over to IR [department], which is a technology, doing programming and working with computers.
Because of that, it just happened to be a perfect fit to work on the 60th anniversary journal. I knew graphics and how to handle all the software. I dove right into it and became very involved, coming every weekend. Later on, they said: Well, we’re going to need you to be an officer.
Gabe Mui at his desk at the American Legion Post 1291 building in Chinatown, photographed during our interview session, February 2025.
+ What are the dates of your involvement?
2000 – I joined The Post.
2003 – I became the Executive Committee member for 1 year
2004 – Became the Chinese secretary
2005 – Became the Vice Commander for two years
2007 – Then I became a Commander
2009 – I became an Adjutant (sort of like a chief administrator / CEO) and I’ve been adjutant ever since
2008 – I became a County level Commander
2015 – Became a District commander
2019 – Became a Department [State level] Vice Commander, I was appointed as the Department [State level] Foreign Relations Committee Chairman and also served on the National Security Commission
2022 – Selected as the Department Legionnaire of the Year
The Post is the lowest level in the American Legion. The next level is County, after that is District, and the next level is Department (which is State level). Then the highest level is National, of course. Over the years, I’ve been steadily increasing my responsibility.
In 2022 I was chosen by all the past commanders as “Legionnaire of the Year”. They only give out the award to one person per year. It was a pretty big honor.
191-193 CANAL / AMERICAN LEGION POST 1291 - BUILDING PHOTOGRAPHS
Photographs taken between 2022 – 2024.
