Pui Tak Center, Chicago Chinatown
Near Chicago Lake Michigan, Illinois
On the northern edge of Chicago's Chinatown stands a building that blends Chinese imperial rooflines with American Beaux-Arts masonry in a combination that was entirely intentional. The On Leong Merchants Association built it in nineteen twenty-six as their national headquarters, a statement in brick and tile that Chinese merchants in Chicago had arrived. The On Leong ran the building for decades, but the organization came under federal scrutiny in the nineteen eighties for alleged ties to organized crime, and the federal government seized the building in nineteen eighty-eight.
A Chinese Christian church bought it in nineteen ninety-three and renamed it the Pui Tak Center. Today it serves as an education and social services hub for the Chinatown neighborhood, offering English classes, youth programs, and community meeting space. The roofline still announces itself from blocks away as something built to impress.
