Restoration, preservation and renovation of art, culture and history in Seattle

November 23, 2015

Summary

Bing Kung Association, Wing Luke Museum, and other Chinatown/International District facilities to receive economic boost from Building for Culture Program

Story

The Bing Kung Association Building and Wing Luke Museum highlight a list of the projects in the International District and throughout King County that will receive funding to help maintain their buildings and preserve the arts and heritage programs that are held inside.

“Seattle has a rich Asian Pacific-Islander cultural history,” said Council Vice Chair Joe McDermott. “By saving landmarks like the Bing Kung Association Building and funding projects like the Wing Luke Museum we are preserving an important part of our city’s past.”

The Bing Kung Association was granted $182,379 for seismic upgrades to their 99 year old building, while the Wing Luke was granted $20,000 towards a new storage facility for their ever expanding collection of historic and cultural material from King County’s Asian Pacific Islander community.

The funding for maintenance, repairs, and preservation were allocated from the Building for Culture Program and unanimously approved by the County Council. Building for Culture is a partnership between King County and 4Culture, King County’s cultural services agency, using bonds backed by the hotel-motel tax to build, maintain, expand, preserve, and improve new and existing cultural facilities.

After the Council approved the creation of the Building for Culture Program, 4Culture put out a request for proposals to nonprofit arts, heritage and cultural organizations and eligible public agencies, as well as owners of national-, state-, or local-designated or eligible landmark properties. 4Culture then convened independent peer panels composed of arts, heritage, and preservation professionals, and other community representatives to review applications and make the final selections.

Click here to see the facilities receiving funding in the Chinatown/International District.

The bonds supporting these projects are made possible by early retirement of the Kingdome debt. State law requires that hotel-motel tax revenues King County collects this year after repayment of the Kingdome debt be directed to arts and cultural programs.