Chinese Masonic Hall Joss House, Boise博伊西中式共济会堂庙

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

United States · Idaho · Boise · Corner of Seventh Street and Front Street; demolished in 1937.

First built

The image is said to have been brought from China in the 1860s; the building was demolished in 1937.

Overview

The Chinese Masonic Hall of Boise stood at the corner of Seventh Street and Front Street, with a temple inside the hall; its principal deity was a bronze image referred to as ‘Chin Law Guan,’ which local historical sources surmise to be Guan Yu, said to have been brought from China in the 1860s. The temple's furnishings included a gilded archway, gilt carvings of Chinese opera figures, silk curtains, incense sticks and oil lamps, in sharp contrast to the building's plain exterior — a common strategy for Chinese religious buildings in the era of exclusion: a low-key exterior to avoid provoking hostility, while the interior preserved the full traditional form. The building was demolished in 1937, and when Chinese residents were forced to relocate, its artifacts were largely dispersed; some were given to white friends and became family heirlooms. The surviving fragments are now held in the Chinese section of the Idaho State Historical Museum, which also displays a reconstructed shrine installation, including gilt opera carvings and balcony components taken from the buildings of the Hip Sing Tong and the Hop Sing Tong.

Highlights

• Its bronze principal deity, thought to be Guan Yu, was said to have been brought from China in the 1860s
• A plain exterior concealing a lavish interior, a common strategy of temple buildings in the exclusion era
• Demolished in 1937; surviving fragments are held at the Idaho State Historical Museum
• The museum displays a reconstructed shrine installation