Tin How Temple, San Francisco旧金山天后古庙

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

United States · California · San Francisco · 125 Waverly Place (Chinatown; the Chinese street name literally means "Tin How Temple Street")

Coordinates

37.7946, -122.4071 Map ↗

First built

c. 1852–1853 · Tradition holds it was founded by Day Ju, one of the earliest Chinese arrivals in America; it was taken over by the Sue Hing Benevolent Association after the 1906 earthquake and fire, and reopened on 4 May 1975

Overview

Tin How Temple in San Francisco was founded around 1852–1853, dedicated chiefly to Mazu (Tin Hau, "Empress of Heaven"), and is one of the oldest continuously operating Chinese temples in the United States, as well as a core surviving site of the religious life of Chinese immigrants during California's Gold Rush era. Tradition holds it was founded on its present site by Day Ju, one of the earliest Chinese arrivals in America. The fire that followed the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed the original building, but the deity images, the temple bell, and part of the shrine furnishings survived, becoming physical witnesses that outlasted the disaster. The temple reopened in 1910 on the top floor of a rebuilt four-story building, closed for a time in 1955, and reopened on 4 May 1975, remaining open to this day under the management of the Sue Hing Benevolent Association. The temple's location on Waverly Place — whose Chinese street name literally means "Tin How Temple Street" — reflects its standing within the spatial identity of Chinatown. It belongs to the category of clan- or district-association folk religious sites rather than an organized Daoist institution, and it has no independent listing on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Highlights

• One of the oldest continuously operating Chinese temples in the United States
• Its deity images and temple bell survived the 1906 fire
• Origin of the street name "Tin How Temple Street"
• Managed by the Sue Hing Benevolent Association