PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Matthew Worrix and Carl Smith preserved and reimagined the underground area of the old Elks Lodge building in McMinnville, after Chinese writing was found on the basement walls. The initial discovery in the 1990s unveiled a space that’s more than 100 years old.
The two then spent years converting it into a museum about local Chinese history.
Today, a nonprofit continues their work, expanding it to also include various Asian American stories. A rare tour of the space also gives one the idea of how people had to live when the Chinese Exclusion Act was in place…