MILWAUKEE CHINESE LAUNDRY ERA

Inscription

Milwaukee Chinese Laundry Era

From 1940 to 1976, the Fred Moy Laundry was located here at 1935 N. 3rd St. (Dr. Martin L.
King Jr. Dr.), where it typified the many Chinese laundries in the Milwaukee central city for over
100 years. The Moy family lived upstairs, where its children played; they grew up helping with
the family laundry business. Son Gerald Moy remembers marking customer Mayor Frank
Zeidler’s shirt collar with an “FZ.”
Chinese immigration to Wisconsin began in the late 1800s. Although many Chinese initially
settled on the West Coast, a small number found their way to Milwaukee, drawn by economic
opportunities and intent on escaping anti-Chinese riots in the Western states. Early immigrants
established businesses in Milwaukee—primarily laundries and restaurants.
In 1874, Wing Wau Laundry became the city’s first Chinese laundry. By 1888, at least 30
Chinese laundries were operating. A Chinese laundry was burned down during the 1889 anti-
Chinese riot. By the 1930s, 58 Chinese-owned laundries remained.
The laundry business was viewed as undesirable work, with long hours and intensive labor, but it
required little money to start and provided a pathway for the Chinese to succeed in America
when jobs were limited. Chinese laundries played a vital role in the economic success of these
early immigrants. They enabled family members to be educated and learn other trades, despite
racial animosity. By 1984, laundromats, home washers and dryers, and permapress fabrics had
led to the demise of the Chinese laundries.
Although Milwaukee’s Chinese community was relatively small compared to coastal cities, the
residents made a social and cultural impact on Milwaukee that continues today.

Erected 2025
The Organization of Chinese Americans – Wisconsin (OCA-WI)
Funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation