Peter SooHoo, Sr. papers, 1883-2013, bulk 1923-1945

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Peter SooHoo, Sr. papers

Summary

Abstract:
Materials related to Peter SooHoo, Sr. and his wife Lillie Leung SooHoo, particularly Peter SooHoo's role in creating New Chinatown in Los Angeles, California; the couple's involvement in professional and community activities; and their family life.
Extent:
20 Linear Feet (24 boxes, 6 oversize folders)
Language:
Material is in English and Chinese.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item] Peter SooHoo, Sr. papers. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Materials related to Peter SooHoo, Sr. and his wife Lillie Leung SooHoo, particularly Peter SooHoo's role in creating New Chinatown in Los Angeles, California; the couple's involvement in professional and community activities; and their family life.

The first series consists primarily of albums, blueprints, correspondence, ephemera, financial records, and photographs; this material relates to community activities and the construction and opening of New Chinatown in Los Angeles, California. Included is material related to Patricia Herman's "Chinese Village Project" and Christine Sterling's "China City," two tourist destinations conceived in the 1930s. Also included are copies of two lengthy letters written in August 1937 by Peter SooHoo to Los Angeles mayor Frank Shaw, where he explains the importance of New Chinatown. Material related to the Bandini Estate Company is also present due to New Chinatown's location on Bandini Estate property. The albums include photographs and clippings related to the SooHoo's participation in various organizations, and the Chinese American community in Los Angeles.

The second series consists primarily of albums, correspondence, ephemera, and photographs related to Peter SooHoo's family, and his education, personal investments, and work at LADWP. The bulk of the correspondence is from Peter SooHoo to Lillie SooHoo written from Fresno, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. about his activities. Included in the second series are clippings, statements, and sympathy letters related to SooHoo's death in 1945. The albums include photographs and clippings related to SooHoo's wedding, funeral, and ephemera collected by Peter and Lillie.

Note: Although the albums are separated in two series, there may be a small amount of community or personal photographs within either series.

The 2021 addendum includes additional letters, photographs, ephemera, and other documents related to Peter and Lillie SooHoo. There are photographs of the SooHoo and Leung families; Peter SooHoo, Sr.'s handcrafted woodcut greeting cards and letters to Lillie SooHoo; materials related to Lillie SooHoo's appointment as Deputy Consul of the Republic of China in Los Angeles, and work with the Los Angeles Chinese Women's Club; and oversize renderings of Chinatown buildings and concepts from the 1930s. There are also various publications related to Los Angeles Chinatown and the Los Angeles Chinese community.

Biographical / historical:

Peter Francis SooHoo, Sr. (1899-1945) was a Chinese American engineer born in Los Angeles, California. SooHoo graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science in engineering in June 1923. In September 1925, he married Lillie Leung at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles; the couple had two children, Peter Jr. and Patricia. SooHoo was employed by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, where he worked in the Underground Engineering section from 1925 until his death from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1945.

Lillie Leung SooHoo (1902-1973) was born in Los Angeles in 1902, the daughter of Tom Leung (Tom Cherng How) and Wong Bing Woo, immigrants from China's Guangdong Province. She was appointed Deputy Consul of the Republic of China in Los Angeles, and was active with the Los Angeles Chinese Women's Club. She lived in the family home in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles until her death in 1973.

Peter SooHoo was active in the Los Angeles Chinese community and a member of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Chinese Laundryowners Association of Southern California, China Society of Southern California, and the director of the Los Angeles Chinese Band. He was also the captain and commanding officer of the first company of the California State Guard composed entirely of Chinese members. He was affiliated with various Masonic chapters and was the first Chinese member of Al Malaikah Temple of the Shrine. As the unofficial "Mayor of Chinatown" and member of the Chinatown Project Association, SooHoo directed the design and financing of the New Chinatown on North Broadway in anticipation of the completion of Union Station in the late 1930s. He was also an artist, creating greeting cards and other materials using the woodcut printing technique.

Acquisition information:
Gift of SooHoo Family Trust, January 2019, April 2019, and July 2021.
Processing information:

Processed by Gina C Giang in June 2019. In 2020, some materials were flattened, disbound, or treated in preparation for digitization. The box and folder numbers of material changed due to the change in size of materials. In 2021, Maggie Hughes updated the container numbers to reflect housing after conservation work. In June 2023, Kelly Kress processed the 2021 addendum and updated the finding aid to include those materials, which are housed in boxes 19-23. In August 2023, Mari Khasmanyan updated the container count to include box 24.

Arrangement:

Arranged in three series:

  1. Series 1: New Chinatown and community, 1883-2007
  2. Series 2: Personal, 1915-2002
  3. Series 3: Accession CSmH_2021_201, 1890s-2013
Physical / technical requirements:

NOT AVAILABLE. Audiovisual items: one VHS tape in box 22 not available for paging until reformatted. Please contact Reader Services for more information.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

RESTRICTED. Box 24: Photographs are fragile and only available with curatorial approval. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item] Peter SooHoo, Sr. papers. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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