three Chinese Lodging houses, and one Chinese Wash House. This building, locally known as the Chinese building, was built as a fireproof replacement to the building that burned down in the 1879 fire. Benjamin Wolf had the building here at 210 E. 1st Street constructed with food thick brick walls, iron fire doors front and back, and a roof made fireproof with a layer of brick and mortar capped by tin.
The first tenant was Joseph Freiman, a seller of Boots, Shoes, and Sewing Machines; he moved his business from the block in the early 1880's. In 1884, the building was being used as a residence, and by 1889, was a Chinese Merchandise Store. Federal Census records indicate that the Store was also a lodging house, with as many as 10 residents. By 1894, the Wing Hong Hai Company Chinese Merchandise Store was here, and in 1900 the store also included a Laundry and a Wash House. The Wing Hong Hai Company was in business until 1913, much of that time with four partners, Lee Yuen Hong, his brother Lee Wing, Lee Dick, and Lei On. A Chinese Store was still in operation here until the late 1920's, it was remodeled to serve as a Creamery in the 1940's, and was later used for furniture storage. By the 1980's the building had been abandoned. Restoration here a the Wing Hong Hai Company building started in 1999 and continues at a slow pace. To date it has a new roof (no more brick), and much