Tin How Temple

-=San Francisco=-

The Tin How Temple (also spelled Tianhou Temple) is the oldest extant Taoist temple in San Francisco's Chinatown, and one of the oldest still-operating Chinese temples in the United States. It is dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu, who is known as Tin How (天后, Empress of Heavens) in Cantonese.

History

The temple was founded in 1852, reportedly at its current location by Day Ju, one of the first Chinese persons to arrive in San Francisco. The building was later destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire, with the image of the goddess, the temple bell, and part of the altar surviving. By then, ownership of the building site had transitioned to the Sue Hing Benevolent Association, which reopened it in 1910 on the top floor of a four-story building it built on the site. The temple closed in 1955 and reopened on May 4, 1975, after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 had caused a rejuvenation of San Francisco's Chinatown.

In May 2010, the one-hundredth anniversary of the temple was celebrated by a religious procession through the streets in the neighborhood, including dances and fireworks. The temple is a significant landmark in Chinatown; the Chinese name for Waverly Place is 天后庙街; 天后廟街; Tiānhòu miào jiē; 'Tin How Temple Street'.