"Old Chan Magic: Chinese Roots, Southern Branches" Exhibit at Davenport House Museum

“Old Chan Magic: Chinese Roots, Southern Branches,” a new exhibit curated by Davenport House Museum Executive Director Danielle Hodes and featuring a wide range of historic photography, will open at Historic Savannah Foundation’s Murray C. Perlman and Wayne C. Spear Preservation Center, located at 323 E. Broughton St., on Thursday, January 16 and run through May 2025.

The exhibit shares the fascinating story of the Chan family who lived in the iconic 1820 home when it operated as a tenement in the early 20th century, before the Davenport House was saved from demolition and renovated as a 19th-century house museum. “Old Chan Magic: Chinese Roots, Southern Branches” expands the narrative at the Davenport House, marking the first exhibition that has focused on the period in the 20th century when the home operated as a tenement building.

“Old Chan Magic” will explore the life and legacy of the Chan family in Savannah in the early 1900s. This exhibition features rare photographs and stories that reveal the daily lives of the Chan family, their business endeavors and their experience as part of a growing Chinese-American community in the South in the early 20th century. Through these images, visitors will discover a unique perspective on the intersection of Chinese heritage and Southern identity during a pivotal time in Savannah’s history.

In 1889, Robert Chung Chan became one of Savannah’s first Chinese immigrants. Robert and his wife, Annie, lived in the Davenport House from 1901 to 1902 while operating a Chinese laundry in what is now the Historic Kennedy Pharmacy. Their story embodies the broader experience of early Chinese immigrants in America while uniquely reflecting Savannah’s cultural landscape, shaped in large part by Robert’s leadership, influence, and social connections.

The “Old Chan Magic: Chinese Roots, Southern Branches” exhibit will be on display from January 16 through May 2025. The exhibit is free and open to the public. To learn more, please visit davenporthousemuseum.org.