2004 Wong family reunion in front of the Wing Tsue building (Edith Wong)

The city of Deadwood, S.D., will celebrate the Chinese New Year next week, as it has every year for the past 15 years. But this year, the last building in its historic Chinese district is gone.

The owner of the 1896 Wing Tsue building, Gene Johner, demolished it without a permit on Dec. 23 and 24.

"It was a huge shock to me," says Deadwood Mayor Francis Toscana. "Back in April, [Johner] showed that they were going to restore the Wing Tsue building."

In retaliation, the city plans to file civil charges against Johner this spring, according to city attorney John Frederickson. In the meantime, the state gaming commission is investigating the incident and could fine Johner or revoke his gaming license.

"They have a pretty big hammer if they need it," Frederickson says. "Everyone, including other gaming interests, are up in arms about this. Everyone realizes that gaming and historic preservation are a symbiotic relationship."

In 1986, Deadwood residents banded together to legalize limited stakes gaming to draw tourists and generate money for the downtown's many dilapidated historic buildings. Three years later, legalized gaming in Deadwood began, and there are about 80 casinos in the city today. The National Trust named Deadwood's Historic District to its list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 1990.

Hundreds of Chinese immigrants settled in Deadwood during the gold rush of the late 1870s, including Chinese entrepreneur Fee Lee Wong, who constructed the two-story drug store named the Wing Tsue Emporium.

Johner, who legally tore down an unsafe building beside the Wing Tsue building in November, had a permit to partially demolish the Wing Tsue but maintain its facade.

"I don't think Johner anticipated the reaction that the city of Deadwood would have," Toscana says. "Most people understand the rules. A lot of people are very proud of the restoration they have done."

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