Entry No. 10 — the Butte file — filed under: offbeat-museum
Mai Wah Museum
Housed in the 1899 Wah Chong Tai Mercantile and the adjoining Mai Wah Noodle Parlor, this museum preserves what remains of Butte's once-substantial Chinatown. Roughly 2,500 artifacts date back as far as 1905, including pieces dug from the neighborhood's archaeology and a delicate 'Immortal Flower.' It is a narrowly focused, locally run effort that has interpreted Butte's Asian heritage since 1991.
The story
When copper made Butte rich, thousands of Chinese immigrants settled into a dense district along Mercury and Galena streets, establishing laundries, herbal medicine shops, and eateries. Most of that Chinatown was systematically demolished or forgotten over the decades, but the 1899 Wah Chong Tai Mercantile and the adjoining 1909 Mai Wah Noodle Parlor—designed by local architect George DeSnell—somehow survived intact.
Inside, you aren't looking at slick exhibit cases or corporate displays. You are standing in the actual shop floor and dining rooms surrounded by roughly 2,500 authentic artifacts dating back as far as 1905. The collection includes items pulled directly from local archaeological digs, historic noodle-parlor booths, and rare fragile remnants like a preserved 'Immortal Flower.' It documents how Asian workers and merchants lived, traded, and endured heavy hostility in the mining West.
The non-profit Mai Wah Society has managed the twin buildings since 1991, running a narrow, unvarnished effort that keeps Butte's vanished urban core from being completely scrubbed out.
What it's like
You step off Mercury Street directly into a narrow, quiet storefront where the scent of aged timber and paper hits you first. Local docents take your $8 admission before sending you through the wooden mercantile counters, up into the old noodle parlor booths, and past cases filled with recovered porcelain and medicine jars. The catch is its limited schedule: the museum is strictly seasonal, open only from June through late September, Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
The move: Tour the old noodle parlor and mercantile, then walk the surrounding Mercury Street block to imagine the vanished Chinatown around you.
📍 Before you go Seasonal: open roughly June through September, Tue-Sat 10am-4pm; admission about $8 adults. Confirm before visiting in shoulder seasons.
- 📍 Uptown Butte (historic Chinatown)
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 17 W Mercury St, Butte, MT 59701
Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Historic Dumas Brothel Museum — Walk down Mercury Street to tour another preserved remnant of Butte's historic vice district operating in the same neighborhood.
- Rookwood Speakeasy — Head one block over to inspect a forgotten Prohibition-era speakeasy sealed beneath Uptown Butte.
- Piccadilly Transportation Memorabilia Museum — Pair Chinatown's mercantile history with a private collection of global transit artifacts located just a minute away.
Good to know
What are the museum's operating hours?
The museum runs seasonally from roughly June through late September, open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
How much is admission?
Adult admission is approximately $8.
What structures form the museum?
It spans two connected historic buildings: the 1899 Wah Chong Tai Mercantile and the 1909 Mai Wah Noodle Parlor building.
Where is it located in Butte?
You'll find it at 17 W Mercury St in Uptown Butte's historic Chinatown area.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Wikipedia · visitbutte.com · greatfallstribune.com
last checked: 2026-06-24