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ISLETON –

Built in the 1933’s as the hub for Chinese Laborers in Isleton, the Bing Kong Tong Building is barely standing these days, however, that’s about to change.

Thanks to money from the California Cultural Historical Endowment and the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency among others, a $600,000 renovation will completely return the building to it’s original look, as it becomes a museum.

bing tong

“The Tong, who also live in San Francisco, came to Isleton after the completion of the rail road, and did all the dirty work in the area, they used this building for school, living, and as its headquarters,”  Chuck Hasz with the Isleton Historical Society told FOX40.

A celebration ceremony kicked off the renovation Monday morning that is expected to have phase one completed by the summer.

Isleton has struggled in the economic recession and many of its residents now go out of town to find jobs.

“We hope this will bring people in, and the more people means more jobs for those in the tourism industry,” Cindy Townsend said. Townsend has lived in Isleton for the past few years after visiting the area is a child.