A concerned Fresno resident recently contacted the San Francisco office of National Trust for Historic Preservation regarding the uncertain future of Fresno, California’s 1920 Buddhist Temple, facing sale by a congregation with plans to construct to a new temple in another neighborhood. Although the temple’s exterior is protected and demolition is not a threat, the interruption of the building’s traditional use and its vital connection to community life is a poignant reminder of the challenges facing historic community anchors in many cities, where economic and demographic change threaten continuity of use and links to “cultural memory.”
“I am not sure if the magnificent Fresno Buddhist Temple has been brought up as an item for consideration as a nationally significant building worthy of historic preservation, but I wanted to send this along as I just became aware of Hanford's China Alley designation as one of the top 11 most endangered sites this year.
This is a very unique and significant cultural and community icon. It was built by the Japanese American community around the turn of the 20th century. It is now being put on the market to a potentially private buyer in spite of the fact that there was a bit of a controversy regarding many members of the congregation's wishes to maintain it as the primary site of worship--mainly for community and historic reasons. I believe that this is probably the premier temple of its kind in the entire US. “
Donna Graves, director of Preserving California’s Japantowns, provides this description of the resource:
“Fresno's Japantown or Nihonmachi was the center of social, economic, religious, and political activity for Japanese in the Central Valley in the early twentieth century. The heart of the community was the Buddhist Temple -- originally built of wood in 1902. After a fire, the grand three-story structure that was rebuilt to its identical stature in 1920 when the Japanese population in Fresno County stood at 5,732 residents with almost 200 businesses. Japanese design influence can be found in its tiled roof and carved wood ornament details, wooden Torii gate, and a Japanese garden. A wide staircase leads to the entry on the second level where the main office, meeting rooms, a small altar, and minister's office are located; and an interior staircase leads to the temple on the 3rd floor. In its early years prior to World War II, the temple grounds also included areas for sports from baseball and basketball to sumo wrestling. A boarding house provided lodging for the minister and visiting Buddhist scholars until they were assigned to a temple, and later served as a boarding house for children of Japanese laborers.
During World War II, all of Fresno's residents of Japanese ancestry were forcibly removed from their homes and businesses and incarcerated, first at the hastily constructed "Fresno Assembly Center" created on the local fairground, and later at "Relocation Centers" in Jerome, Arkansas and Gila River, Arizona. The Buddhist Temple was closed and its shrine stored at a local funeral home. The Temple served as a temporary hostel in 1945-46 for Japanese Americans returning to Fresno after the war.”
Recent news stories describe the current state of play:
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8308186
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/01/local/la-me-temple-20110801
As we are so often reminded, historic resources representing the achievements, struggles, and contributions of Asian Pacific Islander American communities are tremendously under-represented on the National Register of historic Places – providing only a tiny fraction of the some 85,000 structures listed. According to Turkiya Lowe, National Park Service Historian, only 3% of the National Register’s 85,000 sites are associated with communities of color; and of that 3% in-holding only 47 National Register-listed sites are connected to Pacific Islander American communities, while 94 sites are connected to Asian American communities.
Below is the current list of historic resources in Fresno that are listed on the National Register.
All food for thought and room for change and improvement!
A special thanks to Dan Nishio for recalling this valiant survivor and graceful center of worship to our attention.
National Register of Historic Places Buildings
in Fresno, CaliforniaThere are twenty-nine sites in the Fresno, California, area in the National Register of Historic Places. Choose from the entries below for more information about these National Register sites. A map showing the locations of all sites is also available.
Bank of Italy Building
The H. H. Brix Home
Louis Einstein Home
Forestiere Underground Gardens
Fresno Bee Building
Fresno Brewing Company
Fresno City College Old Administration Building
Fresno Republican Printery
Fresno Sanitary Landfill
Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church
Hotel Californian
Kearney Mansion
Paul Kindler Home
Maubridge Apartment Building
Memorial Auditorium
Thomas R. Meux Home
Old Fresno Water Tower
Pantages Theatre
Physicians Building
Rehorn Home
Romain Home
San Joaquin Light & Power Corporation Building
Santa Fe Hotel
Santa Fe Railroad Depot
Southern Pacific Railroad Depot
Tower Theatre
Twining Laboratories
Warehouse Row Buildings
Y.W.C.A. Residence Hall
Hugh Rowland | Program Administrator and Development Associate, Western Office, National Trust for Historic Preservation | The Hearst Building | 5 Third Street, Suite 707 | San Francisco, CA 94103 | 415.947.0692 | fax 415.947.0699 | hugh_rowland@nthp.org | www.preservationnation.org
“I am not sure if the magnificent Fresno Buddhist Temple has been brought up as an item for consideration as a nationally significant building worthy of historic preservation, but I wanted to send this along as I just became aware of Hanford's China Alley designation as one of the top 11 most endangered sites this year.
This is a very unique and significant cultural and community icon. It was built by the Japanese American community around the turn of the 20th century. It is now being put on the market to a potentially private buyer in spite of the fact that there was a bit of a controversy regarding many members of the congregation's wishes to maintain it as the primary site of worship--mainly for community and historic reasons. I believe that this is probably the premier temple of its kind in the entire US. “
Donna Graves, director of Preserving California’s Japantowns, provides this description of the resource:
“Fresno's Japantown or Nihonmachi was the center of social, economic, religious, and political activity for Japanese in the Central Valley in the early twentieth century. The heart of the community was the Buddhist Temple -- originally built of wood in 1902. After a fire, the grand three-story structure that was rebuilt to its identical stature in 1920 when the Japanese population in Fresno County stood at 5,732 residents with almost 200 businesses. Japanese design influence can be found in its tiled roof and carved wood ornament details, wooden Torii gate, and a Japanese garden. A wide staircase leads to the entry on the second level where the main office, meeting rooms, a small altar, and minister's office are located; and an interior staircase leads to the temple on the 3rd floor. In its early years prior to World War II, the temple grounds also included areas for sports from baseball and basketball to sumo wrestling. A boarding house provided lodging for the minister and visiting Buddhist scholars until they were assigned to a temple, and later served as a boarding house for children of Japanese laborers.
During World War II, all of Fresno's residents of Japanese ancestry were forcibly removed from their homes and businesses and incarcerated, first at the hastily constructed "Fresno Assembly Center" created on the local fairground, and later at "Relocation Centers" in Jerome, Arkansas and Gila River, Arizona. The Buddhist Temple was closed and its shrine stored at a local funeral home. The Temple served as a temporary hostel in 1945-46 for Japanese Americans returning to Fresno after the war.”
Recent news stories describe the current state of play:
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8308186
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/01/local/la-me-temple-20110801
As we are so often reminded, historic resources representing the achievements, struggles, and contributions of Asian Pacific Islander American communities are tremendously under-represented on the National Register of historic Places – providing only a tiny fraction of the some 85,000 structures listed. According to Turkiya Lowe, National Park Service Historian, only 3% of the National Register’s 85,000 sites are associated with communities of color; and of that 3% in-holding only 47 National Register-listed sites are connected to Pacific Islander American communities, while 94 sites are connected to Asian American communities.
Below is the current list of historic resources in Fresno that are listed on the National Register.
All food for thought and room for change and improvement!
A special thanks to Dan Nishio for recalling this valiant survivor and graceful center of worship to our attention.
National Register of Historic Places Buildings
in Fresno, CaliforniaThere are twenty-nine sites in the Fresno, California, area in the National Register of Historic Places. Choose from the entries below for more information about these National Register sites. A map showing the locations of all sites is also available.
Bank of Italy Building
The H. H. Brix Home
Louis Einstein Home
Forestiere Underground Gardens
Fresno Bee Building
Fresno Brewing Company
Fresno City College Old Administration Building
Fresno Republican Printery
Fresno Sanitary Landfill
Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church
Hotel Californian
Kearney Mansion
Paul Kindler Home
Maubridge Apartment Building
Memorial Auditorium
Thomas R. Meux Home
Old Fresno Water Tower
Pantages Theatre
Physicians Building
Rehorn Home
Romain Home
San Joaquin Light & Power Corporation Building
Santa Fe Hotel
Santa Fe Railroad Depot
Southern Pacific Railroad Depot
Tower Theatre
Twining Laboratories
Warehouse Row Buildings
Y.W.C.A. Residence Hall
Hugh Rowland | Program Administrator and Development Associate, Western Office, National Trust for Historic Preservation | The Hearst Building | 5 Third Street, Suite 707 | San Francisco, CA 94103 | 415.947.0692 | fax 415.947.0699 | hugh_rowland@nthp.org | www.preservationnation.org
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