Nanka Shoken and A. Nakamura Co. buildings, Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California

11 Most Endangered Historic Places

Terminal Island Japanese American Tuna Street Buildings

Constructed: 1918-1923
Location: Port of Los Angeles, California

The Nanka Shoten (1918) and A. Nakamura Co. (1923) buildings are the last remaining structures from the Japanese American fishing village on Terminal Island in Los Angeles, a community that once numbered around 3,000 residents. The buildings originally housed a dry goods store and a grocery.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, members of the Japanese American community on Terminal Island were forcibly removed, and most were ultimately incarcerated at Manzanar War Relocation Site. During the war, the U.S. government took over the land and razed most of the residential and commercial buildings, so community members could not return home after the war, and many resettled around Los Angeles.

A. Nakamura Co., prior to World War II, c1930-40. Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California. — A. Nakamura Co., prior to World War II, c. 1930-40

Today, Terminal Island is one of the country’s busiest container ports, and the Port of Los Angeles is considering demolition of the Japanese American buildings in order to use the land for container storage. The two small buildings are deteriorating, having been vacant and boarded up for years.

After the entirety of Terminal Island was included on the National Trust’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2012, the Terminal Islanders Association and the Los Angeles Conservancy worked with the Port to include preservation and reuse recommendations in their master plan.

However, the Port is still considering demolition of the Nanka Shoten and A. Nakamura Co. buildings, despite a pending action to designate them as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments. Advocates for saving the buildings on Tuna Street need attention and support to ensure protection and reuse of the Nanka Shoten and A. Nakamura Buildings in a way that honors their ancestors and commemorates this dark chapter of American history.