Los Angeles City Councilman Tim McOsker introduced a motion Wednesday calling for the preservation of two buildings from the Japanese American Commercial Village on Terminal Island.
The buildings, located at 700-702 and 712-716 Tuna St. in San Pedro, are among the last “standing links” to a once-thriving fishing village, according to the councilman’s office. McOsker, who represents San Pedro, aims to designate the properties as historic-cultural monuments.
“We must preserve what remains, not only to protect an important part of Los Angeles’ cultural and social history but to honor their contributions and ensure that future generations learn from this past and carry forward their legacy,” the councilman said in a statement.
McOsker noted that Japanese fishermen who settled on Terminal Island in the early 20th century were the “initiators” and “innovators” of what became a booming tuna fishing industry.
“Yet, the story of these families is also marked by one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history — a time when an entire community was forcibly removed, their homes and livelihoods destroyed,” he added.
Before World War II, the fishing village was home to more than 3,000 residents of Japanese descent.
However, the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 changed the course of Terminal Island’s village. Even before President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, the federal government took all non-native Japanese fishermen and community leaders into custody, and all traffic to and from the island was suspended.
The Terminal Island community became one of the first in the nation to be forcibly removed and relocated to internment camps.
On Feb. 19, 1942, Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 authorized the forced relocation and internment of over 120,000 Japanese Americans, most of whom were U.S. citizens.
The Terminal Island village is believed to be the only such community that was destroyed almost entirely, though the two remaining buildings stand as a testament of this history.
Paul Hiroshi Boyea, a board member of the Terminal Islanders Association, and chair of the Terminal Islanders Preservation Initiative, hailed McOsker’s proposal.
“The two historic Terminal Island buildings on Tuna Street represent culture, family and American history that should never be forgotten,” Boyea said in a statement.
“They are also the last remaining physical remnants from this important era of Japanese American heritage and their significant contributions to California’s fishing industry,” he added.