Los Angeles council approves preservation of two Terminal Island buildings tied to Japanese American community

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Feb. 19 to approve preservation of two remaining historic buildings on Terminal Island, following public testimony by descendants of the island’s pre‑World War II Japanese American community and city preservation advocates.

The vote, taken after the council moved the item out of order, passed 12–0. Council President Marquate House Dawson called the item up and the council opened the public record to speakers representing the Terminal Islanders Association and preservation groups who urged the designation.

Advocates said the two buildings are among the last physical traces of a once‑vibrant Japanese American fishing community on Terminal Island. Terry Jara, identified as president of the Terminal Islanders Association, and other descendants described families’ removal after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor and cited Executive Order 9066 as the federal action that led to forced departures. Paul Hiroshi Boye, a board member of the association, said the buildings “represent history, culture, family and the ability to ensure preservation of the last physical remains” of the community. Andrew Solomon, speaking for the Conservancy of Los Angeles, urged the council to adopt the preservation designation as an appropriate recognition of that history.

Speakers and council members emphasized scale and timing cited in testimony: advocates said the Terminal Island community numbered about 3,000 residents before the removals and that families received roughly 48 hours’ notice to leave. Speakers identified the two surviving buildings as located on Chunat Street.

Council members who spoke in support tied the item to a broader effort to acknowledge wartime injustices. Member Macosker thanked the Terminal Islanders Association and descendants for their persistence; Member Rodríguez noted other local detention sites and said the designation helps ensure the history is not repeated. After public testimony the council voted to approve the preservation motion; the clerk announced the tally as “Doce a favor” (12 in favor).

The motion as presented during the meeting directed designation of the two Terminal Island buildings for preservation (referred to in the hearing as an HSM designation). The council record at the meeting did not specify further implementation steps or a timetable for conservation work.

The public testimony and council action came on the anniversary week of the wartime removals; several speakers referenced the historical trauma and urged the city to recognize and preserve the remaining structures as part of Los Angeles’ history.