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Century-old Japanese American landscape in Huntington Beach named a National Treasure

(October 22, 2015) -Historic Wintersburg, an iconic, century-old Japanese American landscape in Huntington Beach, was named a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the nation's leading historic preservation organization.
 
This designation coincides with the release of a technical study by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) that proposes ways that the Historic Wintersburg site could be preserved for future generations and repurposed to enhance quality of life for nearby residents, while benefiting the greater Huntington Beach community.
 
Historic Wintersburg was named a National Treasure for its connections to Southern California's early agricultural history and its significance as one of the only surviving properties purchased before California barred Japanese from owning land, a direct result of anti-Japanese hysteria in the early 20th century.
 
The site also represents the injustice that thousands of Japanese American families faced, as the entire Wintersburg Church congregation-the majority of whom were American citizens-were forcibly removed and incarcerated during World War II.
 
The National Treasure designation comes as a new ULI report proposes a range of creative reuse alternatives for the 4.5-acre Historic Wintersburg site.
 
Located in the Oak View neighborhood of Huntington Beach, the Historic Wintersburg site contains six structures, including the 1912 Furuta family home, 1910 Wintersburg Mission, and 1934 Wintersburg Church.
 
While demolition is no longer an immediate threat, the site requires a long-term, viable reuse to return to its historic role as a neighborhood center and community gathering place.
 


Shige Higashi, editor and publisher of Cultural News, is currently seeking $30,000 fund by Dec. 31, 2015, for the 2015-2017 publishing project of promoting Japanese art and culture in Southern California. For more information...

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