Manzanar National Historic Site: Cultural Landscape Report, Manzanar National Historic Site, National Park Service
Gilbert C, Burton J, Hammond J, Hoke A, Jackson R, Koch K, Tamura A, Warner L. 2006. Manzanar National Historic Site: Cultural Landscape Report, Manzanar National Historic Site, National Park Service. Cultural Landscape Report. 9781607709442. NPS Pacific West Regional Office. Pacific West Regional Office/ CLR Database
The Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) for Manzanar consolidates existing research and documents the physical development of Manzanar as a War Relocation Center. Based on the evaluation of remaining resources, the CLR proposes treatment for the preservation of cultural landscape features in the context of the General Management Plan and other resource studies completed for the site. This information will be used to guide future site development and maintenance activities related to preservation of the cultural landscape. Four source materials were particularly valuable during the research portion of this project; the Manzanar Historic Resource Study, the three volume compilation of archeological investigations conducted at the site between 1993 and 1995, the extensive archival records from the War Relocation Authority, which included written reports, photographs, and maps, and a master’s thesis on the historic gardens. Information from the park archive including records of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, issues of the Manzanar Free Press, the large collection of interviews coordinated by California State University, Fullerton and those conductedby Manzanar National Historic Site staff, and an extensive photographic collection were also used. Primary research was conducted at the Eastern California Museum, Independence; University of California, Los Angeles; the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and theJapanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, California. Additional research for the CLR focused on consolidation and analysis of existing archeological data and ethnographic information.Many of the traditions brought to the camp were reflected in the design, construction, and use of materials in the development of landscape areas, including both personal and public gardens. These expressions are significant both as landscape designs and as expressions of cultural traditions within the context of internment. Seven landscape characteristics were documented and evaluated in order to understand the physical and cultural landscape values of the site during the period of significance. These include: Natural Systems and Features, Spatial Organization, Cultural Traditions, Building Clusters and Structures, Circulation, Vegetation, and Archeological Resources. Because a majority of the buildings were dismantled and the site largely abandoned for 60 years, few buildings or landscape features remain from the internment period. While the analysis documents historic conditions and resources, the evaluation focuses on providing an overall understanding of the physical character of the landscape between 1942 and 1945, and to provide a framework for the preservation treatment of cultural landscape resources that remain today.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Gilbert, Cathy; Burton, Jeff; Hammond, John; Hoke, Amy; Jackson, Robbyn; Koch, Kimball; Tamura, Anna; Warner, Leonard
- Date of Issue
- 2006
- Publisher
- NPS Pacific West Regional Office
- Units
- MANZ , PWR
- Keywords
- Agriculture, Asian, barracks, Block garden, California historic landmark, Cherry park, Correctional Facility, Designed National Landmark, domestic, Ethnic Heritage, Historic Designed Landscape, Hospital garden, Japanense Internment, Japanese garden, Japanese-American, Manzanar Concentration Camp, Manzanar Internment Camp, Manzanar War Relocation Center, Merrit park, Mess hall garden, Military, National Historic Site, orchards, ornamental gardens, Plants, Reception center era, residential, Residential barracks garden, Small-scale Commerical Agriculture, Social History, Stone, Topography, War Relocation Authority, Wartime Civil Control Administration, Water, West Coast, World War II
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 725221: Manzanar National Historic Site