Cultural Landscape Report, Volumes 1-3: Angel Island Immigration Station

Davison, Mark; Meier, Lauren

This Cultural Landscape Report documents the history and significance of the Angel Island Immigration Station landscape to provide guidance for both short and longterm management and interpretation. To this end, this CLR addresses 143 acres historically associated with the Immigration Station now part of Angel Island State Park in the San Francisco Bay. Between 1907 and 1940, the Bureau of Immigration developed and operated an immigration and detention facility on Angel Island as a primary point of entry to the United States. After the destruction of the main Administration Building by fire in 1940, the US Army assumed control of the site operating a Prisoner of War camp at the North Garrison until 1946. The study area contained in this CLR represents a discreet portion of the 740 acre Angel Island State Park in the vicinity of China Cove on the northeast shore of the island. The landscape consists of a relatively flat valley floor with steep slopes containing historic structures, oak woodlands, and eucalyptus plantings and the remnants of features constricted between 1907 and 1946 On July 2 1946 Angel Island was declared surplus to the Army's needs. While the fate of the island remained in the balance, the landscape surrounding China Cove was abandoned. In 1963, the State of California received title to the island, including the site of the former Immigration Station. Angel Island has many other historic resources beyond the Immigration Station and the entire island was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. The 1979 General Plan for Angel Island State Park recommended that the cultural interpretation of the park place special emphasis on the story of immigration in the US. Additionally, the document stated weaknesses in the knowledge base specifically related to the Immigration Station. On December 9, 1997, the Immigration Station was designated a National Historic Landmark NHL. The NHL recognizes the unique immigrant experience resulting from a series of racially prejudiced immigration laws enacted in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The CLR is intended to inform the management and interpretation of the Immigration Station landscape. The CLR documents the significance of the site noting change over time and provides a preservation strategy for the treatment and longterm management of the landscape. In total, this CLR consists of three volumes which describe the site's history provides an inventory and analysis of existing conditions and landscape significance, and recommends treatment actions consistent with historic preservation principles.

Cultural Landscape Report, Volumes 1-3: Angel Island Immigration Station

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