San Diego
Early 1900, Japanese found work in fishing, agriculture, and small business in San Diego. A settlement quickly formed by 1910 to include 5 hotels, 6 pool halls, 3 barbers, 2 bathhouses and several stores for the laborers. Continuing to expand, San Diego's Japantown boasted a population of 1,554 by 1940, with 3 churches, 2 Japanese schools, 2 pool halls, 5 hotels, 15 restaurants, 11 markets, 6 produce stands, 3 cleaners, and over a dozen other businesses. Numerous buildings still stand from the former Japantown, ,overlapping with the historic Chinatown and Gaslamp District, yet their history is little known. The Japanese American Hitorical Society of San Diego has made great strides in sharing the community's heritage to a broader audience.