Walk a block behind the Salt Palace Convention Center and you’ll find the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple and the Japanese Church of Christ, the two remnants of what was once a thriving Japanese American oasis in the city.
The two establishments were once part of the beloved Japantown, which grew as Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States in the 1880s to work in the mining, agriculture, and railroad industries.
With a presence going back to at least 1907 , Japantown, bounded by State Street and 700 West between South Temple and 300 South, once spanned nearly 10 city blocks and grew to be home to almost 8,000 people.
“Well, to me, Japantown was a gathering place of people, of Japanese race, and we could identify with that because it was our own place that we felt comfortable with,” said Ron Nishijima, a Salt Lake City resident who remembers going to Japantown with his parents.
At the height of Japantown’s life during World War II, it was home to a variety of businesses that Nishijima remembers as a colorful place.