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Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) club

Posted: 08 Jan 2015

Taken: 31 Jul 1998

2 favorites     2 comments    259 visits

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California •
Owens Valley •
Manzanar •
US-395 •
Japanese Internment •
Esierra •
CaNv1014 •

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Manzanar War Relocatoin Center gates pre-NPS

Manzanar War Relocatoin Center gates pre-NPS
The gates to the Manazanar Internment Camp before the area came under the control of the U.S. National Park Service. This was taken some time in the 1990's (specific date unknown). At the time when this was taken, the site was fenced off and part of it was used as storage of road equipment. What the site had been used for was unmarked, you had to know to look for it.

That visit to the site was remarkable, even though I could not get in. When I pulled up to the entrance there were two older women standing and looking in. We got to talking and it turned out that they were sisters who had lived in Lone Pine and Darwin when this was an internment camp. They could remember the trains and buses bringing Japanese-Americans to the site, and one had worked on the site when it was active as an internment camp. I credit this experience of talking with them, and of seeing what was then a completely neglected site, with instigating my subsequent and ongoing efforts to find the various internment camps around the country.

My thanks to Jasperdo's recent photos of Manzanar for reminding me that I had never posted this photo to Ipernity. I have other Manzanar photos that I will be posting in the near future.

Jasperdo's photo: www.ipernity.com/doc/304569/36572388

Diane Putnam, have particularly liked this photo

Comments
 Jasperdo
Jasperdo
Thank you for the mention. This is how I initially saw Manzanar. We drove up and down US 395 many times between the 1970's and 1990's. We stopped at those sentry posts a few times, but as you said, most of the Manzanar compound was fenced off. If you haven't been there in awhile, it's worth a return visit. The NPS has done an excellent job interpreting the site. The Visitor Center is outstanding. It is in the building which housed the Inyo County Road Department for many years, but was originally built by the internees as a gym/auditorium. There are a couple of re-constructed barracks as well now, and a 3 mile auto tour through the grounds.

Your photo answered a question I had. I thought I remembered a California historical marker at the sentry posts. Your photo proved me right. It is not there now. I wonder what happened it it. I didn't see it at the Visitor Center either, but I may have missed it. Here's a photo I have up at "the other place". It's nearly identical to yours. As you can see, the historic marker is gone.:
www.flickr.com/photos/mytravelphotos/16215747585
9 years ago. Edited 9 years ago.
Don Barrett (aka DBs… club has replied to Jasperdo
I've been there a couple of times since the NPS took control. The last time was in 2011 and I was very impressed with how the park service had handled it.

I hadn't thought about the fact that they removed the highway marker, but they did. I'm going to rework some photos I took over the years, including one of the highway marker, and will be posting those sometime later this month.
9 years ago.

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