Manzanar National Historic Site near Independence in Inyo County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

A Community's Living Room

Manzanar National Historic Site

Photographed by Craig Baker, April 28, 2023

1. A Community's Living Room Marker

Inscription. This auditorium is one of three original buildings remaining here from Manzanar War Relocation Center. As you walk closer, listen for laughter, tears, music—the sounds of celebration and sadness that once echoed through this building’s cavernous space. They linger in the stories you will hear inside, of those who worked and played here over many decades: internees, War Relocation Authotity (WRA) staff, and Owens Valley residents.

In just five months, internee carpenters transformed standard government blueprints into a community auditorium for more than 5,000 people still confined here in June 1944.

With a stage, locker rooms, and projection booth, the 14,000 sq. ft. building changed the way Manzanar gathered. Concerts, lectures, Japanese American cultural activities and physical education classes filled its calendar---and often its 1,280-seat capacity. Tickets for dances, talent shows, and movie nights were 5 cents for children, 25 cents for adults, 50 cents for camp staff and “everyone else.”

Erected by National Park Service-United States Department of the Interior.

Topics. This memorial is listed

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in these topic lists: Asian Americans • Civil Rights • War, World II.

Location. 36° 43.672′ N, 118° 8.866′ W. Memorial is near Independence, California, in Inyo County. It is in Manzanar National Historic Site. It can be reached from Manzanar Reward Road west of U.S. 395. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 5001 US-395, Independence CA 93526, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in California’s Sierra Nevada.

It is also in the American Mountain West.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Manzanar National Historic Site (within shouting distance of this marker); Manzanar (within shouting distance of this marker); Crowded Quarters (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Block 14 (about 500 feet away);

Photographed by Don Morfe, July 10, 2009

2. A Community's Living Room Marker

"That's What You Call Survival" (about 600 feet away); Enduring Humiliation (about 700 feet away); "Zeal for Cleanliness" (approx. 0.2 miles away); Community Activities (approx. 0.2 miles away); Pressing Needs (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Manzanar Riot (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Independence.

Marker and Visitor Center image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Baker, April 28, 2023

3. Marker and Visitor Center

Manzanar Entrance Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Don Morfe, July 10, 2009

4. Manzanar Entrance Sign

Manzanar National Historic Site image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Don Morfe, July 10, 2009

5. Manzanar National Historic Site

Credits. This page was last revised on September 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 1, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 904 times since then and 23 times this year. Last updated on August 31, 2018, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. Photos: 1. submitted on June 15, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. 2. submitted on December 1, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 3. submitted on June 15, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. 4, 5. submitted on December 1, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.