NOW Live from the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center

This is a guest post by Michelle Magalong, Chair of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation, in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. One of the #APAEverywhere challenges is to create a “tour” of Asian Pacific American sites and here Michelle shares a tour of some Asian Pacific American Heritage Sites that influenced her. You can create your own tour and share it here.

At the National Preservation Conference in 2007, three Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (APIAs) realized that, though there was much APIA community-based preservation work across the nation, they were the only APIAs in the room. They convened a steering committee of preservationists to develop the National APIA Historic Preservation Forum and Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation (APIAHiP) was born. In 2012, I became involved with the local planning committee for the APIAHiP National Forum, and became chair in 2012. In 2014, we launched East at Main Street, a collaboration with Historypin to gather “pins” of sites reflecting the historical and cultural contributions of APIAs.

May is a particularly busy time for us at APIAHiP as it is both Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Preservation month. In commemoration of both, we launched “31 Days of 31 APIA Historic Sites.” Every day, we share a place pinned in East at Main Street representing APIA communities across the nation and in US territories.

Every pin has a story. I would like to highlight a few “pins” that have shaped my work and commitment in advocating and preserving historic sites and resources in APIA communities.

1. Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles

As a college student, I interned at Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) in Los Angeles. One day, Royal “Uncle Roy” Morales took us on a tour of the neighborhood, sharing his story of immigration, family, and community. Uncle Roy dreamed of building a sign recognizing the historical and cultural contributions of Filipino Americans in the Temple-Beverly neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles. Since the 1960s, the neighborhood has served as a major port of entry for Filipino immigrants and houses Filipino American cultural institutions.

By the time I returned to Los Angeles to attend graduate school at UCLA, Uncle Roy had passed away, his dream unfulfilled. Several community stakeholders, including myself, advocated to make his dream a reality and “Historic Filipinotown” was designated in 2002.

2. Little Manila, Stockton

Soon after the successful designation of “Historic Filipinotown” in Los Angeles, I was invited by Little Manila Foundation to help save the last three remaining buildings of Little Manila in Stockton, California. In the 1920s and 30s, downtown Stockton’s Little Manila was the heart of Filipino America. These buildings were threatened with demolition for a large-scale development project. We created a grassroots action plan to engage local stakeholders while developing a national advocacy campaign to save these buildings. Overwhelming support came from Filipino Americans (and APIAs) across the nation, as well as preservation organizations (including the National Trust for Historic Preservation).

3. Little Tokyo, Los Angeles

Soon after the success in Little Manila, I was back in Los Angeles working with stakeholders in Little Tokyo. Through California Senate Bill 307, I assisted the Little Tokyo Community Council in the California Japantown Preservation Pilot Program to identify challenges to historic preservation in Japanese American neighborhoods. As a result of this yearlong process, we redefined cultural preservation for Little Tokyo, broadening the scope of preservation to be more inclusive of the various factors that shape the physical and cultural landscape of ethnic neighborhoods.

4. Lujan House, Guam

Five years ago, I traveled to Guam for the first time and fell in love. It wasn’t just the warm hospitality and great food that sold me – it was the extensive educational and interpretation resources I found about the history of Guam from the indigenous contributions to the legacy of U.S. military. On a following trip, I met preservation leaders integral to this work at the Guam Preservation Trust. Their offices are located at the historic Lujan House, one of few houses in Agana surviving from before World War II. I was inspired by their commitment to preserving and advocating the Chamorro history and culture.

5. Iosepa, Utah

Earlier this month, I attended the White House Summit on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. It was a packed house – we were walking shoulder to shoulder through the aisles to get to our seats. I was standing next to a gentleman in traditional Samoan attire who told me his name was Jacob Fitisemanu, Jr. and he was from Utah. He had been newly appointed to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Jake is working to preserve the Iosepa Polynesian Archaelogical District. Iosepa was established in Tooele County’s Skull Valley in 1889 as a community for Hawaiian members of the Mormon faith who wished to immigrate to Utah to be close to the temples and headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Iosepa exemplifies the diversity of our APIA histories and communities.

What places inspire you? I challenge you to pin your story on our “East at Main Street” project! Complete the #APAEverywhere challenge here.