Rooms 115 & 116
View of the south wall (background) and west wall (right) of Room 115.
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1910-1912 | Japanese Women’s Dormitory
1912-1940 | Men’s Dormitory
1942-1945 | Japanese POW Dormitory
Japanese women were the first occupants of Room 115. After 1912, other immigrant groups were held here, many of whom left writings on the wall. Some inscriptions are dated, providing clues as to who occupied this space and when—Japanese immigrants in 1915, Chinese immigrants between 1921 and 1924, and Mexican immigrants from 1930 to 1935. Several Spanish names dated post-1934—whose countries aren’t apparent—may have been men of Filipino ancestry.
View of the east wall (background) and south wall (right) of Room 116.
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1910-1912 | Japanese Women’s Sitting Room
1912-1940 | Men’s Dormitory
1942-1945 | US Army Dining Room
Room 116 was originally a sitting room for Japanese women and later became an additional dormitory for men. Little is known about its occupants, but inscriptions indicate men from China, Japan, Italy, Mexico, and the Punjab region of Pakistan and India were detained here at some point. The room became a canteen (cafeteria) for army soldiers during World War II.
