Vault #21: Art of the Barracks
The Drawings and Recollections of Angel Island Immigrants
Drawings appear on the west wall of the upstairs Chinese men’s dormitory.
Numerous carvings of ships, fish, birds, and other figures can be found throughout the detention barracks. These illustrations remind us that art, like the building’s historic Chinese poetry, can offer another glimpse into the lives of Angel Island immigrants. When paired with the recollections of former detainees, the drawings form an illustrated history of the US Immigration Station.
The selections below represent a portion of the many drawings found throughout the detention barracks. Use the room maps to find the illustrations inside the building. Several of the accompanying quotes have been translated and/or edited for clarity.
Downstairs Dormitory
View of the downstairs Chinese men’s dormitory’s south wall (right) and east wall (background). Many of the drawings can be found on the upper half of the wall, beneath the yellow paint. View the poetry of Room 105 here.
Bird & Moon / 105-E-1
Darkness made things even more unbearable. I lay in but could not sleep. The only chink of light was the blue crescent in the sky through the barbed-wire windows, bright one moment, cloudy another, playing hide and seek in the San Francisco fog.
- Dong Kingman, detained in 1929
Bird in Tree / 105-N-4
The Chinese called Angel Island “En-gin Island”(mispronounced). When I got there, I said it’s beautiful. Green grass and trees, flowers, birds. I asked why the old-timers said it was not a good place. Later I realized that they weren’t saying the place was no good, but the imprisonment was not good.
- Koon T. Lau, detained in 1934
Quail #1 / 105-N-4
I was sent a crate of food from my father and grandfather in each week. The crates piled up, so we fashioned a dragon out of them, adding decorations to it. The dragon was ceremonial, but it also concealed us as we escaped the exercise yard. We’d collect quail eggs and take them to the cooks to prepare.
- Yoke Hong Dang, detained in 1931
Horse / 105-N-5
They told us [the administration building fire] started in the kitchen and then the women’s dormitory. That night, they had to put us up in the back of the mountain. I remember a horse stable—you know, with horses inside—we stayed there overnight.
- Myron Ning Wong, detained in 1940
Quail #2 / 105-N-6
One time when we were outside in the recreation yard Lau Wai You shot a bird with a slingshot… Wai You got the bird, plucked it, and had the cook make us sang gai jook (chicken congee). That was the only time I ever saw a bird like that. It looked like a fat pigeon, but it was a gray color and could not fly.
- Lee Show Nam, detained in 1935
Fish #1 / 105-S-4
[The voyage] was rough. I was seasick for the first five days. After that, it was very enjoyable on the ship, seeing flying fish as we go by, I don’t know where it was.
- David Leong, detained in 1940
Fish #2 / 105-S-4
The German sailors would fish for the Chinese. The fish they caught were brought to the cooks, specifying they were for the Chinese to eat.
- Ken Lee, detained in 1939-1940
Building #1 / 105-W-4
We put all of our luggage in the wooden shed by the pier. They told us to bring only our overnight items, a change of underclothes, and whatnot. Everything else would stay at the shed, and once a week we could come down to retrieve things.
- Mr. Lai, detained in 1929
Building #2 / 105-W-4
The hospital was on the east side. It was painted yellow—a light yellow color. Back in those days, all government buildings were yellow. Once in a while you would hear some car moving above the hill behind it.
- Milton Lee, detained in 1931
Other Drawings
Upstairs Dormitory
View of the upstairs Chinese men’s dormitory’s south wall (left) and west wall (background). Most of the drawings appear on the lower half of the wall, beneath the grey paint. View the poetry of Room 205 here.
Gun / 205-N-1
While I was there, Chinese detainees staged a food riot. [They] started throwing dishes around the dining hall. The white boss then pointed a gun at them and said, “Whoever comes in first, gets it first.” No one dared.
- John Mock, detained in 1919 & employee from 1922-24
Ship & Gun / 205-N-4
I remember we went by ferry from the S.S. Hoover directly to the island. My barrack was exclusively Chinese. There were bunks all over, rows and rows and rows. There were metal gates separating us from the guard directly outside. He had guns and rifles in that office.
- Albert K. Wong, detained in 1934
Insects / 205-N-5
My parents were in grief upon my hurried departure—
Grievance for this separation due to poverty.
To escape poverty, I rushed overseas;
Fate led me to this imprisonment.
A country invaded, her people humiliated;
Filial piety unmet, I live in deep shame.
As insects chirp in the cold night
I am choked with grief in my throat.
- A poem by Jann Mon Fong, detained in 1931
Feet / 205-N-6
Q. Give the name, age, and kind of feet of your mother.
A. Ng Shee; unbound feet; 38.
Q. What is your father’s brother’s name?
A. Chew Jan Lim.
Q. What kind of feet has his wife?
A. Bound feet.
- An inspector & Chew Pack Quoy, son of Ng Shee, 1916
Fish #3 / 205-S-2
The Chinese cooks caught fish off the pier. The fish was good, the other food was terrible.
- K.P. Leong Lee, detained in 1932
Guard & Flag / 205-W-3
For me, the hardest thing to forget was the prejudice and discrimination that Chinese suffered on Angel Island. There were white guards stationed there to watch us. They treated the Chinese like animals, always yelling at us, especially at mealtimes.
- Yee Tet Ming, detained in 1932
Building #3 / 205-W-4
Little did I know that I was going to be imprisoned and shut in the immigration center for over 10 months. The place was small and my time was controlled. It was like being in jail… There was no way you can get out.
- William Mock, detained in 1937
Small Boat / 205-W-4
The boat landed in San Francisco. Then there was a smaller boat that met us on the deck. The smaller boat would take us in, maybe 50 people at a time, maybe a hundred, maybe 30, depending on how many immigrants were coming through. We just marched into the small boat and sailed for Angel Island.
- John F. Louie, detained in 1936
Other Drawings
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation. The Judy Yung Oral History Collection, 1975-1990.