History of the Auditorium

 

A corner-stone laying ceremony was held on February 19, 1944 although construction on the auditorium had began more than two weeks earlier. During his speech at the ceremony, project director Ralph Merritt stated that the auditorium would "become the family living room for all the members of our Manzanar community." It was expected that the auditorium would be completed in three months, in time for high school graduation ceremonies.

On June 16, 1944 the auditorium/gymnasium was used for the first time. The dedicatory performance was an operetta composed by the high school music teacher entitled "Loud and Clear." Two days later an audience estimated at nearly 1,200 attended the first high school graduation to be held in the auditorium. 177 students graduated. The auditorium was first used for a memorial service on August 13, 1944. The service was held for Pfc. Frank Arikawa, a Nisei soldier who was killed in Italy on July 6.

When the high school graduation was held in the auditorium/gymnasium, construction was not complete. It was not until September 1944 that the auditorium was opened for general use. The building measured 118 feet by 119 feet. The main auditorium floor was 80 ft. x 96 ft. and a stage was located at the east end of the main floor. On each side of the main section, one story wings were constructed to house toilets, dressing rooms, lockers, and offices.

By the time the auditorium was completed, the question of appropriate use of the building had been raised. The auditorium had been intended for high school education classes and assemblies. However, questions about the structural integrity of the floor, led the Auditorium Committee to recommend that the building not be used for sports activity. Activities such as social dancing, musicals, motion pictures, bazaars, assemblies, plays, exhibits, lectures, and memorial services were still considered appropriate. In 1945, in response to a memorandum concerning youth problems in Manzanar and recognition that people would only be at the camp for a limited time, the restriction against volleyball in the auditorium was lifted.

The high school still had use of the building on weekdays, but numerous programs were held in the auditorium on evenings and weekends. In 1945, a schedule of planned activities to take place that year include talent shows, concets, educational movies, Japanese dancing, Japanese drama and music, high school parties, oratorical contests, elementary school pageants, and dances.

Manzanar War Relocation Center closed in November 1945 and the land on which it was located was returned to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. All buildings constructed during the camp period were to be removed unless the L.A.D.W.P. took the option to acquire any of the buildings. The L.A.D.W.P. did take that option and purchased the auditorium and its equipment and fixtures in the hope that a local organization would purchase the building and lease the land on which it stood. However, by early 1946 the L.A.D.W.P. decided it did not need the building and the War Assests Administration slated the auditorium for destruction.

The auditorium was not destroyed. Instead in February 1947 the building was deeded by the War Assests Administration to the County of Inyo. Inyo County then leased the auditorium to the Independence Chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars until 1951. In late 1953 or early 1954 the county allowed the V.F.W. to remove the south wing of the auditorium and move it to the town of Lone Pine. The county converted the rest of the auditorium, on its original site, into a county highway department garage and shop. A large door was cut into the center of the east wall, the stage was removed, and the wood floors were replaced with concrete. The county used the auditorium for this purpose until 1995 when the National Park Service purchased the building.