Japantown
Atlas - Northern California - SpareJapantown
Atlas - Northern California - Spare
Detailed Map: Lodi Japanese American Businesses of
1940
Notes:
Lodi had a small but dense Japantown on the east side of the Southern Pacific RR depot. By 1940, every business on the first block of North Main Street was Nikkei-owned. In earlier years this was also the city's Chinatown.
We mapped several adjacent blocks to show the patterns of the city - the commercial core transitioning to residential use, large industrial uses such as lumberyards and fruit packing operations near the railroad, and the historic downtown that still stands west of the railroad tracks.
Many of the buildings still stand in 2008. There are no Nikkei businesses in the old Japantown, however the Buddhist Church and JACL Hall are both still in use, facing each other across Stockton Street. The old Chugoku Hotel is still a residential hotel serving a working class and retired clientele.
Landmarks described on the Preserving California's Japantowns Lodi history page are marked with big, red numerals by the names. Local PCJ volunteers have gathered some interesting history which we hope will enrich people's understanding of this historic district and help its preservation.