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TI: So when you were growing up, so this is kind of like when you're, this is after Friday Harbor, so you're kind of like nine, ten, eleven, twelve. I mean, what was kind of the boundaries of what you would consider Nihonmachi during that time? When you think about where the Japanese lived, you were on Yesler, Seventh and Yesler. Was that part of Nihonmachi?

VI: No. What happened is Nihonmachi was between Jackson and Main in that area. Well, the hotels were on First, Second, Third Avenue, and they were mostly leased by the Japanese. But you had the Yesler hill which kind of divided the downtown Nihonmachi where people lived. And Washington Street was kind of a dividing line. Because on one side of Washington Street was where all the brothels were. From Maynard all the way up to about Tenth Avenue.

TI: On Washington Street?

VI: Washington Street on the south side. And the Japanese community was there going up toward Yesler. So if you know where the Nippon Kan is, that's about where the one corner started.

TI: Going down to Jackson?

VI: No, going up toward Fourth Avenue. From that hotel, from that point on, is where people lived up 'til about Twelfth Avenue. And then if you went two blocks up the hill from us toward Harborview Hospital, it ended, because it was kind of wilderness there.

TI: Undeveloped just like...

VI: Undeveloped, yeah. And then they'd have a path that we used to take from our house on Yesler to get over to Madison, because they had a streetcar there too.

TI: Okay, so you're cutting through right by Harborview?

VI: Below Harborview.

TI: Below Harborview, okay. You know, the interesting thing to me, the area you're describing, you talk about walking up the hill. For Seattle, it's one of the most scenic places now to leave. I mean, one of the more expensive places because you have these sweeping views of the Sound, Mt. Rainier if you're on that side, the downtown skyline. Did you like the view? Did you ever think about, oh, this is such a beautiful place to live?

VI: No. [Laughs]

TI: Because especially the Sprague Hotel, I looked at the pictures. If you go out on the roof there, you have probably one of the best views of the whole city.

VI: View of the, right. We never thought about views. All we thought about was if the streetcar ran there, so it was very convenient.

TI: Yeah, it's so funny because I think now in terms of my generation, and they look at that place and said, oh my gosh, this is, what a beautiful place to live.

VI: Okay. And that area that we lived in, from Sixth Avenue, across the street for two blocks going all the way up toward Twelfth Avenue is where it all is. People knew that that was an area that was very, very...

TI: Desirable?

VI: Desirable to do something with. And then since we were minorities, it was very easy to kick us out, so we all had to leave.

TI: But what was interesting, they, in your words, kicked you out, or moved you to build what I called a housing project.

VI: Housing project.

TI: Right, so low income housing projects. It's curious that a developer didn't come in and put more expensive housing. Because as you say, it's pretty pricey. I mean, you talked about that pathway underneath Harborview, right, that was undeveloped, yeah, that became housing projects, that whole area. So I guess it was partly because it was undeveloped that the city took it over.

VI: Well, it was very convenient to build a housing project there, because you had a streetcar running out there. And at that time, they didn't have low income or things like that. By the way, when you went down Yesler and went south, that was kind of where the Kingdome is, that was all swamp and things. And if you went down closer to the Sound, that's where they had Hooverville, where they had the tents. We used to go down there and dig for worms, sea worms, to go fishing on the pier.

TI: Where the Hoover, or just in the flats down there?

VI: Yeah, around there.

TI: Which now is, again, prime real estate for Seattle. Yeah, it's where all the sports places are, or Sodo, the Sodo area, "south of the dome."

VI: That was all swampland at one time.

TI: Yeah, that's really interesting because as you talk about that area, I get a better sense of, yeah, you talk about the Hooverville kind of swampland.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.