The historic Nisei War Memorial Community Center is returning to life, thanks to dozens of local volunteers.
The restoration of the Downtown center—known as Nisei Hall—is led by Debbie Eto and Dr. Michael Luszczak.
Eto is vice president of the Japanese American Citizens League, which bought the building with VFW Nisei Post 8985, a Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter created for Japanese American veterans after World War II.
When they returned home, the soldiers were not allowed to join an existing local VFW chapter.
Luszczak is married to the league’s former president. He’s both a league member and, as a retired Army medical officer, in the VFW.
“It’s such a worthwhile project,” Luszczak says of the restoration, which began in July. “The more I learn about it, the more committed to it I am.”
Located at 1515 Fourth St., Nisei Hall is the last remaining property associated with the city’s once vibrant Japantown.
The community, bounded by Third, Fifth, L and O streets, housed more than 400 Japanese American businesses between 1880 and 1941. It was largely dismantled in 1942 when West Coast Japanese Americans were incarcerated in camps around the country.
Redevelopment in the 1950s and 1960s destroyed most of what remained.
Before World War II, Nisei Hall was a restaurant owned by an African American couple, Minnie and Phelix Flowers. When the Flowers went bankrupt, the building was bought by the Japanese American Citizens League and VFW Nisei Post 8985.
Over time, the building fell into disrepair. It gained new life in 2021 when designated a historic landmark on the Sacramento Register of Historic & Cultural Resources.
The first phase of restoration improves the ground floor for community gatherings and event rentals. Work includes a new ceiling, roof, electrical upgrades and paint. The next phase is planned for 2026—if the groups can raise enough money.
“Fundraising for this never stops,” Eto says. “There are some really good people out there who believe in what we are doing.”
Funds have come from selling plaques for a memorial wall, along with a private donation of $100,000. A professional fundraiser donates time to help speed the September dedication ceremony. The event will include a Japanese beverage tasting and auction.
Luszczak is helping the Japanese American Citizens League secure grants, such as a SMUD Shine Award, for infrastructure upgrades. The goal is to raise enough money to turn the upstairs into a museum for artifacts from Nisei Post members and preserve the history of Japantown.
Fundraising and dozens of volunteers make the restoration possible.
Eto says the first people to volunteer to move furniture for construction were two 90-year-old citizens league members. Others include Boy Scouts and winners of the league’s annual scholarship competition.
“You don’t have to be Asian to be involved,” Eto says. “This is Sacramento. We all are a community together.”
For information, email sacjaclinfo@yahoo.com.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
