Record 10/17 |
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Description
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| City Cafe and Juneau Laundry The City Cafe was opened by Shonosuke Tanaka in 1912. It was located in a building leased by Ole Orsen on what is now South Franklin Street (then Front Street). The Mount Roberts Tram building now stands where the City Cafe was originally located. Open 24 hours a day and seven days a week, it was known for hearty food at a reasonable price. Despite defense testimony from Juneau residences such as John Hermle, Cash Cole and J.F. Mullen, Shonosuke was among the Japanese-born men arrested in reaction to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and sent to Camp Santa Fe in New Mexico. Shonosuke's wife Nobu and son John, assisted by Mike Monagle, were left to close the City Cafe, before they and the rest of the family were sent to the Minidoka Internment Camp. Upon returning to Juneau, the Tanaka family received assistance to regain their home and restart their business from the Tanner family and John Hermle, owner of the Home Grocery, among others. By 1946, the City Cafe was once again in full operation. In 1950, Sam Taguchi and Katsutaro Komatsubara became partners with Shonosuke Tanaka. The City Cafe moved to a new building across the street from its original location in the 1960s and closed its doors in 1982. Juneau local Marie Darlin remembers the City Cafe as the place to go if you wanted to hear the news and gossip of the day. She gave a laugh as she recalled that during his term in office Governor Egan was among those who would go to the Cafe for just that reason. The Juneau Laundry was an operating business in Juneau for 40 years between 1902 and 1942. Originally owned by three other Japanese nationals, Walter Hikohachi Fukuyama joined the business in the 1920s. Walter eventually became sole proprietor of the business and through the assistance of the First National Bank, he was able to purchase land and build a new building for the Laundry. Construction of the Juneau Laundry building, still standing at 112 N. Franklin Street across from the Baranof Hotel, began at the end of 1929 and was completed in the spring of 1930. When announced, the construction project had an estimated cost of $10,000. Over the years, the Juneau Laundry provided pick-up and delivery service using dog drawn sleds, horse drawn carts, a panel truck and man power. Man power was used for delivery service between the Juneau Laundry and the San Francisco Bakery bakery owned by Gustav Henry Messerschmidt and Gertrude Hermle Messerschmidt, grandparents to current Juneau resident Albert Shaw. The bakery used the Laundry to keep clean white aprons available daily for the bakery employees as well as for the all of the family's laundry. Located where the Silverbow is today, the bakery was only a couple blocks from the Juneau Laundry and Albert's mother, Katherine Messerschmidt Shaw, remembered seeing the Japanese laundry workers carrying the bundles of laundry on their heads when they walked between the two stores. The Fukuyama family was among those removed from Juneau and housed at Minidoka Internment Camp during World War II. The family never returned to live in Juneau, but retained ownership of the building after the war. A 1980 Gastineau Bygones article includes an announcement regarding the closure of the Juneau Laundry in March 1942. Image Captions: Cement Forms for Juneau Laundry, 1929. Image courtesy of the Fukuyama family. Interior of Juneau Laundry, 1929. Image courtesy of the Fukuyama family. City Cafe Interior with Tanaka Family, 1938. Left to right, 1st row: Alice, Teddy, Bill, Nobu; 2nd row: Shonosuke and John. Image courtesy of the Tanaka family. Takashi Kono making City Cafe meal delivery, 1940. Image courtesy of the Tanaka family. |
City Cafe and Juneau Laundry Panel
-The Empty Chair: The Forced Removal and Relocation of Juneau's Japanese, 1941-1951
-Permission to use this image may be obtained by contacting museum staff.
All images are the property of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. No image may be copied, downloaded or reproduced without the express permission of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.
All images are the property of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. No image may be copied, downloaded or reproduced without the express permission of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.