Blach Construction Celebrates Grand Opening of Tanforan Memorial Statue, Plaza

Blach Construction joined the Tanforan Assembly Center Memorial Committee to celebrate the unveiling of a historic memorial plaza and bronze statue to honor the 8,000 Bay Area residents of Japanese ancestry who were unjustly imprisoned at Tanforan “Assembly Center” during World War II.

Located at the San Bruno Bay Area Rapid Transit Station, the memorial’s ribbon cutting celebration marked the culmination of a 10-year effort by TACMC to create a permanent feature that documents and pays homage to the many people affected. Inspiration for the memorial began in 2012 with the installation of a photography exhibition featuring the work of Dorothea Lange and Paul Kitagaki, Jr. The memorial’s bronze statue brings to life one of Lange’s photographs of the young Mochida sisters on their way to Tanforan.

Blach Construction served as general contractor for the project, installing the statue and constructing elements for the plaza, including benches, seat walls and a conceptual horse stall to represent the accommodations of those detained at Tanforan. Artist Sandra J. Shaw sculpted the bronze statue, and RHAA Landscape Architects donated the design of the memorial plaza to honor their Japanese American founders. The memorial also includes bronze panels listing the name of those imprisoned at the Tanforan internment camp, as well as a multitude of historical quote markers.

Inside the San Bruno BART Station, a new long-term exhibit entitled “Tanforan Incarceration 1942: Resilience Behind Barbed Wire,” organized by the BART Art Program and curated by Na Omi Judy Shintani, opened for viewing. This exhibit replaces the prior exhibit of photos documenting the detention center that was installed to mark the 70^th anniversary of its opening.