Author: The Time Traveler

The Time Traveler is an upcoming author who holds great appreciation for both classic literature and history. The author aspires to publish historical fictions and other written works in the near future, in hopes of creating works that entertain, inform, and inspire. The author also appreciates all things aesthetic and enjoys traveling around the world to learn and observe.
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San Jose Japantown: A Hub of History (feat. Manju & More)

San Jose’s Japantown

When “Japantown” is mentioned, I think most people immediately think of the one in San Francisco. Well, at least that’s how Google seems to think according to search results. And honestly, that’s how I thought. But there’s actually another Japantown in the Bay Area, one in San Jose. Albeit smaller, it’s a town of Japanese American history, with its oldest store dating back to the 1920s. For those who aren’t familiar with San Jose Japantown, here’s a full review of the little hub of history, great sweets, and more!

San Jose Japantown, June 2025.

The Beginning

Photo of Taiyo Maru, one of the five ships that traveled from Japan to San Francisco in 1920, from the Japanese American Museum of San Jose.

Also known as “Nihonmachi” or “J Town,” San Jose Japantown sits just north of Downtown San Jose. It’s one of the last remaining historical Japantowns in the U.S. (the other two being SF’s Japantown and LA’s Little Tokyo). Its origins go back to the 1890s when the first-generation Japanese (“Issei”) single men immigrated to the Santa Clara Valley for farm and labor work. When these men first arrived, they found refuge in San Jose Chinatown (aka “Heinlenville”) that was already established nearby in 1887.

It was only years later in the early 1900s that the Nihonmachi was established, providing boarding houses, bathhouses and more for single migrant workers.

Map of old Chinatown and Japantown before 1939, displayed in the Japanese American Museum.

Arrival of Japanese Women

But after the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907 limited immigrant male workers from Japan but allowed family immigration of Japanese residents in the U.S., more Japanese women began to arrive. Many came as picture brides, and second-generation Japanese children (“Nisei”) were born, changing the landscape of the town to be more family-oriented.

From the Japanese American Museum in San Jose.

Chinatown & Pinoytown

While San Jose Japantown was growing, its neighbor Chinatown faced its demise. Due to the anti-Chinese immigration laws and the Great Depression of the 30s, Chinatown became bankrupt and was destroyed when the City of San Jose seized the land and razed it to the ground.

Heinlenville Park commemorates the San Jose Chinatown (aka “Heinlenville”) that once existed at its location.
Sheltering Wing (2021), sculpture by Roger W. Stoller.
There’s a timeline display explaining the history of San Jose’s Chinatowns and the role Mr. John Heinlen played in the formation of the last Chinatown (Heinlenville), along with commemorative plaques honoring San Jose’s Chinatowns that had existed.

As such, Japantown became the major Asian town center for the next wave of immigrants, the Filipinos, as San Jose Chinatown had once been for the first Japanese immigrants. And just as Japantown was formed near Chinatown, Pinoytown was formed near both ethnic towns.

Pinoytown mural in Japantown, by artists Jordan Gabriel and Analyn (Ana) Bones. Pinoytown thrived from the 1930s to the 1950s. Though it no longer exists, its history and memories are being shared by Filipino Americans and groups like the Filipino American National Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley.
The Filipino Community of Santa Clara County at Japantown.

From a Ghost Town to a Historical Site

But after the Imperial Japanese Navy’s infamous bombing of Pearl Harbor, all Japanese residents, including Japanese American citizens, were forced to leave their homes. About 120,000 Nikkei (people of Japanese descent) were evicted and sent to internment camps from 1942 to 1945. During this time, San Jose Japantown became a ghost town with most buildings empty.

After World War II, when everyone was allowed to return home to the West Coast, many had to begin their lives all over again after losing their lands, properties, and everything they had worked for. Through the resilience of the Japanese Americans, San Jose Japantown became, once again, the Asian town center it once was, where three generations of Japanese Americans preserved their culture and history. The town has seen ups and downs through the decades: thriving during the 50s and 60s, declining in the 70s with the passing of the Isseis, and once again seeing revivals led by the politically active third-generation Japanese Americans (“Sansei”).

San Jose Japantown Today

Today, San Jose Japantown stands strong with a history of over a hundred years. As mentioned in the beginning, it truly is a hub of history and is well-maintained so, with historical plaques and markers explaining its story through the decades since the late 1800s.

You can find these signages throughout Japantown that explain the town’s history during various decades.

And there are commemorative plaques and sculptures, like this rock sculpture erected in honor of the “Issei Pioneers”:

Plaque accompanying the rock sculpture above.

Not to mention this ingenious “historical landmarks of San Jose’s Japantown” QR project by a girl scout troop! When you scan the QR code on certain benches in J Town, you can learn more about the history behind each location.

For instance, when you scan the QR code on this bench in front of this home called the “Hori Building” with your phone, you can read more about what was once a midwifery and home of a Japanese midwife named Mito Hori.

Japanese American Museum of San Jose

But if you, like me, are not satisfied with historical signages and markers, then I highly recommend visiting the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj).

Look at these koi fish going up the steps to the museum – brilliant!
And this beautiful artwork at the entrance!

It was such a well-maintained museum detailing the history of Japanese Americans:

Through historical photographs, artifacts, replicas, and more, you can see how they first arrived in the Bay and grew a community and town in their new homeland through hard work.

Display area showing how the first-generation Japanese Americans arrived in the Bay.
Photos and artifacts of the bachelor migrants who arrived as farmers and laborers in the Santa Clara Valley, aka the Valley of Heart’s Delight.

Hardships & Injustice

The museum also shows the devastating effects Imperial Japan’s attack on the United States during World War II had on these hardworking Japanese American residents and citizens and the ensuing injustice they faced when the U.S. government failed to see and treat them as citizens and forced them into internment camps.

“WWII Incarceration” display area showing details of 10 “War Relocation Authority (WRA)” camps plus the Crystal City Interment Camp.
Miniature display of an internment camp.

Resilience

What was inspiring was just how these Japanese American residents and citizens, despite the devastation, hardship, and injustice they faced, never gave up. They never stopped working hard for their survival, for their loved ones, and for their honor. Just looking at the paintings and artworks drawn by those trapped at the internment camps and seeing their woodwork (handmade with extremely limited resources) was truly moving:

Chest of Drawers handmade by Mr. George Takeda.
Clothes dresser made by Mr. Norio K. Yamamoto.
More handmade furniture.
Beautiful artworks created by Japanese Americans at internment camps.
Each artwork was unique and powerful.

Simulation Room

Another memorable part of the museum was the Barrack, a simulation of a WWII American Barrack room at an internment camp. It was constructed by Jimi Yamaichi, carpenter, construction foreman at the Tule Lake camp, and co-founder of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose who was sent to the Tule Lake Segregation Center with his family. He lived an incredible life of persistence, of working for the community around him, and of educating others about the injustice he witnessed and lived through firsthand.

Stepping inside the replica truly brought history to life and helped me to tangibly see what the Japanese American families experienced.

Replica of a typical Barrack Room, which, I learned, housed a family of six! Even though families put up curtains, I was told that there was no privacy…
Outside the Barrack Room. I’m not sure if the exterior had been reconstructed to be historically accurate, though; I couldn’t find any info on it.

Hard Work of Issei Farmers

There was also an outside garage-like area showing the history of the Issei farmers and their lives in the Santa Clara Valley. Here is a display of a typical pre-war and early post-war Japanese American farm house:

There were historical everyday items displayed, along with photos of Issei farmers:

There was even this mochi maker! As a Korean American, I recognized it right away as it looks similar to the traditional mortar and pestle set used to create tteok. (Tteok is Korean rice cakes dating back to at least 500 BCE.)
Painting of what the view would have looked like from a typical farm house.
More historic photos of Issei farmers.

And there were actual farm tools and machines used at the time:

And this Model-T Ford, too:

I learned from this exhibit area that many of the items were from Mr. Eiichi Sakauye, co-founder of the museum. He was a successful Japanese American farmer and businessman of the Santa Clara Valley who even invented farming machines and techniques!

This exhibit of the Japanese American Farm Experience allowed me a glimpse into the hard work and determination of the pioneering Japanese Americans, including Mr. Eiichi Sakauye.

Regiment 442

I would love to watch this documentary one day!

Another section of the museum exhibit that was eye-opening was the part on Regiment 442. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was formed in 1943 and made up of mostly Nisei, second-generation Japanese Americans from both Hawaii and the mainland U.S. Fighting for the United States in Europe during World War II, the 442nd Infantry Regiment was “the most decorated unit for its size and length of service during the entire history of the U.S. military” (U.S. Army).

Map of the 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team’s Campaigns, Battles, and Contributions displayed inside the museum.

The Most Decorated Unit

As the official U.S. Army website explains, these Japanese American soldiers had to fight 2 battles – out in the warfront abroad and at home, where they weren’t treated or viewed as citizens. What’s incredible and heartbreaking at the same time is that these Japanese American soldiers fought while their families were detained at internment camps. Some Japanese Americans did refuse to get drafted and fight for a country that didn’t consider them citizens (understandably so!), but many chose to fight for the U.S., risking their lives to prove their allegiance to their country. I mean, the approximate 14,000 men fought so bravely that they “ultimately earn[ed] 9,486 Purple Hearts, 21 Medals of Honor and an unprecedented eight Presidential Unit Citations” (U.S. Army).

The Empire of Japan and its followers who were loyal to it until suicidal deaths were the ones responsible for the deaths of countless men, women, and children throughout Asia and for the deaths of American sailors, Marines, soldiers, and civilians at Pearl Harbor. It’s heartbreaking that the innocent, hardworking Japanese American citizens and residents were treated as enemies by the U.S. when they viewed their new home as their country. And all the more heartbreaking that the Japanese American men risked and sacrificed their lives to prove their innocence.

Artifacts of the 442nd Regiment soldiers, including helmets, flasks, boots and the New Testament.

Nichi Bei Bussan (Unofficial Japanese American Museum & Historic Store)

There’s also an unofficial Japanese American museum inside a store called Nichi Bei Bussan. Its translation being “Japanese-American Mercantile,” Nichi Bei Bussan’s history goes back to 1902 when Mr. Shojiro Tatsuno founded its first store in SF’s Chinatown.

The store was at Gough Street, at the intersection of Post and Buchanan Streets as a department store until Mr. Tatsuno and the other Japanese American residents and citizens were forced to leave for the internment camps. After Mr. Tatsuno and his family were able to return to their homes in California, his son Masateru took over the reopened family business in San Francisco (until it closed in 1997, after 95 years) while his other son David (a Cal alumnus!) opened a second store in San Jose in 1947.

Arlene told me that there’s a documentary about her father, Mr. David “Dave” Tatsuno, who filmed a documentary illegally with legally acquired tools on life at the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah when he and his family were interned there.

I so luckily ended up inside the 78-year-old store in San Jose and got to speak with the store’s owner, Arlene, who is Mr. David Tatsuno’s daughter. So, in addition to exploring traditional kimonos, various Japanese items from origami to tea ware and books, I got to speak with someone who was part of J Town’s story and of Japanese American history.

Portrait of a Family: The Tatsunos

Arlene’s family history was so fascinating that I think I stayed at the store for over an hour just listening. Her grandfather was the second son of a merchant family in Nagano, Japan. Since family businesses went down to the first-born sons (like how it was elsewhere throughout Asia and the West at the time (i.e. law of primogeniture)), he emigrated to San Francisco in 1893, arriving at Angel Island all by himself at the age of 21.

Arlene also showed me this book, Behind Barbed Wire, by Paul Kitagaki. He tracked down Japanese Americans in photographs taken by Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams and other photographers and took photos of them or their surviving family members decades after the old photos were taken. It took him 10 years to compile this book of photos and interviews. As described in the blurb, his photos reveal “the strength and perseverance of the subjects [and their families].”

Displayed at the unofficial history museum at Nichi Bei Bussan is Behind Barbed Wire. In the book, Arlene’s photo (taken when she was 70) is shown beside a photo of her father and grandfather when he was around 70. The photo of the Tatsunos (right before the forced relocation) taken by Dorothea Lange can be viewed HERE.

There were so many other stories Arlene shared with me about her grandfather, father, and brother that I cannot write them all here. If you are a Japanese American or someone who loves history, I highly recommend hearing them from Arlene yourself, especially about her brother Rod!

Rod Masatoshi Tatsuno carried the Olympic Torch on its way from Nagano, Japan to Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Sweets, Coffee, and More

San Jose Japantown has other places to visit aside from its official and unofficial history museums. Here are my top four spots:

1. Shuei-do Manju Shop

Manjus are traditional Japanese sweets. Its origins can be traced back to when Japanese Buddhist monks/envoys brought over the Chinese mantou or “steamed buns” during the Kamakura period (1185-1333). The mantou evolved to suit Japanese tastes and became the distinct, sweet manju as it’s known and enjoyed today.

Photo of the manju menu board.

Shuei-do Manju Shop has been making their manjus since 1953. They’re so good that they were specifically requested for Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan in 1994 when they visited the U.S.

From bottom left to right, clockwise: yomogi, kinako, brown inaka, and green tea manju.
White inkaka, habutai, white manju, and monaka.
Green tea manju, chi chi dango (raspberry flavor), kinako, pink white, peanut butter, and pink tsubu.

Everyone I know have approved of Shuei-do Manju’s high quality. ⚠️But here are a few things to be aware of:

  • They have irregular hours, only open from Thursdays to Sundays, from 10AM to 4PM.
  • The butter mochi is only available on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
  • I think some items are seasonal, as they were always unavailable when I visited this summer (i.e. kuri and peanut).
  • If you want to try all the flavors or specific flavors, you need to come early (i.e. right when it opens) as items get sold out throughout the day. Here’s the menu board one day in the afternoon:

The price for a 6 piece manju box (any manjus of your choice) was $15. I think it’s a reasonable price for one of the best manju shops.

9/30/2025 Update: If you want to get a taste of Shuei-do Manju but can’t make it all the way to San Jose, fear not! You can get them in San Francisco, too. Kissako Tea in SF Japantown sells Shuei-do manjus during the weekends, so you can get them while you try Kissako Tea’s onigiris and treats.

2. Roy’s Station Coffee & Tea

This Japantown coffeeshop has everything: coffee, tea, food, and history. It’s a family-owned cafe that once was a Mobil gas station called, “Bill & Doug’s Gas Station” that opened in 1938. It was then taken over and operated by Mr. Roy Murotsune for 50 years as Roy’s gas station after he returned from the internment camps.

Photos of what the coffee shop looked like when it was a gas station, along with a photo and drawing of Mr. Roy Murotsune.

Mr. Murotsune, his wife Esther, and their families were part of San Jose’s Japantown since the early orchards days. In 2009, their children and grandchildren transformed the old station into Roy’s Station Coffee & Teas, which has been bringing the J Town community together every morning ever since.

Inside Roy’s Station.

I kid not when I say this coffee shop has everything: they have merchandise, good wifi, and this retro coke machine that actually works! I simply had to try it out and I did:

It says online that the coffee shop opens at 8 AM every day, but the doors were open with customers ordering when I got there at 7:50 AM. Roy’s Station seemed like a community favorite, even approved by this stray cat named Panda. (I was told that this stray cat always comes by to chill. And yes, I was told “Panda” was his name!)

Roy’s Station gets a stamp of approval from Panda, too! 🐼

3. tōno coffee project

A little off the heart of Japantown is a recently built apartment called, “Exhibit at Jtown.” And on its first floor is “tōno coffee project,” which I have designated as one of the best matcha spots in the South Bay!

I chanced upon this place one day when I was having serious match cravings and I happened to be around the area. I have not yet tried their coffee (which, considering their name, I really should), but I can say with total confidence that the matcha latte at tōno is really good. If you are a matcha connoisseur, you may have at times encountered and not liked matcha latte that’s all milk and barely any matcha. Well, at tōno coffee, you can savor the thick and rich matcha flavor as it flows down your throat oh-so-smoothly.

Iced matcha latte at tōno coffee project. 💚But the drink was small in size compared to the price ($7). But then, again, since it’s exquisitely good, I can see why.

tōno coffee project is open from Thursday to Sunday, from 9 AM to 5PM.

Within a short walking distance from tōno is this little resting area/park with cool wall arts.

Outdoor street art park next to Exhibit at Jtown. If I remember correctly, there was this plaque commemorating “The Chinese Methodist Episcopal Church,” which, I think I read, had disbanded.
There were other wall arts, but I loved this one by Kevin Lyons the most. Isn’t it cute and fun?

4. Santo Market

“Serving San Jose since 1946,” Santo Market is a family-operated grocery store. Interestingly, you can’t go inside the actual market; you need to order from outside and pick up the grocery items/food/beverage at the counter when it’s ready:

I tried their tuna shoyu poke salad ($14). Though I can’t really compare it to poke in Hawaii as I’ve yet to visit, the tuna shoyu poke salad was good, especially the seasoning of the tuna shoyu:

The store is open from Tuesday to Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. But I highly recommend that you visit on a Tuesday or a Saturday when they have their scrumptious strawberry mochi!

The strawberry mochi (pack of 2) is an absolute delight: there’s juicy strawberry with sweet red bean paste inside a soft, chewy layer of pink mochi.

It’s so good that when I went the first time to Santo Market on a Tuesday morning around 10 AM, all the strawberry mochis had sold out! The cashier told me that people line up since 8 a.m. for the mochi and they sell out at around 9:15.

And sure enough, when I visited another Tuesday at 8:15 a.m., there was a line already. And by 9 AM (opening time), there was a long line:

Long line at Santo Market before the store even opened…

One pack of “Fresh Strawberry Mochi” (consisting of 2 pieces) was $6. Despite waiting in line for about an hour before the store opened, a bite of it made it all worth it. 🍓

*Per their Instagram account, Santo Market seems to not have strawberry mochi on some Saturdays. Be sure to check their IG page before your visit!

Places To Buy Souvenirs

If you’re visiting J Town in San Jose and want to buy souvenirs (while supporting local businesses), I recommend the following spots:

1. Nichi Bei Bussan

The unofficial history museum/store mentioned earlier has a plethora of new and vintage consignment items full of Japanese culture and history.

Inside Nichi Bei Bussan.
I adored those little plates with fruit and flower drawings on them!

I ended up splurging on these vintage items:

Copies of Nagasaki Harbor Light: An English Language Monthly. They just seemed like such fascinating historical sources to read.
Vintage postcards of Kyoto, “Fine Views of Kyoto.”

2. Kogura Co

Kogura Company is another historical store owned by a Japanese American family, passed down multiple generations. It was established by Mr. Kohei Kogura in 1928, so it’ll be turning 100 in 2028! According to its official website, it has been in its current location in 1934, and so, is “the oldest business to occupy its original location in any Japantown in the United States.”

Books on San Jose Japantown’s history are sold at Kogura.
I really liked being in this little ceramics corner at the store.

Unlike Nichi Bei Bussan, I think none of the items at Kogura are consignment. And there were also more souvenir-like items on sale.

And this neat sushi-shark sculpture!

Shark wrapped in sushi:🦈roll.

Per this flyer explaining the history behind “Sushi Shark,” San Jose held a city-wide art event in 2001 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of San Jose Sharks. Illustrator and artist Doug Wright was selected to build a 3-D sculpture for J Town, and so he designed and built the above Sushi Shark. Sushi Shark has even appeared in Olympic Torch Runs! Apparently, it’s permanent home is now Kogura Co.

There were these postcards of Sushi Shark for sale at Kogura, so I couldn’t resist getting some.

Stickers, pins, and postcards at Kogura Co.
The illustrations on both postcards are by Tamiko Rast. Sushi Shark (2014) was created to honor her uncle, Dough Wright. Fun fact: Tamiko is Mr. Roy Murotsune’s granddaughter! Talk about generations of a family contributing to their community!

3. Empire Seven Studios

Next stop, we have Empire Seven Studios, an art gallery and gift shop next to Exhibit at Jtown and tōno coffee project. After getting your coffee/matcha latte from tōno, you can walk over to Empire Seven to view artworks by various artists and maybe even purchase their merch.

My personal favorites were these:

“Pet Store” by Kristina Micotti, an award-winning illustrator whose artworks are also sold at SFMOMA Museum Store.
Floral paintings by Lacey Bryant and Ceramic Frogs by Cynthia Gonzalez.
I don’t know who designed and made them, but these face sculptures were so unique and their titles hilarious!

I got this San Jose Japantown sticker from Empire Seven Studios:

4. Japanese American Museum of San Jose

Of course, the Japanese American Museum of San Jose also had a small gift shop.

Gift shop inside JAMsj.

I ended up purchasing these two Hokusai postcards, as they reminded me of the Japanese American immigrant farmers.

Besides the four places shared above, there are so many other spots to buy souvenirs from. Shuei-do Manju Shop and Roy’s Station Coffee & Tea each have their own merchandise for sale. Plus, there are stores that sell ukuleles! (I think there are these ukulele stores and several poke spots (like Santo Market) in J Town because of the deep ties between Japanese Americans and Hawaii, as the early immigrants who didn’t settle in California mostly settled in Hawaii.)

Conclusion

Compared to SF Japantown, San Jose Japantown has less shops, restaurants, and activity in general. But this community-based town is a great place to immerse oneself in Japanese American history while visiting historic stores and museums and getting high-quality Japanese sweets and more.

Resilient Like the Plum Blossom

The symbol of J Town in San Jose is a plum blossom. In Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cultures, plum blossoms symbolize resilience, perseverance, and hope, as they bloom in early spring after enduring the harsh conditions of winter.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Like the plum blossom, Japanese Americans of the past centuries endured the challenges of immigration and then great injustice when their mother country attacked their new country, the United States, and when the country they saw as their home viewed and treated them as aliens and enemies. Despite being forcibly removed and incarcerated in internment camps for three years, the Japanese American residents and citizens never stopped working hard: men fought for the U.S. during WWII to prove their loyalty and integrity and families persevered when they had to build their lives all over again.

San Jose Japantown is a testament to their pioneering courage, inspiring hard work, and moving resilience like the plum blossom.

Photo by Xinyi Wen.

P.S. I learned that while the Japanese immigrants (like other ethnic immigrants) faced discrimination when they arrived in the Bay, they were welcomed by some Americans. It says on the Japanese American Citizens League San Jose Chapter website that the Americans of the Methodist church were one of those who welcomed them, and that’s why some Japanese Americans became Methodists and founded the Wesley United Methodist Church in 1895.

The Wesley United Methodist Church founded by Issei Christians. The first church structure at this site was built in 1913.

P.P.S. There is this miniature replica of San Jose Japantown inside Nichi Bei Bussan. It doesn’t cover all of J Town but still is such a neat representation of the historic town.

Miniature replica of San Jose Japantown, 5th St and Jackson St, 2024. Inside Nichi Bei Bussan, July 2025.
Look at the mini Shuei-do Manju Shop (blue banner)…
…and there’s Roy’s Station Coffee & Tea!

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BART Appreciation Art – BARTolomew

A few months ago, there was a call for artworks on the Bay Area Rapid Transit system. The BART Art Program invited local artists to submit their artworks to be shared in various public spaces like train stations. Though I learned about this exciting opportunity too late, I still created an artwork to show my appreciation for the public transit system that I’ve frequented these past several years since coming to the Bay Area.

BART train, September 2025.

Voila! Ladies and gentlemen, I present you, BARTolomew:

BARTolomew, Digital Art by The Time Traveler, 2025.

P.S. Aside from the art event, BART hosts other fun events throughout the year. This September, special stickers were given out for the All Aboard Transit Day on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. But they weren’t handed out at every BART station, and I had to search hard to get one of these:

If you want to participate, I suggest following BART on social media for all the details & latest updates. Here’s the link to their Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/sfbayarearapidtransit/?hl=en

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Lick Mill & Mansion: Remnants of History Amongst Apartments

Mansion Grove Apartments

I traveled to Santa Clara, CA for the first time recently. And while down there, I visited an apartment complex called Mansion Grove. It’s located near the VTA Headquarters, Samsung, Cisco and other big companies.

The gated community features fountains, pools, a community garden, playground, tennis and basketball courts, and a fitness center. It even has a quaint cottage that residents can borrow for their families and friends. (With a fee, of course!)

Mansion Grove’s leasing office.
Little park and fountain by the leasing office.
Community garden and tennis court.
Fountain and the Cottage that residents can rent for their guests.

I was walking around this peaceful and rather large apartment complex when I spotted the following:

On the left is a circular brick building and on the right is a white wooden structure that looks like a mansion.

Even at a quick glance, these buildings didn’t seem like they belonged there. Though they sit right inside the gated community, something about them had too much of that historical charm. But the most I imagined was that they were old facility buildings from a previous apartment company. Never did I imagine that they were buildings of the richest man in California back in the 19th century!!!

The Lick Mill and Mansion.

James Lick: The Man

Portrait of James Lick
 (August 25, 1796 – October 1, 1876). Ca. 1870.
From the Library Company of Philadelphia.

When I finally got down to researching about the mysterious buildings, I was surprised to find that they were built and owned by a man named James Lick. According to Wikipedia, he was an “American real estate investor, carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences.”

He was born in 1796 in Fredericksburg (née Stumpstown) in Pennsylvania to Pennsylvanian Dutch parents. His grandfather was a German immigrant who served in the Revolutionary War and his father was a carpenter. After learning the family trade and how to make pianos in Baltimore, Maryland, he built his own shop in New York City. In 1821 at the age of 25, he moved to Argentina, where his piano-making business was successful.

Old photo of Main Street in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania, circa early 20th century.
From the Matthews Public Library.

His Early Years

As I researched on, it was astounding to see all the drama he faced so early on in his life! Not only did he fall in love with a woman named Barbara Snavely, have his only child with her and never marry, but he also was taken as a prisoner of war at one point. He was coming back to Buenos Aires from his trip to Europe when the Portuguese captured the ship he was on. He had to escape on foot!

After the dramatic escape, he moved from Argentina to Chile due to the political instability at the time and then from Chile to Peru. He then decided to settle in California. In 1848, just a few days before the historic discovery of gold, James Lick arrived in San Francisco.

How the City’s Mission Bay looked like back in November 1848. Illustration by Bayard Taylor. From the British Library. 

What’s also fascinating is that James Lick’s friend and neighbor back from his time in Peru was Domingo Ghirardelli! And apparently, Lick told Ghirardelli to move to San Francisco. Ghirardelli made his name and fortune selling chocolate while Lick made his buying real estate.

Portrait of Domingo Ghirardelli by Gustavo Luzzati.
c. 1899. From the National Portrait Gallery.

Feats of the Richest Man in California

Illustration of the hotel Lick House by William Laird MacGregor, c. 1876.
Published by the S.F. News Company. From the California History Society.

James Lick was at one point the richest man in California, owning large areas of Santa Clara County and San Francisco, land around Lake Tahoe, a large ranch in Los Angeles County, and all of Santa Catalina Island!

He built a grand hotel called Lick House, which sadly burned down in the fire following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Aside from the ostentatious hotel that was destroyed by the fire, Lick had also…

  • donated to the University of California for the construction of the Lick Observatory,
  • built free public baths called the James Lick Baths,
  • founded the California School of Mechanic Arts,
  • erected bronze statues before the San Francisco City Hall,
  • built a memorial to Francis Scott Key (author of the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”) in the Golden Gate Park,
  • and contributed to the Conservatory of Flowers. (Lick had intended the Conservatory of Flowers for San Jose but it ended up being purchased by San Franciscans and placed in the Golden Gate Park.)
Photo of the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park in 1895.
From the Western Neighborhoods Project.

The Lick Observatory

Photogravure of the Lick Observatory, c. 1900. From D. Appleton & Company.

The Lick Observatory was “the largest philanthropic gift in the history of science.” It began its operations in 1888 (Regents of the University of California). It was “the first permanently staffed mountain-top observatory” and “the world’s largest refracting telescope” at the time (University of California). There were groundbreaking discoveries and innovations made at the Lick Observatory, including…

  • “Albert Michelson’s use of interferometry to measure the size of Jupiter’s moons,”
  • Edward Emerson Barnard’s discovery of Jupiter’s fifth moon,
  • creation of a “photographic atlas of the moon,”
  • James Keeler’s study of the spectra of stars,
  • the discovery of “unimaginably large numbers of galaxies,”
  • Robert Trumpler’s “confirmation of the general theory of relativity,”
  • “studies of star clusters,”
  • and the discovery “that dark matter absorbs light in space.”

The Lick Observatory sits on Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose. Surprisingly, it’s also where James Lick is buried. The observatory sounds like a must-visit spot for historians and scientists alike!

Photo of the Lick Observatory by C. C. Pierce, ca.1904-1909.
From the California Historical Society.

The James Lick Mill

Per the City of Santa Clara website, this mill is a “a four-stone, water-powered flour mill” built in 1855.

Here’s a plaque placed by the order of the Santa Clara City Council:

According to the plaque, the flour mill was powered by the water from the Guadalupe River. It was converted into California’s first paper mill in 1873 and in 1882, a fire destroyed the original mill. So, the building standing today isn’t the original built by James Lick. In 1902, the newly-built mill became a plant for alcohol manufacture and in 1987, the building was included in the historic trust zone.

Photo showing how the Lick Mill and its surrounding area looked like back in 1905 on an information board in the Ulistac Natural Area.

The James Lick Mansion

Next to the mill stands the mansion. It was “constructed in 1858 and contains a lovely mahogany interior,” which I could not see as the mansion is not open to the public.

The front door. I SO wanted to get a good tour of the interior! For the time being, I am content with finding these photos shared by the Library of Congress.

It was a well-built, pretty structure with decorative yet simple designs.

And near the mansion was another plaque specifically for the Lick Mansion:

Here’s a close-up of the plaque “placed by order of the Santa Clara City Council”:

Per the plaque, this mansion has been built in “Italianate” style and with native redwood. And all 24 rooms have “imported marble fire places”! 👀

Reason Behind the Mansion

The mansion was large, even by today’s standards. And that got me thinking how, perhaps, James Lick would have felt lonely living in it by himself. When I read about the reason why he had built the mansion, I really think he would have been.

Once the construction of the mill was completed, Lick invited his only son, John Henry, to live with him in a small cabin he had. His son was 37 year’s old and had never met his father before! When he arrived, he let his estranged father know that his mother, Barbara Snavely, had passed away a few years ago.

Portrait of John Henry Lick (1818-1891),
only son of James Lick. Dated 1863.
From Matthews Public Library.

According to this snippet from James Lick’s biography, The Generous Miser, (shared HERE), James Lick couldn’t marry her because her father, a local miller and farmer, deemed him too poor at the time. The source shares that James Lick sent photos of the mill to Barabra’s father after it was built, which just shows how he never got over the refusal.

So this man couldn’t marry the woman he wanted to marry, met the child they had together when the said-child was 37, and never remarried. What’s all the more sad is that apparently, he built the Lick Mansion “in hopes of improving their [he and his son’s] relationship” (Misch and Stone 1998). It’s heartbreaking to read that their relationship didn’t improve, and so Lick didn’t bother to furnish the house properly.

John Henry went back to Pennsylvania in 1863 and only returned just before his father passed away.

Next to the Guadalupe River

Various sources mentioned that the Lick Mill and Mansion were located next to the Guadalupe River. I didn’t know just how close the two actually were to the river! They’re literally right next to it:

The Guadalupe River and the Lick Mansion in 2025.
There’s a biking trail and gates of the Mansion Grove apartments in between.

The Rich Yet Lonely Man

Guadalupe River up close.

Despite the wealth and opportunities James Lick had, he lived such a lonely life. He had someone he wanted to marry but couldn’t and a child he couldn’t become close to.

After reading about the reasons behind the construction of the mill and mansion (and the negligence of the latter), I can’t help but think how affected James Lick was by the things that weren’t granted to him.

One might say he would have had his friends. But apparently, many of his contemporaries thought him eccentric. On top of that, rich people are fully aware that most people approach them for their money. So I think it’s likely that he didn’t really have deep friendships.

James Lick was granted uncommon wealth, power and influence but not what he may have truly longed for: a family.

Ephemerality of the World

Chancing upon James Lick’s mill and mansion in the middle of the Mansion Grove apartment complex just made me realize, again, how transient everything in the world is. Yes, there are schools (i.e. James Lick High School, James Lick Middle School, and Lick-Wilmerding High School), as well as a street, park, freeway, and light rail station (i.e. Lick Mill Blvd, Lick Mill Park, James Lick Freeway, and Lick Mill Station) named in his honor.

VTA light rail station.

I mean, there is a crater on the Moon, an asteroid, a village, and even a species of lizard commemorating him! But most people don’t even know who he was. I chanced upon his mansion and mill in the middle of a modern apartment complex and only found out about his life after doing research on my own.

It doesn’t matter if someone was or is the richest person in California. Everyone fades into obscurity, albeit some leave behind names and/or contributions. James Lick did both, leaving behind his name and making big contributions to the public and to the sciences. And yet, he had also become a part of the oblivion of everyone and everything that once was and were.

Lick Monument, ca. 1876.
In Cedar Hill Cemetery in Fredericksburg, PA.
From Matthews Public Library.

As a practicing Christian, this reality affirms my belief: nothing in this world prevails except for God’s Word that continues to change minds, hearts, and souls:

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of our God endures forever.”

Isaiah 40:8
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Matthew 24:35

Historical Site Neglected

And as a historian, seeing the mill and mansion of someone so significant to California’s history left as they are in the middle of the apartment complex (next to a parking lot!) is just sad to say the least.

Well… At the very least, the mansion and mill are noted in the apartment map.

P.S. I just realized – it’s called “Mansion Grove” because of the Lick Mansion! 🤯

P.P.S. Here are more posts where history and travel intersect:

P.P.P.S. And here are some aesthetic photos of the Lick Mansion to finally wrap up this post:

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Mission Dolores: A Lovely Chapel of History at the Heart of SF❤️

California missions hold a special place in my heart. I think it’s because I love history so much, to the point of majoring in it in college, that structures dating back to early Californian history mesmerize me so. And because I grew up near one, I have this unfounded affinity towards California’s twenty-one missions.

I remember first reading about them in a history textbook back when I was in elementary school. Then shortly after, when I was in fifth grade, I believe, I got to visit Mission San Juan Capistrano on a field trip. It was such a treat to step foot on the historical site. Reading about the place and then seeing remnants of where Native Americans and Spanish missionaries had once lived blew me away: it was like history coming alive.

After years of mostly focusing on visiting the best coffee spots and bakeries of the Bay, it occurred to me that I hadn’t visited any of its missions. And so, I finally embarked on a journey to Misión San Francisco de Asís, aka Mission Dolores.

⛪Getting to Mission Dolores

To get to Mission Dolores from Berkeley, I rode BART and then MUNI to get to Mission Dolores Park. (As someone who has traveled in San Francisco for some time now, I recommend avoiding the BART stations near Mission Dolores and instead using MUNI or the bus to get to the Park or the Mission directly.)

The gorgeous structure (shown below) right next to the Park was not Mission Dolores; it was a high school named after the Mission.

After a few minutes’ walk, I arrived at the intersection of 16th and Dolores Streets:

When I first saw the structures before me, I had thought that the beautifully-carved beige building was the Mission itself. But I soon discovered that the smaller chapel on the left was the actual Mission founded in 1776 (year of the Declaration of Independence!) and the ostentatious structure on the right was the “Mission Dolores Basilica” that was built much later in 1918 after the 1906 earthquake.

I arrived at 10 AM sharp to explore the sixth Californian mission established under Father Junipero Serra. (The mission is open every day, from 10 AM to 4 PM, EXCEPT for Mondays!) And as announced, the entrance door opened exactly at 10.

For an admission fee of $10 (1 adult), I got to enter through the gift shop to the chapel, view the sanctuary, go out to the area right next to the basilica, through a small museum, out to the cemetery, and then arrive back at the gift shop.

Update 8/27/2025: When I visited another morning (to purchase my Missions Passport), I got to hear the church bells ring!

Update 9/30/2025: But I was told that the bells are supposed to ring only during Mass times. So if you want to hear them ring, visit when Masses are scheduled!

⛪Inside the Historical Chapel

Mission Dolores was a small but lovely chapel, with historical facts about the building, the Spanish missionaries, and the Native Americans placed here and there along with a replica of what it would have looked like back around 1791.

This diorama, displayed in the Mission today, was created for the 1939 World’s Fair on Treasure Island.

What’s noteworthy about Mission Dolores is that it’s the oldest intact building in San Francisco! And it’s the only intact Mission Chapel of the 21 missions created under the direction of Father Junipero Serra.

According to the official pamphlet that was given out, the building still has its original redwood logs, held together with rawhide, supporting the roof.

The informational pamphlet I received after purchasing my admission ticket.
The chapel and sanctuary.
The repainted ceilings of “original Ohlone Indian designs done with vegetable dyes”:

The reredos (decorative altars) and the side altars were all crafted in Mexico, arriving in 1796 and then in 1810.

Side altars on the left and right of the sanctuary.

⛪Museum & Cemetery

Past the chapel, the diorama, basilica, and covered walkway is a one-room museum that used to be a classroom. There were historical artifacts like clothing and items of the Ohlone Indians and Spanish missionaries inside glass displays.

Inside the one-room museum.
“An original iron key that opened the large doors of Mission Dolores.”
Cool Native American artifacts!

Once you exit the little museum, you get to the cemetery. In the middle stands a statue of Junipero Serra sculpted by Arthur Putnam, the famous Californian sculptor. The cemetery is also a garden, with roses gifted by the Golden Gate Rose Society growing here and there along with “traditional native trees, shrubs, flowers, and plants from the 1791 period” (Official Mission Dolores Website).

Statue of Junipero Serra sculpted by Arthur Putnam.

Also, the cemetery has an “Ohlone Indian ethno-botanic garden and examples of Native American plants and artifacts.” I think the biggest said Native American artifact in the garden is the hut behind the statue.

It was mind-blowing to think that the thousands of Ohlone, Miwok, and other First Californians who built and founded the Mission were resting underneath the very grounds I was walking around.

You leave the cemetery/garden by going back into the gift shop, through which you exit the Mission.

⛪Gift Shop

Inside the gift shop, there seemed to be more gifts for practicing Catholics (like rosaries and portraits of different saints) than items for tourists.

Inside the gift shop.

Some of the more general items for tourists included magnets, postcards, and these beautiful California Missions tiles:

I ended up getting the following to commemorate my visit to Mission Dolores:

Poster and mini photo booklet showing the 21 California missions plus a “Mission Dolores” magnet. PERFECT for history lovers!

Update 8/27/2025: I didn’t know when I first visited Mission Dolores, but this mission is one of the 10 missions where you can purchase your California Missions Passport. What’s a “California Missions Passport”? HERE is everything you need to know!)

You can’t get it at the other 11, so I highly suggest that you get it while you’re visiting Mission Dolores if you’re interested!

⛪Conclusion: So Worth a Visit!

Mission San Francisco de Asis was a nice historical site to visit – I’d recommend it to anyone who hasn’t been there yet. As a history buff, I’d drop by again and definitely check out the interior of the basilica that I couldn’t view properly. But there were a few things that could be improved. Some of them are…

  1. bigger pamphlet with more information and photos,
  2. maybe an interactive media or slideshow inside the museum,
  3. and lastly but certainly not least, a better restroom for tourists! The restroom at the Mission were blue, plastic containers out in the parking lot. 🙁

But considering the fact that the Mission “receives no public funds” and “rely completely on…voluntary offerings,” it’s completely understandable. Plus, taking that fact into consideration, the Mission is in great shape and doing a great job promoting its history.

P.S. There are loads of great bakeries and coffee spots nearby the Mission. Some of my personal favorites are Tartine Bakery, Craftsman and Wolves, and Stonemill Matcha, which all deserve their own appreciation posts!

P.P.S. Here are some more aesthetic photos of Mission Dolores! ⛪❤️

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From, The Time Traveler

I wrote a piece for The Fool’s World magazine at the Raleigh Review Playhouse Office. As “The Time Traveler,” I thought my writing on time travels would be perfect to submit as a travel story. Alas, it was rejected by the “literary travel guide.” Nonetheless, I thought I’d share it here on Lit Time Travel since it sums up why I call myself “The Time Traveler” and why I continue to and aspire to write.

Photograph by Jordan Madrid

From, The Time Traveler

            As countless many others dream of doing, I would love to travel to wherever I want at any given time of the year. I would go everywhere, from cosmopolitan cities to rundown historic sites, and do everything I want to do, from sipping dark roast drip at my go-to café to witnessing nature at its purest and its grandest. And maybe one day, I will be one of those lucky globetrotters who get to go everywhere and share their journeys while everyone else sit in their homes and view the world through their eyes. But until then, I’ve decided to resort to time traveling.

            It was actually a decision made quite early on in my life, when I was mature enough to realize my (and most everyone else’s) reality. We’re planted like little seeds in the wide round pot of the world, given light and rain to sprout and connect with the other sprouts around us. It’s a wonderful thing, really, to be given a tiny spot in the world to learn, grow, and spread roots. But some seeds like me want to move around. And when one’s dreams and desires don’t match one’s reality, it can be frustrating to say the least. So, what can a seed that wants to explore the world do when it can’t? Time travel.

            As an experienced time traveler, allow me to share some of the ins and outs of the art. First, there are different modes of time traveling. Yes, you heard that right. One mode is the time traveling done through recollections and imaginations. Everyone has done this, though some have more mastery over it than others. It’s when a person is taken back in time within one’s mind, reliving the words and emotions stored inside, or when a person is propelled forward to the hopes and/or fears of the future. What I mean by mastery or the lack of is that most people do this time traveling involuntarily and unexpectedly, when a word or an image triggers their memories or stirs images of days to come.

            To be honest, I haven’t mastered this mode of time travel: I go forward in time without my realizing and sometimes I have to grapple my way back to the present. But as for the going back in time, I feel quite confident. I can close my eyes and go back to my favorite place: my hometown in Seoul that I left when I was eight. Though it still physically exists exactly where it was twenty years ago, my hometown that I had left has since disappeared. Though I can still look it up online and enjoy satellite photos of the place from different angles, the air is different, breathed by people I don’t recognize. The apartments that are lined up like books have new paint on them, and everything that was so familiar and comforting – my favorite stationery store, our village playground that was literally just a crude and very dangerous metal installation, and my favorite TV programs that aired in the evenings – they’re all gone. And I’m as unfamiliar to my hometown as it is to me.

            But I still have the place inside me, and so I go back to it sometimes. When life becomes quite hard to bear, I close my eyes and go back. Pretend that the helicopters outside the townhouse I’m living in are the helicopters that roamed above the apartments. Imagine that outside my door isn’t the hallway to the building but the dining room of my childhood home, where my mom is cooking dinner and setting the table at the same time. Standing in her view is my dad, who has just come home from work. It’s dark outside and I think the first snow of the year is falling beyond the glass window that’s decorated with Christmas lights. Red, green, and yellow lights blink to the sound of my sister and I, who are giggling and jumping around my dad, who is smiling his gentle and kind smile. I see myself, the younger and livelier version of me – running to my mom and telling her what Dad just said. Then I see the little girl sliding her way back to the living room where my dad and sister are, where the big box of a TV is on, near a Santa doll that moves when you clap at it. And I see that this girl, who is as tall as my waist, is overwhelmed with something that is unmistakenly pure joy as she moves her body side to side like she’s dancing to silent music.

            There are side effects to this mode of time travel. For one, it may cause melancholy and nostalgia hard to get over. So, the other mode of travel that I find myself leaning towards more often is the mode done through words. It’s the travel done when a person reads words on a page and is, as testified by so many bibliophiles, transported mentally to a different era, location, and world, even. For instance, I’ve traveled all over the place across all time periods, including Ancient Egypt, Rome, Judea, and colonial Connecticut, thanks to history textbooks, historical fiction, and even sources like diaries, journals, and letters. Some words, like those found in science fiction or fantasy, introduce the reader to new places of endless possibilities: a world where there’s a school for wizards and witches, a world engineered to have no pain or suffering, or a dystopian world that’s worse than the one we’re living in. This type of time travel really has no side effects aside from the fact that the traveler might lose sense of time. But how great is it that you can visit the Incan Empire all from the comfort of your home, sitting on a sofa? No flight tickets, things to remember to pack, or any other thing to consider; just an hour or two to delve inside the words on the pages. Another perk is the fact that you can visit the Incan Empire at its prime, without all the ruins, and meet people from the era when it thrived.

            I think another great aspect of this mode is that it allows one to travel inside another’s mind, not just to a place, time, or world. The words take one inside the thoughts of the writer or the narrator and in the process, one gets to explore experiences and perspectives one never knew or even thought about. What better way to learn to empathize and become aware of others and not just yourself? And what great way to realize that the world is so much bigger than just yourself and those around you and to find out that you are not alone in your experience, whatever it may be? But if your life is truly a one-of-a-kind story, how wonderful is it that you can write and share to the world and connect with those who felt something from your words? And so, I propose that we all learn to time travel, not just to travel anywhere at any time but so that we empathize, understand, and connect.

            From,

            The Time Traveler

Thanks for reading!

Photographs by Annie Spratt

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Javier Zamora’s Solito: A Memoir Like No Other

Although frequenting bookstores is a great hobby of mine, I try my best not to buy more books. For one thing, I have too many books to read at home that I haven’t gotten to yet. And my other reason for banning myself from impulsive book purchases is the fact that I can, and should, make more usage of libraries that abound nearby. Yet, I recently bought myself another book: Javier Zamora’s Solito.

I have a tendency to read genres I naturally gravitate towards, like historical fiction, classics, and young adult fantasies. So getting a copy of Solito: A Memoir was an out of the ordinary decision. (And, might I add, choosing to read the nonfiction for a book club amidst a jam-packed schedule was almost a form of self-torture.)

Despite the stacks of unread books haunting me at home along with the unusuality and impracticality of my decision, I so, so do not regret it.

Because Javier Zamora’s Solito is a memoir like no other.

Synopsis of Solito:

Solito narrates the true story of Javier Zamora when he was just nine-years-old and the journey he made from El Salvadaor across Guatemala and Mexico to the United States to reunite with his parents who had migrated before him. It details Javier’s life before, during, and after the long, dangerous “trip,” the people he had to leave behind as well as those he met along the way.

Photo by Beau Horyza.

Reflections

I didn’t know what to expect from this book other than the fact that it was going to be a story about a boy who immigrates to the states. Never did I imagine how detailed, how honest the account was going to be. Not only did it record every bit of the innocence and vulnerability of Javier Zamora’s younger self, but also it zoomed in on the immigrant experience, specifically those of migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexican border. It revealed how illegal immigration isn’t just a term and concept but a streak of hope for people who aren’t simply “criminals” or “lawbreakers” but rather individuals trying to survive. Many of whom, like Javier, Chino, Patricia, and Carla, are trying to reunite with their families in the land of opportunity and hope.

For someone like me who doesn’t know anyone who has crossed the border to come to the states or have read any accounts detailing such journeys, Solito was, to say the least, eye-opening. I never knew the details of these long journeys, and how they were matters of life or death, success or failure, joy or despair, and reunion or separation.

One of my fellow book club member pointed out that this story focuses on one boy and the people around him, which is just a small fraction of the countless undocumented immigrants and numerous migrants who don’t make it to their desired destinations. Her statement made me realize how many other stories of success, failure, misfortune, and grief we don’t know about.

Photo by Lisha Riabinina.

Innocence of a Child

Photo by Aaron Burden.

What was painful to notice was the innocence of the author before the great journey and his loss of it afterwards. The nine-year-old Javier refers to his upcoming journey to the states as a “trip.” That’s what all the adults around him referred it to. He knows neither better nor what to expect.

But slowly, the “trip” becomes more than just a trip Javier embarks on to reunite with his parents. It’s saying good-bye to everything he loves, his home and family in El Salvador, to his friends, school, and everything he knew all his life. Suddenly meeting a group of strangers who he needs to depend on and pretend to be families with. Riding hours-long bus and boat rides. Living like a shadow hiding from the locals, stuck inside some dark shelters. Pretending to be Mexican, getting caught and having guns pointed at by soldiers. Walking across deserts for days, under the scorching sun without water and in the middle of the freezing night.

And Loss There Of

Initially, Javier repeatedly refers to the “cadejito.” According to his grandfather, this legendary creature would protect and guide Javier. He prays to it throughout the journey (for instance, on page 79 and 82).

But on page 323, Javier says to himself:

“Last time, I listened for Cadejo’s whistle; now I know for sure he doesn’t exist. Bad things keep happening. He’s just a myth. Just like Marcelo, Cajedo is full of lies. If Cadejo was real, we wouldn’t have gotten caught. Patricia wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Coco Liso would still be here with us. Our prayers haven’t helped either.”

It was heartbreaking to see this transition, from Javier believing in the cadejo to his losing faith and innocence. To watch this young boy (more sensitive than an average nine-year-old per description, I think) undergo hardship after hardship that is overwhelming even to an adult.

Photo by Tim Marshall.

Beautiful Imagery

Photo by Tom Gainor.

Javier Zamora immerses the readers into his deepest memories not only through the raw details but also through his talented use of imagery.

I mean, just take a look at this scene where Javier parts ways with his grandfather:

We stand by the road, the banana trees on either side, raindrops still on the leaves, sliding down, dropping to the ground. It rained earlier in the day, but these drops haven’t evaporated. Grandpa’s eyes are doing the same, trying to hold his tears inside their corners (Zamora 71).

And his descriptions of the desert are beautiful and ingenious at the same time:

Everything is awake. The moon lights the ground silver and blue. Wispy clouds dance in the sky, white ones that look like silk. With this wind and with this lighting – the blue, the grays – it feels like the bottom of the ocean… The grass is seaweed. The cactuses are coral. We’re looking through a submarine’s small circular window… On top, the clouds are sea foam. The ground sparkles with seashells and pearls (Zamora 298).

Child’s Imagination

Another thing that struck out to me (and I appreciated very much) were the imaginative descriptions from the nine-year-old Javier. Just take a look at these cleverly brilliant descriptions from the young boy’s perspective:

The stars begin to dot the sky. I like to think there’s a giant holding the earth in one hand, a needle in his other hand, poking the sky there, there, and there – (Zamora 135).

And I couldn’t help but smile at the names Javier gave to different cacti when he spotted them during his trek across the desert: “the Spikeys,” “Cheerleader bush” with flowers like “little yellow pom-poms,” “Crayon bush,” and “Paint-Roller Fuzzies,” “Mascara-Brush Fuzzies,” “Thorny Tentacles,” and “skinny green smooth tree” that Javier nicknames “SGS tree.”

Photo by Joe Cook.

There are countless other examples of uniquely clever imagery that Javier uses throughout the book, like when he describes the line of migrants as “the centipede” or when he says that cactuses that look like people “rise from the dirt like giant dark-green Cheetos” (331).

But sometimes, they were gut-wrenching to read, like when he describes the people in prison, including himself, as “monkeys”:

The monkeys in here stare, they sleep, they doze. This cage. This silent and stinky room. The monkeys next to the door wait for their names to be called (248).

Theme of Loneliness

Photo by Majestic Lukas.

Though my post is getting a bit long, I must point out what I felt was one of the most important themes of this book: loneliness. The book starts with a lonely Javier. Despite his being with his grandparents, aunt Mali, friends and relatives, he naturally and understandably longs for his parents constantly.

And his loneliness resurfaces when he has to travel with a group of strangers by himself. He holds his pillow in one arm, pretending the pillow is his Mom or aunt Mali (78). The young Javier also repeatedly mentions how he wants to hug, saying that he wants to “hug anyone like Coyote hugged us for good luck” (201)

I think this quote best shows the acute loneliness he experienced during the long and difficult journey:

I want to cuddle her [aunt Mali] right now. Look at the stars and be far away from these people…I hate watching Patricia and Carla help each other before bed. Patricia braiding and unbraiding her daughter’s hair. I want that with Mom. With Mali. I just want a hug (183).

With all the hardships and drama that ensued, I honestly forgot about this major theme and was busy following Javier’s journey, rooting for him and the people around him as they repeatedly failed to rejoin their families in “La USA.” But the theme dawned on me again when this young boy named a certain type of cactus as “the Lonelies” (217) and when he wished not to part from strangers who had become a true family:

I want to take my new family with me to California, learn how to tie my shoes and show Chino I can do it like him. Chino, my older brother I never had… I love them. I really love them. A pond, a lake in my eyes. I don’t want to let go. None of us wants to let go. A river (372-73).

Integration of the Spanish Language

Lastly but certainly not least is the usage of Spanish throughout the book. Because I had studied some Spanish, it wasn’t difficult to understand most of the time but I did have to look up online sometimes to figure out what Javier and the people around him were saying. But I think the implementation of Spanish in dialogue as well as in Javier’s internal thoughts (like the word “también” and “La USA”) made this memoir all the more real, easy to immerse into. And I think the Spanish phrases and words, even the punctuations, are great integrations that honor the author’s cultural background and heritage.

Photo by Nicole Geri.

Lasting Impact

My book club leader told us that Solito stayed with her for a long time after her first reading of it, and it led her to designate it as our first book club book of the year.

I can confidently say that it has left such a strong impression on me as well, that it has expanded my understanding of the immigrant experience. It stayed with me so strongly even after I finished that I had to visit an El Salvadoran restaurant and mull over it while eating pupusas:

Avocado salad and pupusas at Cafe Platano.
Pupusas cut in halves:
Queso con Loroco (Cheese and Salvadoran flower) and Frijoles con Queso (House black beans & cheese)

And I’m pretty sure that Javier Zamora’s memoir will leave something in you as well.

Conclusion

Javier Zamora’s Solito: A Memoir is a powerfully moving, achingly raw account of a nine-year-old boy. It’s a collection of memories of longing, pain, and loneliness, so vivid and overwhelming even to adults. It forever changes the reader, whether by enlightening, moving, or just leaving a mark – an impression that lingers even long after.

Photo by Tim Umphreys.

P.S. The afterward of the book was fascinating to read, as Javier Zamora shares what his parents had experienced while he was going through the dangerous journey. And it was so touching to read that he wrote this memoir in hopes of reuniting with Chino, Patricia, and Carla.

P.P.S. HERE‘s a video of Javier reading from Solito and HERE is one of his talking about the memoir.

P.P.P.S. The Salvadoran restaurant I visited is called Cafe Platano in Berkeley, CA. Their pupusas and avocado salad were delicious! 😋

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International House at UC Berkeley: A Building Steeped in History

Have you heard of “International House,” aka “I-House”? I had never heard of it until 2022 when I found out that such a place existed at UC Berkeley. And after learning about its history and significance, I wish UCLA had an International House as well! Alas, it is only exclusively at Berkeley, NYC, Chicago, Paris, and Tokyo.

I-House in Berkeley, circa. March 2023.

Here’s a post dedicated to International House and its incredible story!

The International House Movement

From International House Berkeley: An Extraordinary History (2022).
Available online HERE.

According to official sources, International House, Berkeley was founded by Harry E. Edmonds with the financial support of John D. Rockefeller Jr. It was the second International House to be built after the first one was founded in NYC in 1924 (also funded by Rockefeller Jr.). Harry Edmonds felt the need to create these “multi-cultural residence and program” centers after discovering the lack of community and support foreign students faced in the U.S.

Here is Edmonds’s chance encounter with a Chinese student that sparked the I-House movement:

“One frosty morning I was going up the steps of the Columbia library when I met a Chinese student coming down. I said, ‘Good morning.’ As I passed on, I noticed he stopped. I went back.

“He said, ‘Thank you for speaking to me. I’ve been in New York three weeks and you are the first person who has spoken to me.’

“With my wife’s insistence, I agreed I had to do something.”

Harry E. Edmonds from The New York Times1

When the second I-House opened its doors in Berkeley on August 18, 1930, it was the “largest student housing complex in the Bay Area and the first coeducational residence west of New York” (International House at UC Berkeley). Even UC Berkeley didn’t have coed housing yet!

As part of the progressive I-House movement amidst the political and social climate of the time, it was met with much resistance in Berkeley. According to the official I-House history book, there was much resistance to men and women as well as foreigners, people of color, and whites living under one roof. And so, it’s all the more incredible that Harry Edmonds chose Piedmont Avenue, “home of fraternities and sororities, which then excluded foreigners and people of color,” as the site for the second International House (International House Berkeley: An Extraordinary History, 2).

From International House Berkeley: An Extraordinary History (2022).
Available online HERE.

Decades of History

Drawing of International House at UC Berkeley.

Through the decades, I-House truly lived up to its mission of intercultural respect, understanding and friendship. Some major examples include:

  • In the 1930s, Allen Blaisdell, the first Executive Director of I-House Berkeley, protested against barbers on campus who refused to cut Black students’ hair and changed the practice.
  • In the 1940s, when Japanese American students faced difficulties, International House “set up a bureau to help these young people reach their homes as soon as government regulations permitted” and “helped them with their finances by locating employment opportunities” (International House Berkeley: An Extraordinary History, 3).

HERE is a really great presentation by the Executive Director Emeritus, Joe Lurie, on the role I-House played in desegregating Berkeley.

Reading the official International House history book and listening to Mr. Lurie and different I-House alumni, it sounded to me that I-House had been a place where students from around the world got to live with each other, learn from one another, and form lasting bonds across borders. I hope that, as the institution approaches its 100th year (in 2030), it continues to do so.

Tenth Decade Cake created by the I-House Dining Staff in 2023.

Architecture

George Kelham with his wife Katherine and son Bruce, 1924. Photo from Ancestry.com. *For a better photo of George Kelham, visit: The Cultural Landscape Foundation.

The man behind the iconic I-House Berkeley building is none other than George W. Kelham, the prolific American architect who also designed the Asian Art Museum (formerly the old San Francisco Public Library); the Roble Hall at Stanford University; Powell Library, Haines Hall, Kerckhoff Hall and more at UCLA; Bowles Hall, Valley Life Sciences Building, Moses Hall (now the “Philosophy Hall”), McLaughlin Hall, Davis Hall, Edwards Stadium, Haas Pavilion, and more at UC Berkeley; and countless more!

Haas Pavilion and Philosophy Hall at UC Berkeley.

And like the many other buildings Kelham designed, I-House at Berkeley is beautiful, with intricate designs and shapes evoking Spanish and Mediterranean architecture with hints of Moorish influences.

The Great Hall.
Staircase leading to the Dining Commons.

And how fitting, too, as California’s long and complex history includes the Spanish colonial period.

Inside International House at UC Berkeley.

Images from the actual blueprints of I-House Berkeley!

Notable I-House Alumni

As one would expect from a residential building created for scholars from around the world gathered in Berkeley to attend its top university, there are countless notable alumni of International House. A list can be found on the official I-House Berkeley website HERE. Among numerous pioneers, Nobel prize recipients, professors and founders, here are just a few of the brilliant men and women who lived at I-House:

Photo of Chien Shiung Wu shown in the book, Ten Women Who Changed Science and the World, by by Catherine Whitlock and Rohdri Evans (Diversion Books 2019).

Chien Shiung Wu Yuan – Chinese-American physicist, professor at Columbia University, and pioneer who made great contributions in experimental physics and atomic science and to the Manhattan Project. There’s a photo of J. Robert Oppenheimer and Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu having dinner at International House Berkeley shared by the Los Alamos National Laboratory HERE.

Photo of Chien Shiung Wu in her laboratory, shared in Ten Women Who Changed Science and the World, by Catherine Whitlock and Rohdri Evans (Diversion Books 2019).

Julian Schwinger – one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century, professor at Harvard University, and Nobel Prize winning American theoretical physicist who developed a relativistically invariant perturbation theory. He did postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley under Oppenheimer and assisted in research at the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory for the Manhattan Project.

Portrait of Julian Schwinger, shared on the Nobel Prize website.

Emmett J. Rice – an American economist, bank executive, and member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors who served in the U.S. Air Force during WW II as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen. A Fulbright scholar, he integrated the Berkeley Fire Department as its first African American fireman. He was also the father of Susan Rice, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former National Security Advisor.

Photo of Emmett J. Rice
from Federal Reserve History.

Eric & Wendy Schmidt: American businessman, former software engineer, CEO of Google (2001-2011), executive chairman (2011-2015) & American businesswoman and philanthropist. The two met at I-House.

Screenshots of photos of Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt (née Boyle) found in the I-House Directory for Fall 1976 and Fall 1979, respectively. More I-House directories can be found here: https://ihouse.berkeley.edu/alumni/alumni-directory-archive.

Here’s another photo of Wendy & Eric Schmidt from the I-House blog, I-House: Where UC Berkeley Meets the World.

Eric and Wendy Schmidt seem to have revisited I-House a couple of times. Notably, Wendy Schmidt visited when she was honored as I-House’s Alumni of the Year at the 2014 I-House Gala along with another notable alumni, Dr. Ashok Gadgil, and Eric Schmidt came by very recently for the I-House Executive Director’s Lodestar Speaker Series: “The Promise and Perils of AI” event this year.

And I believe, the Dining Commons has been named after the I-House couple.

Countless More Notable Alumni

Historical photos of former I-House residents displayed in Edmonds’ Café.

This blog post would not end if I were to explore all notable I-House alumni, which includes Abdelkader Abbadi (former UN Director of Political Affairs and journalist), Choong Kun Cho (former president of Korean Air), Hans Rausing (former chairman of TetraPak)and his daughter Lisbet Rausing (senior research fellow at Imperial College, London and author), and Haakon Magnus (Crown Prince of Norway), along with Nobel Prize laureates, scientists, scholars, philanthropists, and more.

Plus, I know personally that the list shared on the official website is yet far from being comprehensive, as notable individuals such as W. Harold McClough (founder of Perth construction and Clough Limited), Walter John Jr. (distinguished aerosol physicist, research scientist, and founder), Michael J. Belton (astronomer), Gerhart Friedlander (nuclear chemist who worked on the Manhattan Project), Stewart L. Blusson (geologist and philanthropist), and so many other incredible men and women have also stayed at I-House. This fact alone is a testament to what hub of brilliant minds International House was and is!

I-House Today

Today, I-House remains sitting atop the hill overlooking Berkeley, across from the Law School. Though it retains its old silhouette, iconic dome and other features, I-House has undergone several renovations, including an addition of the ADA-complaint ramp and a complete transformation of its café (from the “I-House Café” to “Edmonds’ Café.”) Sadly, the Heller Patio has now lost the lush trees and greenery that previous residents so enjoyed and referred to as a “garden” within the busy city.

But it still houses over 600 students and scholars (both international and domestic) each year. I truly believe that the magic of the place stems from the many talented residents that bring their unique experiences and stories from around the world. I hope that International House at UC Berkeley, a remarkably unique building steeped in rich history, never loses the passion, faith, and integrity it started out with 94 years ago.

P.S. Here are some useful links related to I-House at UC Berkeley:

  • The official International House at UC Berkeley website
  • A blog by Harry Edmonds’ great-granddaughter, Alice Lewthwaite
  • A blog post on the first I-House (in NYC) written by a recent resident at I-House Berkeley
  • A fascinating, engaging book titled Perception and Deception: A Mind Opening Journey Across Cultures written by Executive Director Emeritus Joe Lurie. If you are interested in learning about cross cultural understandings and misunderstandings or just want to broaden your knowledge, I highly recommend this book!
  • A book titled The Golden Age of International House Berkeley: An Oral History of the Post World War II Era, written by Jeanine Castello-Lin and Tonya Staros of Berkeley Historical Society. It’s a wonderful compilation of invaluable oral history shared by residents who lived at I-House during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

P.P.S. 2024 marks the 100th anniversary for the International House in NYC! Here is everything the first ever I-House is doing this year to celebrate: https://www.ihouse-nyc.org/centennial/

  1. Goodman, G. (1979, July 8). “Harry Edmonds, Who Established International House, Is Dead at 96.” The New York Times, p. 35. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/08/archives/harry-edmonds-who-established-international-house-is-dead-at-96-a.html.