05/18/2026
Preservation is about people and communities, not just buildings. The Japanese American community built Sakura Square. They should determine what it becomes.
Sakura Square is the last remaining block of Denver's historic Japantown, and it is at a critical inflection point. The buildings are failing, and the community needs funding to move their vision forward — a new temple, cultural community center, and plaza that will serve Denver's Japanese American community for generations to come.
To understand why this matters, you have to know the history.
Japanese Americans have been part of Denver since the early 1900s, building a thriving community of restaurants, grocery stores, hotels and small businesses in lower downtown. During World War II, more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly incarcerated by the federal government. When they resettled in Denver — drawn by Governor Ralph Carr, the only elected official to publicly oppose internment — they were confined by redlining to specific neighborhoods. They rebuilt anyway.
Then in the 1960s, the Skyline Urban Renewal Project threatened to erase what remained of their community entirely. Rather than accept displacement a second time, they organized, raised funds, purchased the block, and built Sakura Square themselves. It opened in 1973 — not just as a cultural center, but as an act of resilience and self-determination.
That is the community Historic Denver stands with today.
We have been in dialogue with Sakura Square's leadership since 2021 and helped initiate a Historic American Building Survey to document the site's architectural and cultural legacy. We know what this place means and what it represents. And we trust the people who built it to determine what comes next.
We call upon all decision makers to acknowledge this site's complex and meaningful history and to support the Sakura Square community in identifying a feasible path forward — one that reflects the community's own vision for their block. Denver has benefited from this community's presence and perseverance for over a century. This is the moment to show that the city values what they have built, and what they are determined to build next.
