Fire investigation ongoing and official fire investigation reports pending

 ABOVE: The scene at Historic Wintersburg after firefighters put out the fire. The 1910 Wintersburg Japanese Mission is standing at right, the south end charred, and the 1910 Manse is at left in front of the firefighters. (Photo courtesy of Patricia Singer, February 25, 2022) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   [Huntington Beach, California]  As an update today, the Huntington Beach Police Department informed preservationists that the fire investigation is ongoing and that the official investigation reports are not yet complete. The official investigation reports from the police department and Huntington Beach Fire Department are expected to be completed and released within the next two weeks, per a police investigator.

LEFT: News release issued by the City of Huntington Beach on March 18. (Source: City of Huntington Beach)

   On Friday, March 19, the City of Huntington Beach issued a press release stating "the Huntington Beach Fire Department, in collaboration with the Huntington Beach Police Department, has completed a rigorous investigation into the cause of the fire that took place at the Wintersburg property." However the information received today indicate the investigation is ongoing and the official investigation reports are still pending.

      The fire resulted in the loss of two historic structures, the 1910 Wintersburg Japanese Mission and the 1910 Manse (parsonage).  The sole remaining structure of the three buildings representing the Wintersburg Japanese Mission Project, founded in 1904 by both Christians and Buddhists, is the 1934 Wintersburg Japanese Church. The 1934 Church structure was funded and constructed during the Great Depression through individual small donations from around Orange County.

ABOVE: The 1934 Wintersburg Japanese Church at the intersection of Nichols Lane and Warner Avenue is in the Spanish Revival style with an engineered interior structure old-growth redwood. The Historic Wintersburg property was under the ownership and stewardship of Republic Services at the time of this photograph in 2018 and currently remains under their ownership. (Photo, M. Urashima, September 11, 2018) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   In the above image, the front door to the 1934 Church has been vandalized. The building shows patchy and mismatched painting over tagging. Volunteers offered numerous times to Republic Services to help repaint the building and remove trash around the exterior of the property. 

RIGHT: The vandalized front door of the 1934 Wintersburg Japanese Church building. (February 10, 2022) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   The front door to the 1934 Church building was vandalized again more severely in early February and notification was sent to Republic Services and the City of Huntington Beach on February 10, 2022, requesting the front door be boarded over to prevent further damage. This notification two weeks before the February 25 fire included ongoing and reported concerns about vandalism, trespass, lack of security, and lack of maintenance being a fire risk at the property. 

  An update will be provided when the official fire investigation reports from the Huntington Beach Fire Department and Huntington Beach Police Department are released.

ABOVE: The 1934 Wintersburg Japanese church upon its dedication in Wintersburg Village, following four years of fundraising and construction during the Great Depression. (Santa Ana Register, December 10, 1934)

© All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima. 

Loss to fire and demolition of 1910 Manse and 1910 Wintersburg Japanese Mission

 ABOVE: What remains of the 1910 Wintersburg Japanese Mission and the 1910 Manse (parsonage). The Manse was on fire, however the Mission building was not. Both structures were demolished by Republic Services on Friday, February 25. Over the weekend, historians and preservationists confirmed the loss of the two structures, both designated as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in the City of Huntington Beach General Plan. (Photo, M. Urashima)

   Over the weekend after the fire last Friday, we have confirmed the loss of two structures, not only the 1910 Manse of the Wintersburg Japanese Mission.  The 1910 Mission was the first structure of the Japanese Mission Project founded in 1904 and was demolished. 

   We are informed by the City of Huntington Beach that as of today, an investigation continues.

ABOVE: The 1910 Manse (parsonage) at left and the 1910 Wintersburg Japanese Mission after their construction in 1910. One of the Japanese Mission Project founders Reverend Barnabus Hisayoshi Terasawa, who with Charles Mitsuji Furuta purchased the property in 1908, is in front of the Mission with Reverend Junzo Nakamura and Ernest Adolphus Sturge. Sturge helped establish fourteen Japanese Presbyterian missions on the Pacific Coast. A small dirt road can be seen in front of the Mission building, parallel to what was Wintersburg Road and now Warner Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Wintersburg Church) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   The wooden 1910 Mission and 1910 Manse were located behind the 1934 Wintersburg Japanese Church building, visible to the public from the intersection of Warner Avenue and Nichols Lane. Statements that only one "minor" structure was lost or that the "church" was not lost are not correct and probably confusing for the public.

LEFT: The 1910 Wintersburg Japanese Mission was moved 95 years ago to the east of the 1910 Manse, which is why the configuration today is different than in 1910. The Mission and Manse were connected by a small walkway so the clergy could have a sheltered path from their home to the Mission. (Santa Ana Register, October 19, 1927)

   All six structures at Historic Wintersburg are designated as eligible for the National Register for Historic Places. Two of the six are now destroyed, as of last Friday. The historical designation is noted in the City of Huntington Beach General Plan's historic and cultural resource element. This designation on a California municipal document automatically places these structures and Historic Wintersburg on the State of California list of historic and cultural resources, which triggers the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

   Historic Wintersburg, its partnering organizations Preserve Orange County and Heritage Museum of Orange County, as well as supporting organizations such as the Japanese American Citizens League, Poston Community Alliance, Heart Mountain Foundation, Little Tokyo Historical Society, Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages, the South East Los Angeles North Orange County (SELANOCO) chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Minidoka Pilgrimage, 50 Objects/Stories of the American Japanese Incarceration, among other organizations and individuals are communicating their alarm and concern to the City of Huntington Beach and Republic Services.

We ask for: 

1) A thorough investigation for arson and for the ongoing negligence and purposeful demolition-by-neglect by Rainbow Environmental-Republic Services.

 

2) The right of Japanese Americans to enter the property with permission to collect ash, remains of the structures, and artifacts, to honor and save what is left of a sacred site where the 1910 Mission and 1910 Manse stood. This is a significant heritage property and a place of spiritual meaning.

 

3) Assistance by the City of Huntington Beach to facilitate a genuine response and engagement from Republic Services corporate officers in Phoenix, Arizona, to move forward the discussions for the purchase by and transfer of the property to historical organizations for historic preservation. This includes the Historic Wintersburg, Preserve Orange County, and Heritage Museum of Orange County. The Ocean View School District should be included in this as a key neighbor with a preschool, elementary school and land ownership rights for properties next to and adjacent to Historic Wintersburg.

   We will continue to update, as more information regarding the investigation and discussions with City leaders and Rainbow Environmental-Republic Services move forward.

 

 

 

 

 

© All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.