In the mid 1970s, my wife and I bought our home in the Central City neighborhood of Salt Lake, where we still live today. We have always enjoyed the rich diversity of our area. It was clear early on, however, that our neighborhood needed protection from unplanned development. We became involved in the neighborhood council and succeeded in getting the area rezoned to save our housing and to save the best of what we had.
This experience in community action introduced me to the political life of Salt Lake City and eventually led me to run and win a seat on the City Council — and ultimately to follow Ted Wilson, whom I greatly admired, as Salt Lake City mayor.
As mayor, I continued to learn about, appreciate and foster the strength and uniqueness of our neighborhoods. I learned that we as a city are stronger and richer when we respect the diversity of our people. When we work together, despite our differences, we achieve our immediate goals and then reach beyond to achieve even greater dreams.
We are now on the verge of a generational change. There is a collective energy and spirit fostered by our city’s leadership and by our citizens to revitalize our downtown to meet the needs of a 21st century population. We hope to be chosen to host the 2034 Winter Olympics. In addition, we are about to design a new sports, entertainment, culture and convention district. This will bring new opportunities for development, but we must also save the best of what we have, because we are a city of neighborhoods that need protection as development occurs.
[Read more: Salt Lake City can make up for past Japantown injustices — but only if they involve our community]
In another time of generational change, the decision was made to bring conventions to our city. This led to the building of the Salt Palace. Unfortunately, the implementation of that decision displaced our Japanese community and its surrounding neighborhood. The destruction of most of Japantown left us diminished and added trauma to the already horrific experience of the Japanese American people who were forced to relocate to internment camps during World War II. In the face of that era of generational change, we did not save the best of what we had. We didn’t listen to all of our many diverse voices, and we lost nearly all of the Japantown neighborhood.
Now we can remedy that loss. We can join together to save Japantown. Today it is only one block between 200 and 300 West on First South, but it houses the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple and the Japanese Church of Christ. The churches hold religious services including funerals. They also hold festivals, gatherings and cultural events to celebrate Japanese heritage. It is a cultural and economic attraction for the people of Salt Lake and the entire state.
In fact, we really need to go beyond just saving Japantown. We need to enhance and build on the cultural assets of this important neighborhood. We need to improve this street and the surrounding infrastructure so that the Japanese community can hold more festivals and cultural events that enrich all of us.
Let’s not lose this important neighborhood. Let’s save the best of what we have while we reach beyond our immediate goals and achieve even greater dreams. Let’s protect and reinvigorate Japantown, the treasured neighborhood that it is.
(Photo courtesy of Palmer DePaulis) Palmer DePaulis
Palmer DePaulis was mayor of Salt Lake City from 1985 to 1992. He lives in the Liberty Park area of Salt Lake City and is actively involved in his community serving on many boards and commissions.
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