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- Title:
- Greg Tanbara interview
- Interviewee:
- Tanbara, Gregory M.
- Interviewer:
- Hua, Joan, 1989-
- Date Created:
- 2020-01-09
- Role:
- Community member
- Department:
- Japanese Language School; City of Tacoma; Pierce County; Center for Leadership and Social Responsibility; Urban Studies
- Subjects:
- Norman Dicks urban renewal Union Station Save Our Station World War II Japantown internment Executive Order 9066 Warehouse District community outreach urban development historic preservation Superfund Commencement Bay Ryan Petty Tacoma-Pierce County Economic Development Board (EDB) Executive Council for A Greater Tacoma Ray Corpuz William Philip Theater District Booth Gardner employment service Maru memorial LNG Japanese American incarceration Transcontinental Railroad
- Biography:
- Gregory Tanbara was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1953. He and his family moved to Tacoma when he was about two years old, and he has lived and worked in Tacoma almost his entire life. Currently employed at the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, he has also advised University of Washington Tacoma faculty and staff on a number of projects, including the Japanese Language School Memorial, "Maru." Previously, he has worked for the City of Tacoma and for the Washington State Employment Security Department. His maternal family owned and took care of the Japanese Language School building before it was purchased by UW Tacoma in 1993. The building, now no longer standing, was a monument of the once-flourishing Japantown, which overlapped with the current footprint of the UW Tacoma campus. As a longtime resident of Tacoma, Tanbara has witnessed firsthand the transformation of the city over the past seven decades, as well as the community's investment in the establishment and growth of UW Tacoma.
- Description:
- In this interview, Greg Tanbara discusses his multifaceted connections with University of Washington Tacoma and Tacoma as a city. He begins by sharing his family history, tracing back to the early 1900s, when his grandparents immigrated and settled in today's downtown neighborhood of Tacoma, then a vibrant Japantown; his narration goes through World War II, when the residents were forced into internment, and into the mid-20th century. He recounts childhood memories living in the Japanese Language School building and participating in activities at the Tacoma Buddhist Temple, both of which were or are located on the present-day UW Tacoma campus. As an employee in multiple municipal offices from the late 1970s onward, Tanbara recalls discussions around a UW campus in Tacoma among local circles, including groups such as the Executive Council and individuals like Ryan Petty. At the end of the interview, Tanbara reflects on UW Tacoma's relationship with the neighborhood and local community, sharing his perspective on the university's role related to the history of Japantown and Tacoma.
- Location:
- United States--Washington (State)--Tacoma
- Type:
- Sound; Text; StillImage
- Format:
- cpd
- Preferred Citation:
- University of Washington Libraries, University of Washington Tacoma Library, UWTOH202002