New visitor center to open at Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial

227 Japanese Americans were forced off of Bainbridge Island during WWII.

In this March 30, 1942 photo, Cpl. George Bushy, left, holds the youngest child of Shigeho Kitamoto, center, as she and her children are evacuated from Bainbridge Island, Wash. (AP Photo/File)

By KIRO 7 News Staff

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash — A new visitor center and plaza will be dedicated Sunday at the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, marking the final major phase of the site’s more than two-decade development.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell is scheduled to join Japanese American internment survivors, their families, memorial leaders and National Park Service representatives for the dedication ceremony beginning at 12:30 p.m.

In 1942, 227 Japanese Americans living on Bainbridge Island were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to internment camps during World War II.

Congress passed legislation designating the memorial as a National Historical Site in 2008. Cantwell later helped secure more than $767,000 in National Park Service funding between 2022 and 2023 to help complete the visitor center.

Sunday’s ceremony will include remarks, a ribbon-cutting and dedication, followed by a public open house. The visitor center will remain open until 4 p.m. Sunday.