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Densho Encyclopedia

Santa Anita (detention facility)

This page is an update of the original Densho Encyclopedia article authored by Konrad Linke. See the shorter legacy version here .

US Gov Name Santa Anita Assembly Center, California
Facility Type Temporary Assembly Center
Administrative Agency Wartime Civil Control Administration
Location Arcadia, California (34.1333 lat, -118.0333 lng)
Date Opened March 27, 1942
Date Closed October 27, 1942
Population Description Held people from Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Clara Counties, California.
General Description Located at the Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia, California.
Peak Population 18,719 (1942-08-23)
Exit Destination Poston, Topaz, Gila River, Heart Mountain, Jerome, Rohwer, Granada, and Manzanar
National Park Service Info

Located at the Santa Anita Racetrack in the city of Arcadia, approximately thirteen miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles and twenty miles west of the Pomona Assembly Center , Santa Anita was occupied from March 27 until October 27, 1942, a total of 215 days. Santa Anita was the largest and the longest-occupied of the temporary WCCA camps. Its peak population was 18,719. Over 8,500 Japanese Americans lived in converted horse stalls at the racetrack. It was the only WCCA camp to run a camouflage net factory , operated under military contract. The majority of Santa Anita's inmates were eventually transferred to Heart Mountain , Rohwer , Amache , and Jerome . [1]

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