Asian American Designers Union: Panama Hotel Tour
AADU-S is honored to work with the Panama Hotel, a historic landmark for Japanese American heritage in the Pacific Northwest, located in the center of “Nihonmachi” Japantown of Seattle (also known as the International District), and offer an hour-long guided tour of the hotel.
The historic Panama Hotel, designed by Sabro Ozasa – the first Japanese architect in Seattle and one of the earliest to practice in the country – was completed in 1910 and opened as a workingman’s hotel for single Japanese men coming to America seeking work. The hotel is located in the center of “NIHONMACHI” Japantown, Seattle (also known as the International District) and houses Hashidate-yu, the last intact Japanese-style public bathhouse in North America.
When Executive order 9066 was issued and people of Japanese ancestry were forced to go to the internment camps, the Japanese community in NIHONMACHI brought their valuables to be stored in the basement of the hotel. Efforts have been made over the years to locate the owners and families of the trunks and the properties, quite a few were left unclaimed, and you can see them through the glass on the floor of the Panama Hotel Tea & Coffee, located on the first floor of the building.
Spots are limited in this small and exclusive group tour. Please register today and join us at 10am on August 30th, 2025!
WHEN: Saturday, August 30th, 2025 – 10am – 11:30am
WHERE: Panama Hotel
COVID/SAFETY: AIA Seattle recommends masking as a demonstration of community care. Please stay home if you are sick or experiencing symptoms.
ACCESSIBILITY: Visit Panama Hotel website to learn more about the museum’s accessibility information. Please contact aadu-s@aiaseattle.org if you have any specific accessibility needs or concerns.
