Now and Then 6

Port Memorail Building in 1923 (Kanto earthquake), 1927 and 2007:

"Where Minato O-dori meets Honcho-dori you will find perhaps the most beautiful building in Yokohama, the Port Opening Hall, or simply 'Jack', as it has been known to generations of sailors and sailor’s friends. Its clock tower has become a symbol of Yokohama. The designers were Yamada Shichiro and Sato Shiro, disciples of Tatsuno Kingo, who in turn was a disciple of the English architect Josiah Conder, a prolific designer who had an enormous impact on Meiji architecture in Japan. Jack went up only six years prior to the great earthquake of 1923, during which the outside held up well, although the interior was demolished (...)

In 1999, as part of the restoration of the interior and exterior, part of the edifice was rebuilt. The building was designated an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese Government and reopened to the public in 2001. Brown trimming accents the cream interior. Chandeliers and other ceiling fixtures echo the round contours of the roof. Above the landing of the central staircase is a stained-glass window of Powhatan, Commodore Perry’s flagship, entering port (...)

The U.S. Occupation Forces requisitioned the Port Opening Memorial Hall and used it as a movie theater and as a dormitory for female personnel. When U.S. officers saw the stained-glass window of Powhatan, with the Stars and Stripes at her stern, they asked if the picture had been there throughout the war. They were surprised to learn that it had been. That was perhaps the reason they took good care of the building.

Today the 'Jack' it is a public hall."

(Burritt Sabin, 'A historical guide to Yokohama', ed. Yurindo, Yokohama, 2002, p. 164-165)

(John Carroll, 'Trail of Two Cities', ed. Kodansha, Tokyo, 1994, p. 50-51)