Funds OKd for Little Tokyo Museum Work

A $1-million grant has been approved by the Community Redevelopment Board of Commissioners to convert the historic former Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo into a permanent site for the Japanese American National Museum.

The funds will initiate rehabilitation of the site, scheduled to begin early next year, and release $750,000 in matching state funds for the project. The museum is expected to be in operation by fall of 1990.

Built in 1925 on the northwest corner of 1st Street and Central Avenue, the temple has been owned by the city of Los Angeles since 1970. The museum’s board president, Bruce Kaji, and a group of trustees entered into a 50-year lease with the city for the facility in February, 1987, and are spearheading a fund-raising drive with a $24-million goal.