Tag Archives: buildings

The little town of Calipatria , a cluster of small stores and business buildings surrounded by the truck farms of California's broiling Imperial Valley, has always had one claim to fame: it is located 184 ft. below sea level, and fondly calls itself “the lowest-down city in the Western Hemisphere.” Last week Calipatria got a raise in stature, if not elevation, as it demonstrated how far the Imperial Valley has come since the old days—and Pearl Harbor days—when inflamed feelings against Japanese settlers brought persecution and bloodshed.Among the oldtime Japanese residents of the valley were Takeo Harry Momita and his wife Shizuko Helen, who operated a series of little drugstores from 1927 until 1942 when they—along with 110,000 West Coast Japanese and their American-born youngsters—were herded into Army relocation camps for the duration