Japantown Peace Plaza

The Peace Pagoda you see standing in the plaza was a direct gift from Osaka, San Francisco’s sister city, and was dedicated in 1968. Architect Yoshiro Taniguchi designed the five-tiered concrete structure to symbolize peace and friendship between Japan and the United States. Its height reaches one hundred feet, and its circular, tapering roofs were modeled after ancient temple architecture. While the pagoda is now a beloved landmark, it was originally installed as the centerpiece of a massive urban renewal project that fundamentally reshaped this neighborhood in the mid-twentieth century.