| OCR Text |
Show Department of Community and Culture PALMER DePAULIS Executive Director State History PHILIP F. NOTARIANNI State of Utah Division Director JON M. HUNTSMAN, JR. Governor GARY R. HERBERT Lieutenant Governor September 6, 2006 MR. JOHN W. ROBERTS, ACTING CHIEF NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES AND NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS PROGRAM NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 1849 C STREET,N.W. (2280) WASHINGTON DC 20240 Dear Mr. Roberts: The Utah Division of State History would like to give its support for the nomination of the Central Utah Relocation Center (Topaz) as a National Historic Landmark. Although most of the buildings have been removed to other areas, there are several features remaining that attest to Topaz's use as a relocation center. These features include the original street layout, barbed wire fence, roads, paths, garden areas, building foundation outlines, and concrete foundations of structures such as mess halls, latrines, the fire station and the hospital. The site is an important reminder of an important era and controversial policy in our country during World War II. And, although the buildings are no longer extant, the site invokes a strong feeling of the lives of the people who were interned here. Thank you for considering the Topaz Relocation Center for National Historic Landmark designation. If you have questions regarding these comments, please contact me at 801/5333515, or at pnotarianni@utah.gov. Sincerely, ., ~lx. n,;:l::?~~ Phillip F. Notarianni, Ph.D. Director Utah Division of State History cc: Greg Kendrick, National Park Service, Denver; Jane Beckwith, Topaz Museum 300 S. Rio Grande Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84101' telephone (801) 533-3500' facsimile (801) 533-3503· history.utah.gov |
