The Fillmore meets Japantown, 1946

Then as now, the intersection of Fillmore and Post was also the intersection of two neighborhoods. Japanese-Americans had returned from the internment camps of World War II to find that, in their absence, African-Americans had arrived in record numbers as part of the war effort. What had been Japantown had been transformed into an all-night party of jumping jazz joints. This photograph captures the energy of the neighborhood in 1946. In the background, at Geary and Fillmore, stands the Fillmore Auditorium — then as now.