I remembered that I use to go past this property at 2328 Tacoma Ave. South and seeing a man working on Bonsai trees here. So I wrote to the Northwest Room of Tacoma Public Library and they told me that the property was built as a residence about 1952 by Kenneth & Amy Hikogawa and in 1974 Amy Hikogawa opened the Imperial Garden & Gift Center on the site. Amy Hikogawa died in April 1995 but her son, Ben Kigowa, apparently kept the Imperial Garden and Gift Center open through 1997. Ben passed away in January 2013.

Thanks so much to TPL’s Northwest Room. They are such a valuable asset for our city!

Ben Hikogawa obituary can be found here.