Red Brick Warehouse, Yokohama

The Red Brick Warehouse is a shopping mall, banquet hall, and event venue. Officially called the Newport Pier Bonded Warehouse, the historical edifice, designed as a custom building for incoming freight at the Port of Yokohama, became one of the most recognizable landmarks in Yokohama.

The Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse was planned as a part of the construction of harbor facilities in the late 19th century. Both buildings of the Warehouse were finished in 1913. The Red Brick Warehouse was designed by the Japanese architect Yorinaka Tsumaki, famous for his style mixing elements of classic Western European with Japanese architecture.

The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 damaged both buildings. Reconstruction efforts were completed in 1930. However, the occupying forces of the United States seized the buildings after World War II. Though the Warehouse was returned to Japan in the 1950s, the edifice gradually fell into disrepair and was abandoned in 1989.

Japanese architectural firm Takenaka Corporation took over the restoration and restructuring of the buildings in the 1990s. They officially opened as Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse in 2002. Building one is a three-story event venue that hosts art exhibitions, film festivals, music competitions, and plays. Building two is a three-story shopping mall with restaurants and an open balcony.