Administration Hill

“The seats of government for Germany and Japan”

N15 ̊12’9.549 E145 ̊43’6.011

The low hill immediately behind the Kristo Rai Catholic Church is now a quiet residential area but it played an important role during both the German and Japanese colonial administrations. In early 1900, German District Officer Georg Fritz built a handsome two-story administration building on this site. At the base of the hill Fritz constructed a retaining wall that featured concrete latte stones which, when viewed from the landing dock, appeared to support the administration building. This building was destroyed by a typhoon in 1905 and replaced by a schoolhouse. The school was damaged by another typhoon shortly after Japan took possession of the island in October 1914. Sometime in the early 1920s, the old German schoolhouse was renovated and served as Saipan Branch office of Nan’yô Cho. It was the official seat of the Japanese administration on Saipan until its destruction during World War II.