Honorable Discharge: New Life for World War II Sites in the San Francisco Bay Area

Aerial of city of San Francisco and Bay Area. Photo by Rickmouser45, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93629092

Essay by Michael Buhler, Regional Attorney/Program Officer Western Office, National Trust for Historic Preservation

When war broke out in the Pacific, the San Francisco Bay Area quickly assumed a prominent role in America's "Arsenal of Democracy." Older coastal batteries, airfields and military posts were supplemented by a network of hastily constructed barracks, warehouses and staging facilities stretching from Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg to Fort Cronkhite in Marin County. New shipyards were built in Richmond and Sausalito and existing yards were expanded in San Francisco, Oakland and Alameda. Bay Area cities were unprepared for the massive influx of laborers needed to run factories and shipyards. The rapid migration of workers severely taxed housing, education and other services. And because they were scattered around the bay, getting workers to and from shipyards tremendously strained transportation systems, with Richmond, Vallejo and Alameda among the hardest hit.

The mammoth mobilization and production effort caused profound social changes and land use impacts that still affect us today. The Bay Area is rich in historic districts, sites, buildings and structures that chronicle the region's transformation, ranging from dry docks, cranes and shipbuilding facilities, to coast defense batteries and ports of embarkation. Although many of these historic places have been lost over time, remnants of the region's "military-industrial machine" have been successfully adapted to serve contemporary civilian needs. With the conversion of coastal batteries to picnic areas, shipyards to subdivisions, blimp hangars to movie sets and officers' quarters to wedding venues, the Bay Area's once-mighty "Arsenal" has been pacified through preservation.

QUONSET HUTS TO CUL-DE-SACS
Just as Bay Area communities struggled to absorb the initial impact of wartime mobilization, many have struggled to replace thousands of jobs and find new uses for these facilities in the aftermath of base closures since 1989. Among developers, the wholesale closure of landmark military facilities--including 10 bases in the Bay Area--was considered a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to build "large-scale new housing in communities on or near the bay that were either long since built out or shut off from new growth."¹

Multi-billion dollar projects took place at former military installations throughout the Bay Area, including Hamilton Army Airfield, Alameda Naval Air Station and Mare Island Naval Shipyard. More accustomed to plotting subdivisions on undeveloped land than building in dense urban settings, base reuse developers are sometimes reluctant to invest the time and money needed to come up with creative solutions for reusing "obsolete" infrastructure. All too often, historic places are sacrificed in the name of expediency.

Hamilton Army Air Field (Novato)
Once known as the "country club of military bases" because of its climate, location and numerous amenities, Novato's Hamilton Field major hub for coast defense patrols and air traffic to and from the Pacific throughout World War II. On the eve of the war, the air base looked more like a modern residential suburb of Spanish California homes than the army's command center for aviation in Northern California. Today it is a modern residential suburb, with stucco architecture from the 1930s.

Deactivated in 1974, Hamilton Field was among the first successful transfers of a military base to the private sector for redevelopment in the recent wave of closures. Much of the old Spanish Mission Revival architecture has been preserved, including housing, barracks and hangars, as well as the base hospital, firehouse and theater. Cavernous hangars have been converted into a half-million square feet of office space; three former barracks recently reopened as the Villas at Hamilton, a "vibrant community for independent seniors"; the old headquarters building is now the Novato Arts Center; and the firehouse is slated to become the Hamilton Field History Museum.

ARSENAL TO ART SPACE
Whether making movies in hangars at Treasure Island hosting exhibitions at the Fort Mason Center , or housing artists at the Benicia Arsenal, the Bay Area's former military sites have become unlikely muses for myriad arts-related organizations. Attracted by inexpensive rent, adaptable spaces and peace and quiet, local artists have been revitalizing neglected military buildings for decades, starting with the conversion of abandoned barracks at Hunters Point into affordable studio space in 1976. Now home to more than 200 artists, The Point is billed as "America's largest artists' colony."11 Similar communities have since cropped up at Hamilton Field, the Benicia Arsenal, and Fort Barry in the Marin Headlands. Recognizing the catalytic power of this phenomenon, former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom unveiled policy initiatives to create "arts enterprise zones" at Hunters Point and the former Bethlehem Steel Shipyard at Pier 70, and enhance film production facilities at Treasure Island, the Presidio, Alameda and Mare Island.12

Fort Barry/Headlands Center for the Arts (Marin Headlands)
Fort Barry is a slice of military evolution, from its initial days as a post for the Coast Artillery Corps in the 1900s, to its role in seacoast fortification during World War II and as home to a Nike Missile battery during the Cold War. Now a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, much of Fort Barry has been occupied by the nonprofit Headlands Center for the Arts (HCA) since 1986. The high ceilings, large windows, oak balustrades, maple floors and redwood wainscoting of former army buildings have been transformed into art space.

After sitting vacant for 15 years, HCA initiated an innovative renovation program whereby Barracks Building 944 was upgraded--one room at a time--by granting commissions to artists. "The Latrine Project," by Bruce Tomb and John Randolph, remodeled a decrepit military bathroom to meet the Center's contemporary needs, hanging plumbing from the ceiling to "provoke awareness of water systems and how they function."14 For "The Mess Hall Project," artist Ann Hamilton "magically transformed the formerly dim, damp, low-ceilinged dining room and cluttered kitchen into the Center's main gathering place, where sumptuous meals are shared, culture gaps are bridged, collaborations are inspired and creative revelations arise."15 This model has been replicated by HCA at other Fort Barry buildings, including the 1907 Army storage depot, which was innovatively restored by architect Mark Cavagnero and artist Leonard Hunter in 1999. All of these projects were completed under the watchful eye of the National Park Service, which ensured their compliance with the Secretary of the Interior's rehabilitation standards.

POST TO PARK
Dozens of World War II sites around the Bay Area have been opened to the public as park space, presenting challenges and opportunities for preservation and interpretation of historic properties. Eleven historic sites included in this travel itinerary are within national parks. Most of the former coast defense fortifications are part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, while Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park in Richmond seeks to preserve the story of the men and women who contributed to the war effort and the social impacts of mobilization. Oakland's Middle Harbor Shoreline Park recently opened on the site of the demolished Naval Supply Center, with interpretive panels tracing the footprint of one of its huge warehouses. Many of these properties are accessible by the San Francisco Bay Trail, a 400-mile bike route crossing nine Bay Area counties that will eventually link as many as 30 former World War II sites.

The Presidio (San Francisco)
The Presidio is associated with two centuries of military history under the flags of Spain, Mexico and the United States, including a stint as headquarters of the Western Defense Command during World War II. Part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area since 1994, the Presidio includes 500 historic buildings, miles of beaches and coastal fortifications, hiking and biking trails, a national cemetery and Crissy Field --the former Army Air Corps base which has been restored to its original grass landing strip fronting San Francisco Bay.

One of the largest and most innovative preservation projects in the Nation, the Presidio boasts several award-winning rehabilitation and adaptive reuse projects. Old Letterman Hospital (constructed in 1924, expanded in 1933), the busiest army hospital in the country during World War II, has been reborn as the Thoreau Center for Sustainability, converting the original hospital wards into energy-efficient office space for non-profit tenants. The Mission-style Building 39 (1938), formerly the Sixth Army Headquarters, has been rehabilitated by the San Francisco Film Centre to provide state-of-the-art screening facilities, office space, conference rooms, an exhibit hall and a cafe for tenants in the film industry.

Rosie the Riveter--World War II Home Front National Historical Park (Richmond)
Established in 2000, the Rosie the Riveter--World War II Home Front National Historical Park contains several historic buildings and the remains of the Kaiser Richmond Shipyards. The Rosie the Riveter Memorial, located on the former site of Kaiser Shipyard No. 2, now a waterfront park, honors the millions of women who worked in World War II defense industries and support services. Commissioned by the City of Richmond in 1998, the Memorial project inspired the development of the national park. The centerpiece of the park is the massive Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant (1930).

CONCLUSION
World War II dominated the social, economic and political landscapes of the mid-20th century, setting in motion lifestyles, expectations and anxieties that still shape the world we live in today. The communities that ring the San Francisco Bay were irrevocably altered by that wartime era and still bear its visible marks in what remains of military bases, shipbuilding facilities, coast defense fortifications and innumerable other cogs in the "military-industrial machine." The destinations on this National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary tell only part of the story--some WWII-related properties in the Bay Area have already been lost and many others have not yet been listed in the National Register. The temporary nature of many buildings, constructed to serve home front purposes "for the duration," has been one factor in the challenge of preserving these places for future generations. Other sites have been overlooked because their significance is associated with aspects of American social history that have only recently begun to receive attention from many preservationists. Creative solutions abound for reusing these historic places as vehicles for economic development, community revitalization, recreation and civic engagement.


<sub>1. "Home Builders Face Big Roadblocks with Re-Use Projects on Ex-Military Bases," HBA News (Home Builders Association of Northern California), January/February 2002, p. 14.
2. "San Francisco: Art for the City, A City for the Arts," Newsom for Mayor Policy Brief (2004).
3. Headlands Center for the Arts (www.headlands.org).
4. Id.
5. Id.</sub>

Discover more history and culture by visiting the World War II in San Francisco Bay Area travel itinerary.