Embedded Files
A Little History
When the East Garrison Specific Plan was created in 2004, the Developers emphasized EG's military connection by including many existing Army buildings in a future Historic Arts District. These included a Theater, Battle Simulation Building and a dozen latrines. Some of the buildings were torn down as they were not structurally stable; and why would you need to keep that many latrines? You can still see the foundations of the theater, the Rod and Gun club that sits at the top of the hill looking over the Sloat x Watkins Gate intersection, and two latrines which remain on Sherman St.
The focus of the Historic Arts District, however, is the row of mess halls and officers buildings along Ord Ave and the eight warehouses lining Sloat. The goal is for those buildings to become the East Garrison Historic Arts District.
Arts Habitat is one of the partner organizations working to make the EG Historic Arts District a reality. They are a local organization which will run the programs, once we have a district. ArtsSpace, a national design organization specializing in historic restoration was designated in the 2004 Specific Plan as the company which will revitalize the buildings. In late 2021, ArtSpace held several Zoom workshops to learn about the dreams, and ideas both artists and residents had for the buildings. See the report HERE.
Where are we now?
As of October 2024 PREG has reached out to the county for an update on the status of the project. We are hoping to meet with the project planner, and have been told the next step is for ArtSpace to make a proposal. PREG members have expanded our knowledge about our buildings from Cameron Binkley and the librarians and archivists at the Defense Language Institute. DLI archives at the library on Jim Moore Blvd have a wealth of information about our buildings and life at the East Garrison throughout its military use.
You Can Help
Answer the upcoming Artist Survey if you're an artist or craftsperson; pass it along to all the artists and craftspeople you know. And get in touch to be added to the Historic Arts District Team by emailing eastgarrisonpreservation@gmail.com.
Street Scene at East Garrison circa 1940
Construction at East Garrison of Fort Ord circa middle 1930's
Martinez Hall and the East Garrison Mess Hall Complex
by Cameron Binkley, DLI Command Historian
President Roosevelt responded to the Great Depression by creating programs to put Americans back to work, thus stimulating economic activity and promoting recovery. Designed not to compete with industry, the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration sought to conserve and improve state and federal lands, including on military bases.
Locally, the legacy of work relief can be seen at Martinez Hall, originally Fort Ord’s headquarters and now home to the Veterans Transition Center, and at East Garrison. Indeed, the first structures at East Garrison, originally known as Camp Ord, were built to house a regional CCC/WPA camp dating to 1934. Later funding allowed skilled WPA workers to construct the Camp Ord Mess Hall Complex for use by the Army during mobilization when troops at Camp Ord lived in tents. Martinez Hall and WPA buildings at East Garrison evoke the romanticized Spanish past by employing an architectural style know as Mission Revival. Typified by red tile roofs, white adobesque walls, and long Spanish verandas, these features stand apart from the more rapidly constructed utilitarian structures built at Fort Ord by contractors after the phase out of work relief. They are considered historic because of their association to the WPA, the Great Depression, and U.S. preparations for WWII.
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