Southeast : Famed Architect’s Buildings Set to Be Razed

Unbeknown to just about everybody--military personnel included--the Long Beach Naval Station on Terminal Island houses a significant collection of buildings designed before World War II by renowned architect Paul Williams.

The Roosevelt Base, intended as an administrative and recreational hub for the Pacific Fleet, was built to withstand bombardment from land and sea.

But not redevelopment by the city. Yet Long Beach’s re-use plans for the soon-to-be-defunct naval base call for demolition of the property to make way for a container terminal as part of a port expansion.

“I don’t think the city of Long Beach and its citizens were aware of the significance of the buildings down there, primarily because they have been behind the gated, guarded military base, never accessible to the public,” said Elle Calomiris of Long Beach Heritage, a group dedicated to protecting the city’s architectural heritage.

The group has arranged an April tour, hoping to educate both itself and the public about the site, which was constructed during a time of American neutrality when President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nonetheless building up a force on the Pacific, said Heritage vice president Paul Devereaux.

As part of the process for closing the base, the Navy by law was required to survey the site and identify any historic buildings or potentially historic buildings. Its June 1994 historical and archeological assessment reported that the Roosevelt Base buildings and their surrounding landscaping qualify as an historic district.