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NAVAL BASE POINT LOMA: A HISTORIC POINT LOMA SITE

The Mean Green Team recently visited the base and toured the beautifully restored home of the Base Commander. Background history is obtained from a booklet, The History of Naval Base Point Loma, graciously provided by our hosts. Fort Rosecrans was officially created in 1899. Major General William Starke Rosecrans, for whom the base was named, was a Civil War General and patriot with railroad business ties to San Diego. Between the years of 1900-1910 approximately fifty buildings were built at Fort Rosecrans, including officers’ and non-commissioned officers’ quarters (our visit site), a hospital, barracks, storehouses, stables and utility buildings. Ten years later the YMCA service club and the Knights of Columbus Building (Officer’s Club) were added. In the late 1930’s the base began to enlarge in anticipation of unstable conditions in Asia and Europe, and, in 1940, the hospital building was nearly tripled in size and almost 20 additional acres were added to the Fort.

The Navy took over possession of the base in 1959. Although many of the original World War II buildings near the Bay were replaced by concrete block and stucco buildings, many of the original turn of the century structures, including officers’ quarters, and the two service clubs, were saved and restored, remaining in use today. Architectural plans of the original Fort Rosecrans were drawn up by architects and engineers working in the Washington Office of the Quartermaster General. Information available shows that individual architects rarely signed these plans. They chose to use Colonial Revival style, an architectural fashion of the time. Army architects used symmetry, classical porch columns, medium to narrow clapboard siding and double hung wood sash windows as features of their buildings.

The PLA Mean Green Team was invited by CAPT Adams and his lovely wife, Kim, to view one of these historic buildings, their Colonial Revival home, built as captains’ quarters in 1903. The home is a 2 ½ story duplex with a modified U-shape. It has classical front columns supporting the roof and wood railings along the front porch. Rear porches have all been enclosed. Original sash windows remain but have been replaced with aluminum. Interior floor plans are original, as are beautifully maintained interior architectural features including wood floors, heavily embossed coved tin ceilings, sliding pocket doors, built in sideboards, four classically styled fireplaces and stairs with turned balusters. The kitchen is one of the few rooms that has been cleverly updated. The home tour was a treat for all of us. We appreciated and enjoyed not only a beautifully appointed, historic home but a warm and hearty welcome and a delicious brunch prepared by our gracious hosts, CAPT and Mrs. Adams.

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