HICKAM FIELD, BARRACKS (Hickam Air Force Base, Pacific Air Force
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HICKAM FIELD, BARRACKS HABS Hl-164-1 (Hickam Air Force Base, Pacific Air Force HeadquQrters) HABS H/-164-/ (Building No. 1102) (Hale Makai) Between Vickers and Hangar Avenues, From D to E Streets Honolulu Honolulu County Hawaii PHOTOGRAPHS WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA FIELD RECORDS HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street NW Washington, DC 20240-0001 IDSTORIC AMERICAN BUil..DINGS SURVEY . HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, BARRACKS-PACIFIC AIR FORCE HEADAQUARTERS (Hickam Hotel, Hale Makai, Building No. 1102) HABS No. Hl-164-I Location: Between Vickers and Hangar Avenues, From "D" to "E" Streets, Hickam Air Force Base, directly east of the entrance to Pearl Harbor, City and County of Honolulu vicinity, Island of Oahu, Hawaii. Significance: When completed in 1940, this huge barracks building was the world's largest single military barracks structure. It was a major target for the Japanese during the attack on December 7, 1941, and was the site of most of the base's casualties that day. Description: The original floor plan is a large H-shape, with three wings on each side in one direction, and two wings on each side in the other direction. The original entries, inset at the center, ends and inner comers of the wings, have a fluted pilaster-like section on either side of the inset area. Brown floor tiles are at the inset entry area. The three-story concrete building has horizontal shade fins above the windows of the lower two floors, a wide-eave wood roof structure with screen vents between the rafters, and asphalt shingle roofing. History: This enormous three-story reinforced concrete building was built by McKee Construction Company of El Paso, Texas, who was the low bidder at $1,039,000. Construction was started in 1939, and completed in 1940. It was designed to house 3,200 enlisted men, and originally had two barber shops, a branch of the post exchange, a laundry and tailor shop, medical dispensary, dayrooms, and a 26,741 square foot mess hall at the middle of the building, which could seat and feed 2,000 people at a time. Nicknamed the "Hickam Hotel," it was later named Hale Makai, which means "house by the sea," in a "Name the Big Barracks" contest. Hickam personnel began to live in the building while construction was still in progress, with the first group moving in during January 1940, and the last group in September of that year. This structure was a major target for the attacking Japanese aircraft on December 7, 1941. Several bombs crashed through the roof, killing many on the top floor. The mess hall, located at the center of the barracks complex, took a direct hit from a 500-pound bomb, instantly killing 35 men that were eating breakfast. The marks from bullets that spattered the walls of the building are still visible. Five wings of the barracks building were converted in 1957 to administrative offices, and a new entrance was constructed on the northeast side, connecting two wings of the building. Later renovations converted the remaining dormitory areas to administrative offices. Many of the windows have been replaced or infilled, and several non-conforming single story additions have been built in-between the wings. This structure is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Hickam Field National Historic Landmark. Note: For additional written historical and descriptive information please see the main entry for Hickam Air Force Base (Hickam Field), HABS No. HI-164. BARRACKS-PACIFIC AIR FORCE HEADAQUARTERS (Hickam Hotel, Hale Makai, Building No. 1102) HABS No. lil-164-I (page 2) Sources: Arakaki, Leatrice and John Kuborn 1991 7 December 1941: The Air Force Story. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. DeMoisy, Judy M. 1992 Partial National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Hickam Field. Typed copy located at Historic Sites Office, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Honolulu Star Bulletin 1940 "Huge New Barracks At Hickam Field Occupied." Honolulu Star Bulletin, September 28, P.3. Hunt, John A. 1940 "The Construction of Hickam Field," Quartermaster Review, Nov-Dec, 1940, pp. 41. Nurse, Howard B. 1938 "Hickam Field, the Anny's Newest and Largest Airdrome," Anny Corps News Letter, 1 July 1938, pp. 9-10. Typed copy at Hickam History Office. Public Affairs Division 1985 Hickam: The First Fifty Years. U.S. Air Force 15th Air Base Wing, Hawaii. Historian: Katharine Bouthillier, Spencer Mason Architects, 1994 HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, BARRACKS (Hickam Air Force Base, Pacific Air Force Headquarters) (Building No. 1102) HABS No. Hl-164-1 Location: Between Vickers and Hangar Avenue, From D to E Streets Adjacent to Hangar Row Hickam Air Force Base City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii U.S.G.S. Pearl Harbor, HI Quadrangle 1999 (7.5 minute series) NAD83. Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates: 4.608490.2361480 ~. Data pages 1-)thave been previously transmitted to the Library of Congress. Significance: Building No. 1102 is a contributing element within the Hickam Field National Historic Landmark. It is significant for its associations with the history of the early development of Hickam Air Field and for its associations with the Japanese attack on the island of Oahu on December 7, 1945. It is also architecturally significant as the largest barracks building constructed by the U.S. Army in the pre-World War II period, whose modest Art Deco design is in keeping with other major buildings constructed at Hickam Air Field prior to 1941. Description: Building No. 1102 is an enormous, straight-forward, three-story, reinforced concrete building with minimal ornamentation. It has 456,203 square feet, over ten acres, under roof, and as originally planned, presented a balanced, near symmetrical appearance. Its 120" x 220" central core (Wing M), which originally functioned as a mess hall, had five wings extending off its northeast (Wings F, G, H, I, and J) and southwest (Wings A, B, C, D and L) sides, and one wing each off its southeast (Wing E) and northwest (Wing K) sides. Wing K, the two-story kitchen wing interrupts the symmetry of the building with its hammer head terminus. This symmetry was further disrupted in 1957 when a two-and-one-half story Wing N was constructed on the northeast side to connect Wings G and I, in order to provide a more imposing entry and additional administrative office space. Its design differs from that of the remainder of the building in that it features pylon-like lava rock veneers flanking either side of its entry. Originally the entry had a centered wooden information booth with open entries to either side of the booth. The booth has been changed to a solid wall, and bronze aluminum doorways have been installed in the original open passageways. The wing has a flat roof with a high parapet wall on its exterior side to conceal the mechanical equipment on the roof. The five wings at either end of Wing M are laid out in a pavilion plan with additional wings extending off the ends of each central body. In addition to the resulting northeast and southwest side courtyards, a pair of HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, BARRACKS HABS No. Hl-164-1 INDEX TO PHOTOGRAPHS (PAGE.2'" ~ courtyards are formed on the southeast and northwest sides the result of the presence of Wings Kand E (see Fig. 2). The wings are all 61'-4" wide and vary in length, with Wings L and J having six 20' long structural bays, while Wings A, C, D, E, F, G and I all feature seven 20' long bays. Wing K runs 120'-1-1/2" from its intersection with Wing M to the base of the hammer head. The hammer head adds another 41 '-4" to its length and is 104' -6" wide. Building 1102 presents a very horizontal profile with a low pitched, standing seam metal, hipped roof with wide overhanging eaves, and sits on a concrete slab foundation supported by subterranean concrete piers. No rafter tails are visible. The building is distinguished by its bands of modern, bronzed aluminum windows which wrap around the building on each floor. The windows on the lower two floors are protected from the elements by thin, flat concrete hoods which follow above the line of the windows for all wings except K and M. The windows and hoods further accentuate the ground-hugging character of the structure. In certain areas of the building, the window openings have been in-filled with concrete block in order to accommodate the mission functions undertaken in those sections of the building. In-filled Window openings may be found in: Wing E on the entire first story of its southwest wall, and the east end of its second story. The remainder of this walls' second floor and third floor contain windows. The windows on the first and second stories at the end of this wing and along the east end of its northeast wall have also been enclosed. In addition a free-standing, single story, flat roofed generator building, dating from 1987, runs down much of the latter wall. This location was the site of a generator building since at least 1966, when a building smaller than the existing structure was erected. Wing F has a portion of its first and third stories of its southwest wall in filled, as well as a section of all three floors on its northeast wall. Wing M has all its first and second floor windows in-filled on both its east and west elevations.