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Home arrow Working with Section 106 arrow ACHP Case Digest arrow Summer 2004 arrow California: Demolition of the East and West Wings of the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey
California: Demolition of the East and West Wings of the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey

Agency: U.S. Navy
As reported in the Summer 2003 Case Digest, the U.S. Navy proposed to demolish two 116-year-old wings of a building that, before becoming the Naval Postgraduate School in 1951, was the Hotel Del Monte, a popular Alpine Gothic-style resort and important community landmark.

Rehabilitation of the wings was considered too expensive to meet safety codes and the Department of Defense’s new antiterrorism
standards.

But this last remaining feature of the 1888 resort will survive after all. The Navy now plans to rehabilitate the wings in light of concerns expressed by the ACHP and other consulting parties on the project.

In June 2003, the ACHP notified the Secretary of the Navy that it would participate in consultation on the proposal to demolish the historic wings. That same month, the Navy recognized the California Preservation Foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation as additional consulting parties on the project.

Naval Postgraduate School wing, Monterey, California

 

 

One of the original wings of the former Hotel Del Monte, Monterey, California (photo courtesy of U.S. Navy)

 

 

After several meetings that summer, the Navy developed a feasibility analysis for the renovation of the two wings. The study recommended alternative ways to address the structural deficiencies, and estimated that the wings could be rehabilitated for a cost that is comparable to new construction.

The Navy developed a Memorandum of Agreement for the rehabilitation of the building’s wings, and in May 2004, the ACHP executed the agreement.

In recognition of the Navy’s planning efforts and its decision to retain this significant California landmark, the California Preservation Foundation presented the Navy with an award at the organization’s annual meeting in May 2004.

For background information on this case, visit the Summer 2003 Case Digest.

Staff contact: Lee Keatinge

Posted August 9, 2004

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