The June 11, 2009 issue of The Ferndale Enterprise reports that the Navy will start demolution of the buildings. The clean-up will cost $9.4 million - BLM ownes the site and it will become part of its Lost Coast Headlands project. All that will remain is the parking lot. Clean-up started in April and the building will be razed in August. Completion is expected by the end of 2010.

Let's see... Fleet Sonar School KWEST is gone. The cruiser I'm a plankowner in and all five of my submarines are either museums or razor blades. And now the NavFac I helped build is being returned to nature. This keeps up and I'll start to feel old...

Ducky,

Did it cost that much to build it??? I know that with the princely salaries of sailors in that era it must have cost a small fortune just to have you there, but I suspect that the buildings didn't cost 9.3 Million to put up all those years ago.

Jerry

Dunno cost, but concrete block etc. and outfitting was basic Navy shore base. Some of the initial outfitting was a bit scant - two hand-push lawnmowers, for example. We bought a flock of sheep (not making this up), had round-ups to move them across the road to 'mow' the TEB compound and then back. Free roaming - the gate guard had as added duty the requirement to keep them inside the fence and prevent them bolting though the gate ... which they did every couple weeks anyway.

$9.4 million dollars MY ASS !!!! The government loves wasting our tax dollars; just let Mother Nature take it back for, let's see .... for ZERO DOLLARS ...DUH !

I was there when they built the addition including the new display room in 1973, I can't remember for sure, but a number between $6M and $8M keep coming up in my mind. It was a massive structure considering the Old display room and having just arrived from Midway. There was lots of "sweep and return" noise as all those actuators started the first time. Oh, those were the days.

dave

Dave, it seems sad to see progress sometimes. The start of a new era at Centerville Beach is so fresh in my mind yet I visited there 2 summers ago and it seemed so long ago. Many of us there at the time were fortunate enough to be part or this new era. Glad your still well Dave.

Had lunch today with former CVB CO Bob Bridges. He asked 'why keep the parking lot?' Anyone know?

The parking lot and future picnic tables will be tied to BLM's public access to their Lost Coast Headlands Project south of CVB. I will submit more news about this as I get it JM Eureka CA

Are the farms in the canyons beyond CVB (Guthrie and Fleener Canyons) still occupied?

I do not know if they are - the big news is that the Humboldt Creamery is bankrupt - they are still in operation - it could be sold in a month - a lot of diary farmers are not being fully paid JM

When I built NOPF Dam Neck, the budget was 4.8M, which included collateral equipment. That bought everything but the ops gear! And we actually came in under (barely ) budget. Twice that, to tear a building down!?

I'm in the wrong line of work!

Found a website for the Centerville County Park & Beach. Includes pics of the beaches and old facility.

http://co.humboldt.ca.us/portal/living/county_parks/default.asp?parkID=CB

Jim

A couple comments on the comments about tear-down cost.

1. A 1956 dollar - the year for CVB initial appropriation for construction - is equivalent to 7.92 2008 dollars. So the $9.4 million tear-down cost equates to $1.186 million in original-year-of-construction costs, not really outlandish.

2. The biggest cost in tear-downs of this age is often environmental remediation. You don't have to be a tree-hugger to be concerned with kids playing in dirt doused in carcinogens etc. When CVB went into commission, no one knew how to even spell environment and I think it likely that a lot of nasty stuff was disposed of by pouring it in the ground etc. Direct harm aside, the math on legal costs and lost lawsuits much favors prevention of environmental harm to individuals and ecologies over paying costs after a loss in court.

Jim: thanks for link. Hope all is well and sorry cannot make it to Norfolk in Sep.

What memories I have of CVB. Without having gone to CVB I never would have:
1. ejoyed the klamuth river (about 1/4 mile from my house in Rio Del) 2. Fished for salmon on the EEL river. 3. enjoyed the beauty of northern California 4. been able to work at such a beautiful location (when the fog wasn't there!)! and 5. met the good people, of the area, who are MUCH different than those in the rest of California. All of us, who were stationed there, have memories of CVB.

Sigh. Another piece of our rather short history bites the dust. I'm glad I went to visit a couple of years ago.

Speaking of pieces of history - perhaps they could reduce the cost of tearing it down if they simply opened the gates, provided sledge hammers, and let anyone from the community or that was stationed there come and get a piece of history. Think of how many pieces of the Berlin Wall there are scattered around the world in people's houses, gift shops, and museums!