Ever wonder about our chapel? Your reporter heard it was called an Eleanor Roosevelt chapel, named for the First Lady who had the idea for chapels to reassure soldiers in WW2. Historian Cameron Binkley knows more:
In 1940, the United States was preparing for World War II. The Army, including its chaplaincy, expanded as a peacetime draft eventually brought millions into service. To house, feed, and minister to these multitudes, the Army standardized plans to construct simple wooden structures, including chapels, wherever they were needed. Fashioned in assembly-line style using prefabricated materials, these buildings sprouted like seeds after a warm rain on posts like Fort Ord.
The military chapel was a key structure of the “T” series. Planners created a familiar look expressed through a pitched roof and steeple design with white-washed drop-down siding that covered a long open bay with pews.
Eight chapels were built at Fort Ord, including one at East Garrison, with another for the Presidio of Monterey. The first chapel on Eighth Street, now owned by Marina, opened in late 1941 and was assigned to the 17th Infantry Regiment. After the closure of Fort Ord, the functional design of the Army’s chapels supported civilian reuse, though some are gone. The First Street Chapel at California State University Monterey Bay is now a community hall while the Tenth Street Chapel in the Dunes area is inhabited by the Central Coast Baptist Church.
The East Garrison Chapel remains controlled by a developer with uncertain plans.
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