Existing comment:
Marine Corps Recruit Depot:
The story of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot begins at the bottom of San Diego Harbor. Since the early 20th century, dredging projects worked to lower the bottom of the harbor for the ever-increasing draught depth of naval vessels. The sediment pulled form the bay floor was placed around the harbor to extend the acreage of useable land and to encourage development. These projects were funded by the military with the purpose of making San Diego's natural harbor a useful destination for the Navy's new and rapidly growing Pacific Fleet, which included growing numbers of Marine Corps units to be stationed on the west coast.
The Marines had arrived in San Diego as early as 1911. After 1914, under the command of Colonel Joseph H. Pendleton, the Marines maintained a semi-permanent existence within the region. The city's climate and proximity in Mexico, Panama, South America, and the Hawaiian Islands made San Diego an ideal location for a permanent Marine base.
Col. Pendleton recommended a site located on North Island, but Congressman William Kettner urged a parcel of tidelands to then Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Delano Roosevelt during a visit to the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915. Following inspection of the site, a positive recommendation was given to the Secretary of the Navy,Josephus Daniels.
The Navy Department approved the establishment of the "Marine Advance Base" on January 8, 1916, to be built on the tideland site called "Dutch Flat." But Dutch Flat had to be dredged and filled before groundbreaking could begin in 1919 for permanent buildings.
With dredging and filling 80% complete, construction began in March 1919. Pendleton, now brigadier general, returned to San Diego from Parris Island to command all Marine Corps activities in the area and oversaw the construction of the base. Pendleton's goal was to "make it the most beautiful and picturesque military post in the United States." |