Following an extensive planning and construction process, the county has recently completed seismic repair and renovation work at the historic Eureka Veterans Hall done in response earthquake damage impacted the building. To celebrate, the county has created a virtual tour of the facility on the county website so the community can experience the building’s new features and see the work that has been completed.
The Eureka Veterans Hall, located at 1018 H Street in Eureka, is home to the American Legion Post #212 and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post #1872. The beautiful, newly renovated Veterans Hall is available to these veterans and for special event reservations, provided that appropriate safety precautions are taken in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are interested in reserving the Eureka Veteran’s Hall, you can view the spaces for rent online and contact Bill Long at 707-499-6290 for more details.
“I’m excited the Eureka Veterans Hall is again open to the community with new features and safety improvements,” said Humboldt County 4th District Supervisor Virginia Bass. “This project wouldn’t be possible without the assistance of the state, county staff and all the construction workers.”
(See this link for historical news stories of when the facility was first built, records of deeds and photos.)
The total cost of the project is nearly $9 million, the county’s portion of which is estimated at roughly $2.5 million. The remaining portion will be paid for by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
The scope of the Eureka Veterans Building Earthquake Damage Project was extensive, and key goals of the project included enhancing safety in the building, improving accessibility, and retaining key historic elements of the facility. The project included all work necessary to bring the building up to current building code standards. In addition to repairing seismic damage and making major structural improvements, the project included eliminating accessibility barriers aligned with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, improving the life-safety and exiting systems of the building, performing hazardous materials abatement, installing fire sprinklers throughout and replacing mechanical and electrical equipment with new equipment to meet building code requirements.
Great care was taken in considering the impact the new structural components would have on the existing historic fabric of the building. The design included evaluating the options for placement of the new concrete shear walls extending from new footings in the basement up through the main floor and connecting to the upper roof structure. This care and consideration for the building by both the design team and the general contractor resulted in successfully maintaining and restoring the architecturally significant spaces in the building.
Following scoping and damage assessment, design work began in 2014. Jake Johnson, Architect, Construction Projects Manager for Humboldt County Public Works oversaw the project and was the architect of record for the project. Construction commenced on June 27, 2017 after Adams Commercial General Contracting was awarded the project by the Board of Supervisors following a public bidding process.
The Eureka Veterans Memorial Building is a cast-in place concrete, steel, and wood building built in 1930 by local construction company Mercer Fraser. Original construction costs were $86,000. On Jan. 9, 2010, Humboldt County experienced an earthquake that damaged the Eureka Veterans Building, resulting in spalling of the concrete walls in many areas, extensive cracking, and damage to the roof. The county pursued funding to perform repairs, and closed the facility to the public in June 2017 when construction began.
The Eureka Veterans Memorial Building is a beautiful and historic piece of Humboldt County. Now that the building has been restored following the 2010 earthquake, it will be an accessible space for veterans and members of the community.
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For more information contact:
Manny Machado
Public Information Specialist, Humboldt County Administrative Office
707-445-7266
Additional pictures are below and on our website.
Additional project details are below:
After an extensive design process, plans for the building and site were created that allowed for accessibility compliant grade-level entries to both the basement and main floor of the building by adding an entrance at the south (also required for life safety egress reasons) and revising an existing entrance at the north of the building. A new elevator was installed to serve all floors and fits entirely within the envelope of the building. New accessible bathrooms were constructed for both the basement and main floor. Plan changes to facilitate accessibility and life safety include additional exiting doors from assembly spaces and a new stairway in the north end of the building. .
Changes to the exterior include removal of the non-historic and non-compliant concrete ramp, raising the existing basement door opening at the north elevation, and installation of a new accessible door in an existing window opening at the south side of the building. Several basement window assemblies were replaced with new mechanical louvers or new windows.
Site work included new accessible parking and walkways on the north and south ends of the building, in addition to regular parking stalls.
Existing hazardous materials were abated during the construction project including, but not limited to: asbestos containing pipe insulation, plaster, window glazing and lead paint.
The existing electrical system was replaced, with the existing historically significant lighting fixtures being retained and re-lamped for reuse.
The existing boiler and HVAC system was replaced entirely with new forced air systems.
The commercial kitchen was remodeled to comply with current code requirements and environmental health requirements, and a new grease interceptor was installed on site to collect grease waste.