Naval Supply Annex Stockton, Rough & Ready Island, Stockton, San Joaquin County, CA

Significance: The Naval Supply Annex Stockton Historic District is significant in the areas of military history and architecture/engineering. As discussed under "Historic Context," the supply annex was built late during World War II, with construction beginning in 1944 and completed a few months before the surrender of Japan. The annex made a brief but important contribution in the effort to keep naval forces supplied during the crucial months at the end of the war, including massive preparations for a planned invasion of Japan. The principal area of significance for the historic district is in the area of industrial architecture. The warehouses in this supply annex were the first to be designed entirely to accommodate "palletization," an important new approach to cargo storage and handling, developed by the Navy during the war. Palletization storage of cargo on standardized pallets which could be moved intact from a warehouse to a dock and from there to a waiting ship or train revolutionized the supply program of the Navy and other armed forces after the war and would have a great impact on civilian warehousing and cargo handling techniques as well. Palletization would remain the industry standard until the perfection of containerization methods during the early 1960s. This historic district is significant chiefly because it is an important example of the Navy's contribution to cargo handling methods during World War II.

Survey number: HABS CA-2682

military depots stockton annex annex stockton rough ready ready island san joaquin county san joaquin california historic american buildings survey photo ultra high resolution high resolution navy us navy train stations japan in world war ii library of congress

1933 - 1970

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

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