U.S. Coast Guard Base San Juan, Store House, San Juan, San Juan Municipio, PR

Significance: The Store House (Building 101), was constructed in 1922 for the U.S. Lighthouse Service's San Juan Lighthouse Depot, which was located at the southern tip of La Puntilla, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The building is a contributing resource in the Coast Guard Base San Juan Historic District, which is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The Base San Juan Historic District is significant for its role as the Coast Guard's Tenth District Headquarters during World War II. Along with the Port of Spain, Trinidad and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Base Juan served as one of the most important Caribbean harbors during the war. Together with smaller ports and harbors, the installation helped to create a ring of protection guarding the approaches to the Panama Canal. In addition to providing ongoing maintenance of aids to navigation and communication, Coast Guard personnel stationed at the base also performed mine sweeping in shipping lanes, beach patrol near coastal areas, and convoy escort to Trans-Atlantic vessels during the war. When first completed, the Store House served as a storage building for the Lighthouse Service station at La Puntilla, which was initially established in 1903. The building appears to have later functioned as the Coast Guard base's rescue communications center building. Currently the building houses the base armory, as well as the offices of the base supply officer and Sato Travel, a local travel agent.
Survey number: HABS PR-133-C
Building/structure dates: 1922 Initial Construction