U.S. Naval Air Station, Equipment Shops & Offices, 206 South Avenue, Pensacola, Escambia County, FL

Significance: Building No. 45 was constructed as the Equipment Shop and Offices in 1905-06 and, for only a brief period of time, was directly related to the mission of the Pensacola Navy Yard, The Bureau of Yards and Docks (BuDocks) provided architectural plans for Building No. 45, and Algernon Blair, a Montgomery, Alabama-based firm, served as contractor. Located in the southeastern corner of the historic navy yard on South Avenue just north of the Wet Basin...[this placement] was critical to its mission-related function, which was to repair sails, flags and riggings on naval vessels. Maritime tracks led from the Wet Basin to Building No. 45's east facade to facilitate repairs. Like the nearby and contemporaneous Power Plant, Building No. 45 feature a steel framing system with brick infill, which was an early application of fire-proofing design technologies in industrial building. Other noteworthy original architectural details of Building No. 45 included detailed exterior brickwork that contrasted with limestone, granite and terra cotta ornamentation on all three floors, and a monitor, which originally ran the length of the building.
Following its completion, Building No. 45 served a vital mission-related function, but after a brief closure of the yard from 1911 to 1914, its function changed to accommodate the re-designation of the yard as Naval Aeronautical Station Pensacola. After the 1917 hurricane that struck the Gulf Coast, Building No. 45 moved into a mission-support role as administrative offices, storage, and operational support. NAS Pensacola frequently rotated tenants in and out of Building No. 45 as the need arose...In the late 1980s, Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola Legal Services and NORU became the last major tenants of Building No. 45. Building No. 45 is noteworthy primarily for its classically inspired architectural design and features, but also because it possesses important historical associations that reflect the installation's operation as a navy yard and later as a naval air station. Despite major alterations to the exterior such as removal of the monitor in 1960 and the original windows in 1971, Building No 45 is a good example of the Classical Revival style. It provides a tangible link to the resurgence of the yard and maritime service at the turn-of-the-century and t naval aviation training through both World Wars and the Cold War. Building No. 45 is located in the southeastern section of NAS Pensacola, within the boundaries of the Pensacola Naval Air Station Historic District, which was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1976.
Survey number: HABS FL-512
Building/structure dates: 1905 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 76000595