Historic Preservation > Historic Properties > Oahu Non-Residential
The Chief Petty Officers Quarters
Battleship Row, Ford Island
Pearl Harbor, Oahu
Abstract
These six single-wall bungalows on the edge of Ford Island were right alongside Battleship Row when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. The nearby explosions singed the houses, and sailors swimming away from their sinking ships came ashore on Ford Island and took refuge here. On a less dramatic note, the Navy built the bungalows in 1923 as quarters for junior aviation offers as Ford Island developed into a naval air station. Closely related to plantation housing of the same era, such military quarters are unique to Hawaii. They were last used as chief petty officers' quarters.
What threatens them?
The bungalows have been unused for about 15 years and could be demolished. "We currently don't have any Navy mission use for the vacant cottages, which have been secured in the interest of public safety," says Lt. Barbara Mertz, public affairs officers, Navy Region Hawaii.
What can be done?
Someone will need to adopt these bungalows to save them. Nearly all of the Pearl Harbor naval complex has been designated a national historic landmark, notes Mertz, including more than 1.400 historic structures, many of which the Navy has been unable to adaptively reuse. "we take the preservation of Pearl Harbor's cultural and historical resources very seriously, " says Mertz, "as Such, awe continue to see potential users, who might be able to refurbish and reuse the bungalows. We'll continue to seek potential users until all options have been exhausted."
Update (2009): The CPO bunglows are now part of the Valor in the Pacific, World War II National Monument, designated by President Bush in 2008. The National Park Service has already started stabilization on the bungalows and is currently working on restoration and interpretation plans.
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