Benicia Arsenal
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| Benicia was the first army arsenal established on the West Coast, operating from 1849 to 1964, when its function was transferred to the larger Tooele Depot in Utah. It provided a defense for the gold mines of the Sierras, and supplied the army with weapons for wars against the Native Americans. During the Korean War it was a repair center for cannons, tanks, and trucks, and served as a Nike missile maintenance depot for some of the Bay Area's Nike missile sites until the 1960s. When the base closed, the port areas were transferred to a new company, Benicia Industries, which continues to manage the private port. The largest tenant is the automobile logistics company Amports, which can store as many as 42,000 cars at Benicia at any given time. The clocktower building, which still stands at the top of the hill overlooking the Port, was the main storehouse for munitions through the 1880s. Unexploded bombs and other explosives are scattered underground at a number of sites around the arsenal grounds, including many public and privately owned areas. The army corps is in the midst of a major survey and disposal program all over the site. |
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Benicia
(POINT(-122.13943004608 38.062275381075))
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| Much of the port area of Benicia is privately owned, but it is possible to explore. Some of the reuses of the old arsenal industrial buildings are interesting, such as several artist-type studio/live/work places. The clocktower building and the boarded-up Commandant's Home, (built circa 1880 with two foot thick walls, as it is located across from the old arsenal building) are up the hill from the port, and north of them on Park Road is the Camel Barn Museum (local history and the Edward Beale Camel Corps tale), open most days, and surrounded by unexploded ordnance warnings. Park Road continues north through the refinery. In addition to Amports' car storage, Nationwide Auto Auctions holds massive, periodic auctions of government-seized and fleet vehicles at their yard in the port area. Downtown Benicia's waterfront has a small, scrappy shipyard and a historic pier. |
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http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wwIIbayarea/ben.htm
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Depot
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Former Defense Site, Military
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