NAS Chase Field-Building 1040
a.k.a. Auditorium/Gym/Chapel
Enterprise St. 0.37 mi. SSE of the jct. of TX 202 and Independence St., Beeville, TXBuilding 1040, the Auditorium/Gym/Chapel, is a product of the enormous military construction program that built a network of naval aviation and auxiliary air stations to train pilots and crewmen for active duty during World War II. Built in 1943, during the initial period of construction at NAS Chase Field, the Auditorium/Gym/Chapel was a creative response to the war emergency conditions that restricted materials and labor for non-essential military construction. By combining three different types of support activities in a single facility, the Navy saved time, expense and, most importantly for the war effort, materials. As a result, the building has an unusual appearance but one that uniquely expresses the priorities of the auxiliary air station's mission during the war years. The building relates to Chase Field: A World War II Naval Auxiliary Air Station, 1943-1946 and to the statewide context, U.S. Military 1919-1945.
Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.