{"nrhp_refnum":"85002723","name":"Eagles Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"733 Eighth Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Diego","county":"San Diego County","state":"CA","lat":32.713038692000055,"lon":-117.15674672999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-10-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story fraternal lodge hall at 733 Eighth Avenue in San Diego, California, designed in 1917 by William H. Wheeler and John Selmar Siebert and enlarged by the same architects in 1934.","why_significant":"The hall was the home of San Diego's Eagles Aerie No. 244 for 35 years and is tied to the group's philanthropic and social assistance work during the Great Depression. The 1934 expansion was a private works project that employed Eagles members. The nomination also calls it a rare surviving example of its era and type of fraternal hall in the San Diego area, though not architecturally distinguished.","narrative":"Eagles Hall at 733 Eighth Avenue in San Diego is a three-story fraternal lodge with a formal, austere street front and restrained classical detailing. The Eagles Aerie No. 244 commissioned architects William H. Wheeler and John Selmar Siebert to design the original sand-stuccoed brick building in 1917. In 1934 the same architects doubled its size, producing the flat-pilastered concrete block facade seen today. Funding for the expansion waited until the lodge had addressed urgent social needs of the Depression, and construction followed the federal model of public works by employing only lodge members. The finished building was the largest fraternal hall in the city. The Eagles used it until 1952, supporting sick and funeral benefits, cancer and heart research, and youth programs. Rohr Aircraft Corporation then bought it and made cosmetic changes, including a heavy stucco coat on the west facade. The nomination describes it as one of very few surviving halls of its kind and period in the region.","period_of_significance":"1934","architect_builder":"William H. Wheeler & Selmar Siebert","architectural_style":"Austere monumental fraternal hall with minimal classical details; original 1917 structure described as neoclassical revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Altered but in excellent condition per the form; in 1985 the second floor was occupied by a clothing manufacturer and the third floor used as offices. The building once stood vacant after the Eagles left.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:28.091391-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/85002723.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002723/ffa44f8ca1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002723/ffa44f8ca1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jeffrey Beall","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eagles_Hall_San_Diego.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Jeffrey Beall</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eagles_Hall_San_Diego.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860848","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagles_Hall_(San_Diego)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q605120"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-diego-county/eagles-hall-85002723/"}