Sacramento Air Depot Historic District

Poured-concrete buildings from the late 1930s form the original core of the Sacramento Air Depot, later McClellan Air Force Base, in North Highlands, California. Groundbreaking took place on September 8, 1936, and the exteriors were finished by June 1938. Designs came from the Quartermaster General's Office in Washington D.C. Walls are board-form concrete with cast concrete trim, combining Art Deco, International and Pueblo details. The Headquarters has a terrazzo lobby and zig-zag ornament, and the housing units vary in size by military rank. A botany professor from the University of California, Davis designed the landscaping, which Works Progress Administration crews planted. The depot's maintenance building and warehouse were among the largest structures in the country when built, and the project cost $7,000,000. The base was dedicated in April 1939 before more than 50,000 visitors. During World War II it repaired aircraft for the whole Pacific region. Most original buildings still look much as they did in photographs from 1937 to 1939.