Kelly Field Historic District

Located near the center of Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, this district preserves the core of the base's pre-World War II mobilization and wartime build-up. Most of its buildings, structures, objects and sites went up between 1940 and 1943 to train, house, supply and maintain recruits, instructors and officers. A formal axial plan centers on the Esplanade, a lawn-and-tree park about 1,100 feet long, flanked by large Mediterranean-style barracks and an academic building, with an 85-foot octagonal Art Moderne Miniature Range Building at one end. Smaller warehouses, shops and utility buildings line secondary streets, while Art Moderne housing for noncommissioned and company officers sits at the edges. Of 58 resources, 39 contribute to the district's character. Alterations such as window replacements, demolished temporary barracks and a new chapel have not erased the original layout. The district was listed for its link to wartime pilot training and its cohesive planning and architecture.