Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (San Diego, California)

 barracks, 1980s construction

The 1897 mining casemate and a prehistoric archeological site were demolished prior to the construction of the BEQ.

The mining casemate (Building 167) represented an extremely early use of reinforced concrete as applied to military installations and was the only example of its period and type in southern California. Originally intended as an electronic control facility for the detonation of mines, the underground building was designed to withstand the direct impact of heavy battleship artillery shells, thereby allowing for the continued protection of the harbor against possible invasion. As a result, the design and construction of the facility were directed solely toward the uninterrupted operation of the unit with little, if any, regard for user comfort. The building is, therefore, a remarkably pure expression of utilitarian construction and design where form is dictated entirely by function.

Built in 1897, the structure was remodeled in 1899, 1909, and 1917 in efforts to upgrade it in accordance with progressive developments in warfare planning and technology.

cdn.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/ca/ca1600/ca1607/data/c...