Kelly Field Historic District

	Kelly Field Historic District
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. Historic district
	Kelly Field Historic District, middle right of the runway
	Kelly Field Historic District Kelly Field Historic District
Location	San Antonio, Texas, US
Coordinates	29°22′57″N98°34′15″W / 29.38250°N 98.57083°W
NRHP reference No.	03000626
Added to NRHP	July 10, 2003

Last updated February 01, 2025

The Kelly Field Historic District is located in southwestern San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. It is the center portion of the base, east of the runways. The boundaries of the 1600 buildings are Billy Mitchell Road on the north, Wagner on the east, England on the south and S. Frank Luke Drive on the west. The 1700 block of officer quarters are bounded on the north by Chennault Street, the east and south by Chennault Circle, and Van Nostrand Drive on the west. The historic district contains 58 contributing and non-contributing buildings, structures, objects and sites, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.^[2]

Camp Kelly was established on May 7, 1917, to be a US Army training facility for pilots and support staff during World War I. The first airplanes arrived on April 5, and on April 6 the United States declared war on Germany.^[3] The increased training activities necessitated more facilities and the acquisition of additional land. The original field became Kelly Field No. 1. The new facilities became Kelly Field No. 2. Military cut-backs followed the 1918 Armistice with Germany, and the two facilities ceased training pilots but functioned as supply depots. The two fields were re-designated in 1925 as Duncan Field (Kelly No. 1) and Kelly Field (Kelly No. 2).^[4] The latter included the Air Service Advanced Flying School where Charles Lindbergh earned his wings,^[5] graduating first in his class on March 14, 1925.^[6]

In 1926, the Army Air Corps Act authorized a 5-year period of expansion to begin July 1, 1927.^[7] As a result, both Kelly No. 1 and No. 2 began being developed as permanent aviator training facilities.^[8] During World War II, the facilities were consolidated as San Antonio Air Depot and was the largest maintenance and supply facility in the United States. The property was renamed Kelly Air Force Base after the National Security Act of 1947 established the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the military.^[9] Kelly eventually became the largest employer in San Antonio.^[8] In 1995, the United States government began realignment of military facilities. Kelly was closed in 2001, partially combined with Lackland Air Force Base. The remainder was taken over by the Greater Kelly Development Authority of the state of Texas and redeveloped as a commercial and military industrial center.^[10]

Properties

The development that began between the two world wars, and continued through post-World War II, is the area designated as Kelly Field Historic District.^[8]

National Register criteria for which the following properties qualify are two-fold:^[2]

"Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history."
"Property embodies the distinct characteristic of a type, period, or method of construction or represents a work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction."

The following data is reproduced from Table 1 of NPS Form 10-900 Registration Form dated April 15, 2002. The dates represent the original construction period and subsequent improvements or other alterations to the property.^[2]

Contributing

Number/feature	Significant dates	Notes
Feature A	c.1940	237.5 by 1,100 feet (72.4 m × 335.3 m) esplanade along Goodrich and Mabry drives; Irregularly shaped parcels; Triangular intersection islands
Feature B	c.1940	sidewalks
Feature C	c.1940	streets
Feature D	c.1940	landscaping
1607	1943	weather building, storage
1609	1942	Norden bombsight storage
1610	1940, 1955, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1980, 1987	Air Corps operations hangar
1618	1937, 1953, 1973	oil storage, pump station
1625	1935,1960s, 1983	miniature range, air conditioning; built by the Works Progress Administration
1627	1942, 1950, 1967, 1981	photo lab
1632	1940, 1950s, 1960s	Quartermaster maintenance
1635	1940, 1947, 1968	signal office, warehouse, Public Affairs Office
1638	1941	water pump house, electric substation
1643	1942	bath house; built by the Works Progress Administration
1644	1942	water filtration building; built by the Works Progress Administration
1645	1942	swimming pool; built by the Works Progress Administration
1650	1940, 1950s–1980s	enlisted men's barracks
1676	1940, 1950s–1980s	cadet barracks
1680	1940, 1943, 1960s–1980s	academic building, Air Depot HQ
1681	1940,1971	NCO quarters
1682 though 1689	1940,1973	NCO quarters
1690 through 1694, 1696	1940	NCO quarters
1750, 1752–1753, 1755, 1757–1758	1940,1973	officer's quarters

Non contributing

Number	Significant dates	Notes
1600	1942, 1942, 1967, 1973, 1982	Norden bombsight repair shop
1611	1951	bus stop
1621	1940, 1953, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1989	Air Corps warehouse
1622	1987	bus stop
1623	1942,1966	Quartermaster vehicle repair
1626	1940, 1950s, 1960s, 1971	Quartermaster warehouse
1628	1942,1994	theater, classrooms
1636	1954	dental clinic, counseling office, housing
1637	1981	Base Exchange
1651	1959	electric substation
1654	1955	baseball diamond
1655	1986	heating plant
1669	1977	chapel
1670	1942, 1960s, 1994	temporary barracks, Judge Advocate
1671	1942, 1960s, 1994	temporary barracks, Judge Advocate
1674	1967	telephone equipment
1697	1972	storage shed
1698	1957	flagpole

Related Research Articles

Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam", it is named for the first president of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lackland Air Force Base</span> US Air Force base near San Antonio, Texas, part of Air Education and Training Command

Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas, United States. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of the city of San Antonio. It is the only site for USAF and United States Space Force enlisted Basic Military Training (BMT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randolph Air Force Base</span> US Air Force base near San Antonio, Texas

Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Bexar County, Texas,.

The Texas Air National Guard (TX ANG) is the aerial militia of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and part of the Texas National Guard, alongside the Texas Army National Guard. No element of the Texas Air National Guard is under United States Air Force command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Texas through the office of the Texas Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Texas Air National Guard is headquartered at Camp Mabry, Austin, and its chief of staff is Brigadier General Matthew Barker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooks Air Force Base</span> Former U.S. military air base in San Antonio, Texas

Brooks Air Force Base was a United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas, 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Downtown San Antonio.

Kelly Field is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooke Army Medical Center</span> US Army medical facility at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas

Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) is the United States Army's premier medical institution. Located on Fort Sam Houston, BAMC is a 425-bed academic medical center, and is the Department of Defense's largest facility and only Level 1 trauma center. BAMC is also home to the Center for the Intrepid, an outpatient rehabilitation facility. The center is composed of ten separate organizations, including community medical clinics, centered around the Army's largest in-patient hospital. BAMC is staffed by more than 8,000 soldiers, airmen, sailors, civilians, and contractors, providing care to wounded service members and the San Antonio community at large.

Mitchel Air Force Base, also known as Mitchel Field, was a United States Air Force base located on the Hempstead Plains of Long Island, New York, United States. Established in 1918 as Hazelhurst Aviation Field #2, the facility was renamed later that year as Mitchel Field in honor of former New York City Mayor John Purroy Mitchel, who was killed while training for the Air Service in Louisiana.

Chanute Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force facility, located in Champaign County, Illinois, south of and adjacent to Rantoul, Illinois, about 130 miles (210 km) south of Chicago. Its primary mission throughout its existence was Air Force technical training. Chanute Field was established on 21 May 1917, being one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I.

Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located 1.1 miles northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California.

Camp Bullis Military Training Reservation is a U.S. Army training camp comprising 27,990 acres (113.3 km²) in Bexar County, Texas, United States, just northwest of San Antonio. Camp Bullis provides base operations support and training support to Joint Base San Antonio. The camp is named for Brigadier General John L. Bullis.

Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegis of the nearby Johnson Space Center. The host wing for the installation is the Texas Air National Guard's 147th Attack Wing. Opened in 1917, Ellington Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I. It is named for First Lieutenant Eric Ellington, a U.S. Army aviator who was killed in a plane crash in San Diego, California in 1913.

The 110th Bomb Squadron is a unit of the Missouri Air National Guard 131st Bomb Wing located at Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, Missouri. The 110th is equipped with the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit.

Randolph Field Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District encompassing the central portion of Randolph Air Force Base, near San Antonio, Texas, US. Randolph Field was innovatively designed using Garden city movement principles, and includes a unique and well-preserved assemblage of Mission Revival and Art Deco architecture. Built between 1929 and 1931, it was the first permanent flight training facility of the United States military establishment, then the United States Army Air Corps and later the United States Air Force. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001.

Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) is a United States military facility located in San Antonio, Texas, US. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 502d Air Base Wing, Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The wing's three Mission Support Groups perform the installation support mission at the three bases that form JBSA.

Henry Post Army Airfield is a military use airport located at Fort Sill in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States. This military airport is owned by United States Army. Established as Post Field in 1917, it was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917.

With the purchase of its first airplane, built and successfully flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright, in 1909 the United States Army began the training of flight personnel. This article describes the training provided in those early years, though World War I, and the immediate years after the war until the establishment of the United States Army Air Corps Flight Training Center in San Antonio, Texas during 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Administration Building (Randolph Air Force Base)</span> United States historic place

The Administration Building at Randolph Air Force Base is headquarters for the 12th Flying Training Wing and located at Universal City, northeast of San Antonio, county of Bexar, in the U.S. state of Texas. The building is referred to as the Taj Mahal, or simply the Taj. It is Building 100 on the base, and was erected in 1931 at a cost of $252,027.50. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Twenty-Fifth Air Force, was a numbered air force (NAF) within the United States Air Force (USAF), and served as the Air Force's premier military intelligence organization. 25 AF was established on 29 September 2014 by redesignating the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency under Headquarters, United States Air Force, to a numbered air force aligned under Air Combat Command. The USAF also realigned the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and the 55th Wing under the new NAF. It was headquartered at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

Brooks is a 1,308-acre (529 ha) mixed-use community in the southeast portion of the city of San Antonio, Texas, United States. Brooks was created in 2001 by the United States Congress, the State of Texas and the City of San Antonio to redevelop the former Brooks Air Force Base. Brooks is intended to be a catalyst for economic development, a dynamic mixed-use community and a model for responsible urban planning and development.

References

↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
1 2 3 "Kelly Field Historic District" (PDF). THC NR Program. Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
↑ "A Joint Resolution of April 6, 1917, Public Resolution 65-1, 40 STAT 1, Declaring that a State of War Exists Between the Imperial German Government and the Government and the People of the United States and Making Provision to Prosecute the Same, 04/06/1917". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
↑ "Kelly Field narrative". Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
↑ Leatherwood, Art. "Kelly Air Force Base". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
↑ Wagner, Heather Lehr (2003). Charles Lindbergh (Famous Flyers). Chelsea House Publications. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-7910-7212-7.
↑ "1926 – The U. S. Army Air Corps Act". United States Air Force. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
1 2 3 "Kelly Field Historic District". National Park Service. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
↑ "1943–1947 Struggle for Air Force Independence". United States Air Force. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
↑ Sasser, Chris (February 15, 2012). "Port San Antonio: Not Just Surviving, Thriving". Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Retrieved April 8, 2014.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.

[THCNR-2] 1 2 3 "Kelly Field Historic District" (PDF). THC NR Program. Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved April 8, 2014.

[3] "A Joint Resolution of April 6, 1917, Public Resolution 65-1, 40 STAT 1, Declaring that a State of War Exists Between the Imperial German Government and the Government and the People of the United States and Making Provision to Prosecute the Same, 04/06/1917". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved April 8, 2014.

[THC-4] "Kelly Field narrative". Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved April 8, 2014.

[5] Leatherwood, Art. "Kelly Air Force Base". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved April 8, 2014.

[6] Wagner, Heather Lehr (2003). Charles Lindbergh (Famous Flyers). Chelsea House Publications. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-7910-7212-7.

[7] "1926 – The U. S. Army Air Corps Act". United States Air Force. Retrieved April 8, 2014.

[NPS-8] 1 2 3 "Kelly Field Historic District". National Park Service. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.

[9] "1943–1947 Struggle for Air Force Independence". United States Air Force. Retrieved April 8, 2014.

[10] Sasser, Chris (February 15, 2012). "Port San Antonio: Not Just Surviving, Thriving". Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Retrieved April 8, 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]