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Press release from Humboldt County:

Following an extensive planning and construction process, the county has recently completed seismic repair and renovation work at the historic Eureka Veterans Hall done in response earthquake damage impacted the building. To celebrate, the county has created a virtual tour of the facility on the county website so the community can experience the building’s new features and see the work that has been completed.

The Eureka Veterans Hall, located at 1018 H Street in Eureka, is home to the American Legion Post #212 and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post #1872. The beautiful, newly renovated Veterans Hall is available to these veterans and for special event reservations, provided that appropriate safety precautions are taken in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are interested in reserving the Eureka Veteran’s Hall, you can view the spaces for rent online and contact Bill Long at 707-499-6290 for more details.

“I’m excited the Eureka Veterans Hall is again open to the community with new features and safety improvements,” said Humboldt County 4th District Supervisor Virginia Bass. “This project wouldn’t be possible without the assistance of the state, county staff and all the construction workers.”

The total cost of the project is nearly $9 million, the county’s portion of which is estimated at roughly $2.5 million. The remaining portion will be paid for by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

The scope of the Eureka Veterans Building Earthquake Damage Project was extensive, and key goals of the project included enhancing safety in the building, improving accessibility, and retaining key historic elements of the facility. The project included all work necessary to bring the building up to current building code standards. In addition to repairing seismic damage and making major structural improvements, the project included eliminating accessibility barriers aligned with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, improving the life-safety and exiting systems of the building, performing hazardous materials abatement, installing fire sprinklers throughout and replacing mechanical and electrical equipment with new equipment to meet building code requirements. 

Great care was taken in considering the impact the new structural components would have on the existing historic fabric of the building. The design included evaluating the options for placement of the new concrete shear walls extending from new footings in the basement up through the main floor and connecting to the upper roof structure. This care and consideration for the building by both the design team and the general contractor resulted in successfully maintaining and restoring the architecturally significant spaces in the building.

Following scoping and damage assessment, design work began in 2014. Jake Johnson, Architect, Construction Projects Manager for Humboldt County Public Works oversaw the project and was the architect of record for the project. Construction commenced on June 27, 2017 after Adams Commercial General Contracting was awarded the project by the Board of Supervisors following a public bidding process.

Historical photo.

The Eureka Veterans Memorial Building is a cast-in place concrete, steel, and wood building built in 1930. On Jan. 9, 2010, Humboldt County experienced an earthquake that damaged the Eureka Veterans Building, resulting in spalling of the concrete walls in many areas, extensive cracking, and damage to the roof. The county pursued funding to perform repairs, and closed the facility to the public in June 2014 2017 when construction began.

The Eureka Veterans Memorial Building is a beautiful and historic piece of Humboldt County. Now that the building has been restored following the 2010 earthquake, it will be an accessible space for veterans and members of the community.