Realignment And Closure Introduction
An unmistakeable noise pierces through the quiet as a thick plume of white smoke washes over the remains of a long-gone military installation. A pair of fishermen look on, increasingly annoyed, but fully expectant of the unruly chaos taking place 100 yards down the tarmac. It lasts about ten seconds, ending with cheers from the teenage participants, and jeers from the sidelined family who just wanted a safe place to teach their daughter how to ride a bicycle without training wheels. I would go to Alameda Point (the real estate name given to the now-decommissioned Naval Air Station Alameda) for the first time nearly 15 years ago, much for the same reason as these unconcerned adolescents—to do burnouts and donuts in a scantily modified Acura Integra on the empty, endless stretches of deserted aircraft runway.
Looking around, it’s hard to imagine that only 24 years ago this seemingly lawless grid of wide-paved streets and decaying buildings was still an active military base. During WWII it dispatched carrier ships like the USS Hornet loaded with B-52 combat bombers tasked with defending the United States from foreign enemies. Less than three decades later, its own position is defended only from sight by the outstretched arms of gantry cranes dotted along the Port of Oakland, the fifth busiest container port in the country. As the Cold War came to an end, NAS Alameda was subject to the Base Realignment and Closure process, and the once mobilized base was slowly dismantled.
The Navy ended all operations on NAS Alameda by 1997 and the city of Alameda adopted its first five-year implementation plan for what they called ‘Alameda Point’ in 1999. The Navy would eventually relinquish control of Alameda Point to the city a decade later, paving the way for a multi-partner redevelopment project seeking to transform the island base into a thriving residential community, leisure destination, and transit hub; all parts of an increasingly delayed master plan that’s still in its early stages today.
Despite those setbacks, a unique ecosystem of a similar nature has already evolved in close quarters on Alameda Point since realignment. Near the western end of the base, a youth soccer league plays matches on a pitch entirely surrounded by the disintegrating former main barracks—its patriotic signage and eagle-clad emblems still visible, albeit veiled by comically crude graffiti. To the north, skateboarders film themselves grinding on DIY handrails and wooden pallets in a parking lot despite there being a fully maintained skatepark only steps away. And opposite Block 8 (the future home of a mixed-use, market-rate apartment complex), Operation Dignity has repurposed the former Navy living quarters into temporary housing for people in Alameda County experiencing homelessness. They house upwards of 70 people each night, many of whom are veterans—a cruel irony that is not lost on most.
It remains to be seen how full redevelopment will change this dynamic. One may be quick to point out the seemingly obvious inequities visible as soon as one enters Alameda Point; the deluge of low-income housing blocks dwarfed by the ongoing construction of modern condominium buildings. Early on, I met and photographed three young boys who live here; a moment that’s permanently imprinted on my mind. They stood in front of a crumbling military structure, their homes in the housing community immediately to the left. And to the right, a self-described “farm-to-barrel” microbrewery projects AWOLNATION’s “Sail” over their loudspeakers to a packed patio of affluent patrons. In an instant, the past, the present, and the future of this unusual little island all collided to the smell of burnt rubber still lingering heavy in the air.
Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC) was a process that ended the Cold War realignment in an effort to increase the efficiency of the U.S. Department of Defense. By 2005, more than 350 military installations would be eventually decommissioned.
Pursuant to BRAC action, Naval Air Station Alameda ceased operations by 1997.