The Quonset huts of San Mateo County
If you know where to look you can see them, hidden behind store-front façades or boldly announcing their presence to the street.
Quanset huts were manufactured starting in 1941 to provide the US Navy with lightweight prefabricated buildings. The original buildings were 16 X 36ft., with the later models 20 X 48 ft. After the war the surplus were sold to the public for use as storage, businesses, or even homes. (1)
Huts can sometimes be identified by the presence of a false front facing the road and a glimpse of rusted metal behind. Another way to spot them is on Google Maps Satellite view. The curvature and color is a giveaway.
Here’s an aerial shot of 2645 Fair Oaks Ave. compared to the street view. Who would guess?
Here’s a side view of the property at 701 Hurlingame. It’s been cleverly divided to provide an auto repair shop in the back, with a cut-out entrance for cars. A large can opener??
Where have the Quonset huts gone and why were they put here in the first place?
Lost huts include:
Redwood Trading Post: Redwood Trading Post began in a Quonset hut down at Five Points, near El Camino and Woodside Road, in 1952. (2)
Quonset on East Bayshore Road - Redwood City - gone
Old Cargill Site, Seaport Rd Architectural review board says "nothing of interest here".
Were they possibly used as airplane hangers?
See Part 2 next week for the Old San Carlos Airport theory and "Sanborn Maps tell a story".
Do you know of a hut we've missed? Email me at publications@smcgs.org and I'll include it.
1. Michael Lamm (Winter 1998), "The Instant Building". Invention & Technology, Volume 13, Issue 3, pp. 68–72. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quonset_hut
2. https://www.redwoodtradingpost.com/about
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