This is part one of a two part series where we explore the abandoned naval hospital known as Oak Knoll.
There has been a lot of slacking around here lately, and for that we sincerely apologize. We were never good with Septembers and it seems like no one else is either, if you believe in that kind of thing. I am not sure I do, but when even your mom starts warning you about it, you tend to listen, or at least use it as an excuse to take the month off.
Anyway, we are drifting here, back to the task at hand:
Over the last two weeks our explorers have completed a exhaustive kinda thorough survey of Oak Knoll Naval Hospital.
image credit: www.militarymuseum.org
Oak Knoll was created in 1942 to handle casualties being shipped back from WWII. It went on to serve as the primary stateside hospital for the Korean and Vietnam wars. At its height the base sprawled 220 acres. It was finally shuttered in 1996 after providing health care to 220,000 Navy personnel in California and Nevada for decades .
Today, it languishes, continually beaten by pounding sun and pouring rain, it is a shadow of its former self. Above is the main Hospital, completed in 1968, it had 597 beds and plenty of asbestos to keep you warm at night.
See all those little red and black signs? They politely inform you that you will die choking on your own asbestos-ridden lung tissue if you go in here.
And honestly you should probably listen to them, I felt like shit afterwards.
Really, there isn’t much anyway. Just floors and floors of stripped out nothingness with a light smattering of graffiti.
Honke
The only interesting parts are the outdoor patio:
And the views to be had:
There is so much else to explore I would highly recommend skipping this building.
Moving on…
This be a workshop of some kind.
I thought this was funny, it being a former Federal Naval Base and all (plus, rad typography!):
After walking out of the main building we spotted this truck parked down the road a bit. We immediately ducked down and back-pedaled up the hill, believing this to be the “intervention agency” that had signs posted all over the damn place.
Despite their stupid name, their logo is very police state. They seem to be about as good with web design as they are with security.
After amusing ourselves with the boiler room for a bit we decided to go back and see if we could slip by them. Turns out, it wasn’t the man after all. What you can’t see from up the hill are the missing tires, crumpled hood, graffiti, and deer grazing right next to the thing.
Did I feel stupid or what?
So, free of any further encumbrance we proceeded to the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) building. (which I mistakenly read as BBQ on this memo on the ground, I was like “BBQ operational personnel? sign me up!”)
Damn, bachelors get screwed: 85 square feet? really?
Looks like the birds don’t mind the draconian housing regulations too much.
This building also has much higher quality graffiti.
Rome One
Notice how he incorporated the existing lines on the wall. And what’s with those lines anyway? They wrapped around the whole room and look exactly like the ones in the house from Homestar Runner (remember them?)
See?
Speaking of mysteries:
What the hell? How did that even happen? And where is the rest of it?
We moved on to the leisure buildings. Oak Knoll boasts a full size bowling alley, arcade, theater, two bars, a basketball court, weight room, and a pool. Not bad for a Navy base. You will have to wait until part 2 for the pool and the officer’s bar/club
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a good angle on the bowling alley and it was dark as sin so you will have to make do with this weird mural on the wall.
The basketball court and weight room (just behind the hoop). These are in excellent shape compared to the rest of the facility. Of course, the ever-present asbestos warnings are here too.
We ended the day with these buildings, purpose unknown. But they sure like their TV antennas around here. This was the sixth one I saw.
Check back in a few days for the second installment.
Here is a preview.
At the pool and inside Club Knoll, behind the bar.
Also, no coordinates for this one folks, I can’t be responsible for giving its secrets away. But, you might ask Google if they know….Don’t expect them to tell you how to get in though, you’ll have to figure that out yourself.
really great stuff
Good eye on the HSR wall
[...] Oak Knoll Naval Hospital Part One [...]
I drove all the way from Sacramento to photograph this place. I assumed it would be like any other abandon place with easy entry. It wasn’t. Oak Knoll is surrounded with a tall, strong, and very intact fence topped with nasty looking barbed wire. Any holes or access points that people have made had been repaired and had been double reinforced with even more fence. There were also 4 security guards roaming the place in 3 separate trucks. So not only could I not get in, I had to deal with annoying security. All in all a disapointing waste of time!
In the 70’s my parents worked at Oaknoll. I remember they used to have all of these amazing raised, covered wooden walkways connecting the buildings (remnants of WWII). I suppose all of those have since been removed or destroyed.
Thanks for sharing these photos. Seeing the front of the old hospital brought back some memories I have long forgotten!
its sad to see they already smashed alot of the buildings down over there, I wonder if they will blow up the hospital building.
i remember back in 1999 they used it for training and war games. i also heard they used it to tape some tv show. i also noticed that they started demolishing a lot of buildings. what are they using for it now?
i was a patient there after being medivac’d back from the phillipines in 1971. it was a grand place then…all the hustle bustle, and those nurses!!!!! what a great sight to see upon returning back to the states.. goodbye old girl
I was stationed at Oak Knoll from ‘84 to ‘88. Sad to see the place in such a state is disrepair.
My son was born at Oak Knoll in 1991.His dad was in the army at the time.I didn’t even know it closed down.very sad to see it like this.
I am a virgin to formalized UE’ing, but have been doing it on my own for years before I ever knew there was a name for it. I am in SJ and love exploring abandoned WWII and old Cold War sites, how can I go on the next one with the team?
Same thing happened to me… went there and they have security guards at the front (Open) gate, but they don’t allow entry. They also have a few who drive around patrolling. Seems pointless to me for them to guard an empty building. I understand the need – idiots who vandalize abandoned places – but unfortunately this ruins it for those of us who don’t touch, take or damage anything.