The spunky Torpedo Building is still standing at the airport in Unalaska, and though the state and city wish it were gone already, its status as a National Historic Landmark has delayed removal. The federal government has stepped in, and it too supports demolition of the unsafe vintage structure, even as it requires more time.
The Federal Aviation Administration notified the city in August that more consultation was needed, and now the city historic preservation commission is expected to endorse the historic World War II building's destruction on Thursday. The city council calls it a "public danger."
"The FAA finds an adverse impact on historic properties by the proposed project," under the terms of the National Historic Preservation Act, according to Leslie Grey, agency environmental specialist. But the FAA still supports demolition, Grey said.
The old steel-frame building contains lead paint and asbestos and diesel fuel in the soil, requiring an environmental cleanup approved by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, according to Grey, who said that the FAA is also preparing an environmental assessment.
The building is owned by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, which supports demolition combined with historic public recognition at what the state hopes will become the structure's former site. Restoration and commercial occupancy possibilities were rejected as too costly.
The city historic preservation commission's proposed resolution calls for an interpretive sign describing the historical role and architectural significance of the Torpedo Bombsite and Utility Shop, commonly called the Torpedo Building.
"The building was constructed and operational during the Japanese attacks on the Aleutian Islands. It is one of the two remaining structures in the state designed by internationally-renowned architect Albert Kahn," according to Grey.
Kahn designed tough, durable industrial buildings. He was known as the "architect of Detroit" for designing major automobile assembly plants in the Motor City, including Ford's massive River Rouge plant. While not related to museum architect Louis Kahn, one of his former Detroit buildings briefly housed a major cultural institution, soul music's Motown Records.
Plans to dismantle the patriotic legacy accelerated in February, following a storm that saw pieces of the building flying through the air and damaging vehicles at the airport.
"It needs to come down," to prevent injuries and further property damage said the state transportation department's Wolfgang Junge, "sooner rather than later."
"The state sees it as a safety issue," said Junge of the DOT's central region in Anchorage. The building was already scheduled for demolition next year. "We'd be happy if it was next month," he said seven months ago.
On Feb. 25, the city council called for the building's removal, citing 84-mile-per-hour winds that threw lumber from the structure about 150 feet into the air, damaging parked cars. "The current practice of demolition by neglect has created a threat to life, health, and public safety," and the city council has been working to remove it since 2001, according to the resolution.
Junge said the transportation department needed to confer with the state historic preservation office and the National Park Service.
The Torpedo Building shares National Historic Landmark status with other nearby World War II relics, as a "contributing element or contributing factor to the landmark," Junge said.
National Park Service historian Janet Clemens in Anchorage said the Park Service favored demolition, saying that the "No. 1 issue is safety." She said the Torpedo Building is grouped with many other structures in the historic landmark that observes the area's role in World War II.
During World War II, torpedoes were armed inside the building and loaded onto bomber aircraft, according to local historian Jeff Dickrell, who added that the structure's tower was used for getting parachutes ready for deployment.
The torpedoes were dropped into the sea from above, targeting enemy vessels on the surface. World War II torpedo warcraft is better known from movies of submarines launching the swimming missiles underwater. The propeller bombs were also launched from surface ships, in addition to subs and airplanes.
Unalaska City Manager Chris Hladick had an unpleasant surprise when he returned from a trip in February and found his storm-damaged city-owned 2013 Ford Expedition in the long-term parking lot. Hladick said the vehicle was damaged by windblown debris from the Topedo Building. Despite the damage, the vehicle was still driveable, he said.
City officials have been prevented from removing the vintage metal building because of historic preservation reasons.
"I've been trying to get the building torn down for years," Hladick said. It is located between the Peninsula Airways cargo office and the newly-paved airport longterm parking.
"A structural assessment in 2003 found that the building's structural frame and foundation were sound, yet the exterior, roof and sheathing were a safety hazard due to deterioration and flying debris. There is documented history of debris flying off the building during incidents of severe weather. During a windstorm on Feb. 7, 2014, large pieces of lumber and debris flew off the building into cars parked in an adjacent parking lot," according to Grey.
This story first appeared in The Bristol Bay Times/Dutch Harbor Fisherman and is republished here with permission.