Home > California > Moreno+Valley > March Air Force Base, Strategic Air Command, Combat Operations Center, 5220 Riverside Drive, Moreno Valley, Riverside County, CA
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March Air Force Base, Strategic Air Command, Combat Operations Center, 5220 Riverside Drive, Moreno Valley, Riverside County, CA
Location5220 Riverside Drive,
Moreno+Valley, CA
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Created/Published
Documentation compiled after 1933.
Notes
Survey number HABS CA-2788-A
Significance: Building 2605 was determined eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places on November 27, 1995 under Criterion Consideration G as a significant Cold War-era structure. The Combat Operations Center building has strong associations with the Cold War-era Strategic Air Command (SAC) operations as the command center for 10 SAC bases and controller of assets constituting 80% of the nation's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) force. In addition, the Center also controlled all of SAC's reconnaissance aircraft (U-2, RC-15, SR-17) and 30% of the SAC's bombers and tankers. The structure's architecture reflects the designer's intention to provide a secure environment against attack or surveillance from the nation's Cold War-era enemies and is literally "self-contained" with its own supplies of water and air purification systems housed in adjacent facility Building 2606 (HABS CA-2788-B) and the Cooling Tower for Utility Building 2606 (HABS CA-2788-C).
Collection
Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
Contents
Photograph caption(s):
Looking south along Riverside Drive towards Buildings 2605, 2606, and the Chapel
Looking east to building 2605, at left, and barracks, 2604, at right
North front, west part, showing main entrance
North front, central part
North front, east part. The utility building is visible at left
Detail of main entrance at west end of north front, with original air force emblems on doors
Oblique, east elevation, looking southwest
Detail, southeast corner. Utility building storage tanks are visible at right
South rear
West side with original landscaping
Oblique, looking northeast at the west side and south rear of the combat operations center
First floor corridor, looking west towards the lobby. The entrance to the display area (room 101) is located directly behind the camera
Main doorway to the display area, straight ahead. Double doors with "top secret" alert lights, coded doorbell, and one way mirror. Stairway to second floor and basement is at the left, as well as the secondary entrance at the east part of the north front. View to east
Interior of display area (room 101), looking south towards TV control panel room (room 139) at far left corner. The stairway leads to the commander's quarters and the senior battle viewing bridge at top right. Control and communication consoles at the right
Display area, looking north towards the classified storage rooms, D.M. Logistics and D.O. Offices in northwest corner. Viewing bridge is at upper left, and alert status display at upper right
Overall view of display area, to northeast, from top of stairs in front of commander's quarters
West wall, display area (room 101), view 1 of 4: southwest corner, showing stairs to commander's quarters and viewing bridge, windows to controller's room (room 102), south end of control consoles, and holes in pedestal floor for computer equipment cables (tape drive I/O?)
West wall, display area (room 101), view 2 of 4: south part, showing commander's quarters and viewing bridge on second floor, controller's room, console, and projection booth on main floor
West wall, display area (room 101), view 3 of 4: north part, showing senior battle staff viewing bridge), projection booths, control consoles, and pneumatic tube message port
West wall, display area (room 101), view 4 of 4: northwest corner, with D.M. logistics office below (room 137), and D.O./D.D.O. offices above. Lower stairs lead to entry shown in view 13
Looking north along the control console area towards the classified storage room; projection stands at left
Detail, north end of console and pneumatic tube message port, also showing mirror to reflect view of communications switchboard
Detail, south end of control console with speakers; looking southeast towards the TV control panel room
Detail of center control console with speakers and switches
Interior, equipment room, weather support area (from July, 1968 drawing) at north end of display area, looking west. Window looks south towards the main console
Interior, senior battle staff viewing bridge, looking north
D.M. Logistics office (room 137), with windows looking southeast
Controller's office (room 102), looking northeast into the display area
Detail of one way mirror, mail slot, and electrical box at sentry post no. 3, top of east stairs near the end of second floor corridor
Second floor corridor, looking east from near west stairway no. 1
D.O.P. and D.I. secured room (room 215), looking west towards murals. Sliding map tracks are visible on the floor next to the wall at left. Also note original fluorescent lights
D.O.P. and D.I. secured room, looking southeast towards the map rack sliding panels and the east mural
Detail of west mural in the D.O.P. and D.I. secured room (room 215)
Conference room 211, adjacent to commander's quarters, with vault door at right. Projection area at center is equipped with automatic security drapes. Projection room uses a 45 degree mirror to reflect the image onto the frosted glass screen. Door on far left leads to display area senior battle staff viewing bridge, and the commander's quarters
Commander's conference room (room 202), closet and hallway to bathroom and bedroom, leading to conference room 211. Viewing windows look down on the display area. View to north
Commander's bathroom and storage, looking southwest. Bedroom is located at right
Recon secured room (room 236), detail of sliding map panels and tracks. View to northeast
Telco maintenance (room 228) looking south into the telephone equipment room (room 227). Note workbench in left corner, lighting fixtures, and air handling ducts
Telephone equipment room (room 227), looking east along the switchboard panels. "Looking glass" panel is located at center, just above the desk
Looking north in the telephone equipment room along the wiring aisles with rolling service ladders. The circuit drawings file cabinets and workbench are at the far right end
Telephone equipment room (room 227), manuals reference area along the south wall, looking northeast toward the doorway to the telco maintenance room (room 228)
Telephone equipment room, showing channel terminal bank with vacuum tubes. View to east
Wiring repair area, southwest corner of room 227, looking east. Repair area includes soldering equipment and wire dispensing reels hanging from the ceiling
Detail of the "Looking Glass" panel in the telephone equipment room, looking south
Second floor women's lounge and toilet. Original tiling throughout.
Utility duct room (room 223), second floor, looking south
Basement, room 23, looking southwest into two adjacent offices with soundproof walls and pedestal flooring
Pneumatic vacuum tube message center, basement room 23, looking southeast toward doorway and corridor. Note soundproof walls, pedestal flooring, and cable tray suspended from the ceiling
Basement utility room (room 24; air handling room), near the west end of the combat operations center, looking southwest towards fan system one, air ducts, and walk-in filter rooms. The exterior equipment well is visible at the left
Looking east in the air handling room towards the south corridor, formerly the north side of room 11, pipes, valves, electrical boxes, and telephone equipment visible on far wall
Looking west in the basement utility room, room 24, overview of air handling system, large walk-in filter, large ducts, pipes, and gauges
Looking north towards the sump, center rear, and air handling units no. 3 and no. 4, at left. Suspended cable tray in foreground
Detail of gauges in basement utility room. Gauges are Honeywell Brown instruments used to measure air supply, controlled air, and inches of water.
First floor plan. (Also includes a door schedule and door elevations). March Air Force Base, Riverside, California, Combat Operations Center, Combat Operations Building. By Moffatt and Nichol, Engineers, 122 West Fifth Street, Long Beach, California; for the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, Office of the District Engineer, Los Angeles, California. Drawing no. AW-60-02-03, sheet no. 12, approved March 1962; specifications no. OCI-62-66; D.O. series AW 1596/12, Rev. "C"; file drawer 1290. Last revised 25 August 1975. Scale one-eighth inch to one foot. 28.5x 41 inches. [pencil on paper]
Second floor plan. (Also includes a roof plan and finish schedule.) March Air Force Base, Riverside, California, Combat Operations Center, Combat Operations Building. By Moffatt and Nichol, Engineers, 122 West Fifth Street, Long Beach, California; for the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, Office of the District Engineer, Los Angeles, California. Drawing no. AW-60-02-03, sheet no. 13, approved March, 1962; specifications no. OCI-62-66; D.O. series AW 1596/13, Rev. "C"; file drawer 1290. Last revised 7 February 1984. Roof plan scale one-sixteenth inch to one foot; second floor plan scale one-eighth inch to one foot. 28.75x41 inches. [pencil on paper]
Equipment Location Plan, partial first floor plan. (Includes identification of each separate CPU, tape drive, hard drive, printer, keyboard, etc., within the data processing center in the southwest part of the first floor.) March Air Force Base, Riverside, California, Combat Operations Center, 465-L EDTCC/EDLCC. By International Electric Corporation, Paramus, New Jersey (3/5/62); for Moffatt and Nichol, Engineers, 122 West Fifth Street, Long Beach, California; for the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, Office of the District Engineer, Los Angeles, California. Drawing no. AW-60-02-03, sheet no. 85, approved March, 1962; specifications no. OCI-62-66; D.O. series AW 1596/85, Rev. "A"; file drawer 1290. Last revised 3 October 1966. Scale one-quarter inch to one foot. 28.75x40.5 inches. [ink on linen]
Equipment Location Plan, partial basement plan. (Includes identification of each separate CPU, tape drive, hard drive, printer, keyboard, etc., within the data processing center in the southeast part of the basement.) March Air Force Base, Riverside, California, Combat Operations Center, 465-L DPC. By International Electric Corporation, Paramus, New Jersey (3/5/62); for Moffatt and Nichol, Engineers, 122 West Fifth Street, Long Beach, California; for the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, Office of the District Engineer, Los Angeles, California. Drawing no. AW-60-02-03, sheet no. 100, approved March, 1962; specifications no. OCI-62-66; D.O. series AW 1596/100, Rev. "A"; file drawer 1290. Last revised 3 October 1966. Scale one-quarter inch to one foot. 28.75x40.5 inches. [ink on linen]
Roof plan, Combat Operations Center, Building No. 2605. (Also includes a typical roof section, with new fiberglass and urethane insulation layers.) By Federal Builders, 575 Carreon Drive, Colton, California. Sheet 1 of 1, dated 18 May 1992. Scale one-eighth inch to one foot. 24x36 inches. [ink on paper]
Elevations. March Air Force Base, Riverside, California, Combat Operations Center, Combat Operations Building. By Moffatt and Nichol, Engineers, 122 West Fifth Street, Long Beach, California; for the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, Office of the District Engineer, Los Angeles, California. Drawing no. AW-60-02-03, sheet no. 14, approved March, 1962; specifications no. ENG-04-353-62-66; D.O. series AW 1596/14, Rev. "B"; file drawer 77-1/102. Last revised 3 October 1966. Scale one-eighth inch to one foot. 30x36 inches. [photocopy on paper]
Sections. March Air Force Base, Riverside, California, Combat Operations Center, Combat Operations Building. By Moffatt and Nichol, Engineers, 122 West Fifth Street, Long Beach, California; for the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, Office of the District Engineer, Los Angeles, California. Drawing no. AW-60-02-03, sheet no. 14, approved March, 1962; specifications no. ENG-04-353-62-66; D.O. series AW 1596/15, Rev. "A"; file drawer 1290. Last revised 3 October 1966. Scale one-eighth inch to one foot. 30x36 inches. [pencil on paper]
Repair Air Conditioning, COC Bldg 2605, Basement Plan. By Strategic Air Command, Civil Engineering. Drawing no. R-156, sheet no. 1 of 4, 15 August 1968; project no. MAR-125-8;CE-572; file drawer 2605-5. Last revised 31 August [1968?]. Scale one-eighth inch and one-quarter inch to one foot. 29x41 inches. [pencil on paper]
Repair Air Conditioning, COC Bldg 2605, First Floor Plan. By Strategic Air Command, Civil Engineering. Drawing no. R-156, sheet no. 2 [of 4], 15 August 1968; project no. MAR-125-8;CE-572; file drawer 2605-6. Scale one-eighth inch to one foot. 29x41 inches. [pencil on paper] [405]
Weather support area, floor plan and details. ("Alter COC, Bldg. 2605, Weather Support Area, Floor Plan & Details" Also includes a site plan and a finish schedule. The exact location of this construction is obscure, but it appears to be the enclosure of space at the north end of room 101, the "Display Area" or "War Room") Strategic Air Command, Civil Engineering. Drawing no. B-1081, sheet no. 1 of 2, 9 July 1968; project no. MAR-132-8; CE-562; file drawer 2605-9, also 1315. Various scales. 29x41 inches. [pencil on paper]
Basement plan. ("Alter COC Bldg 2605, Basement Plan and Architectural Details.") Strategic Air Command, Riverside, California, March Air Force Base. Drawing no. B-973, sheet no. 1 of 6, 14 April 1966; project no. MAR-267-5; CE-353; file drawer 1308. Last revised 20 October 1966. Various scales. 28x40 inches. [pencil on paper]
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