NAVAL ARMORY

The steps taken in the development of this proiect are not well brought out in the Board Minutes. The earliest reference was at the October 4, 1940, meeting when authorization was given “to accept works Progress Administration funds if they are made available for improvement and building projects for the Reserve Officers Training Corps, if and when needed, subject to final approval by the Iowa State Board of Education.”

The next entry in the Minutes was for the meeting of September 8, 1942, when the Building and Business Committee of the Board reported that bids for the construction of an “Addition to the Mechanical Engineering Shop Building, to be used as a laboratory for the Naval Diesel School” had been received on August 11 and that contracts had been awarded for the project. The chairman of that committee also reported that “Iowa State College is to be reimbursed by the United States Navy to the extent of $70,000 for the cost of the Addition.”

The project was accepted from the general contractor as of December 8, 1942.

In January 1945 negotiations were initiated by the Navy to sell the building to the College. It was March 1946 before a final agreement was reached and the sale was consummated at a price of $25,000.¹

The Iowa State Daily for April 4, 1952, reported that the building “is now used for training students as reserve officers in the navy. Featured in the building is a simulated destroyer, complete with a bridge, intercommunication system, plotting room, and a simulated submarine.”