Heroes Hall, O.C.’s future veterans museum, rolls to its new home
Heroes Hall, a former World War II-era Army barracks now destined to become Orange County’s veterans museum, was moved to its new home Monday morning at the Orange County Fairgrounds.
The two-story, 4,800-square-foot building had been stored at the fairgrounds’ eastern corner since 2013 after being saved from demolition earlier that year.
On Monday, crews hoisted Heroes Hall onto a flatbed for its slow half-mile journey across the 150-acre fairgrounds to a new foundation near Centennial Farm just a few hundred feet south of the building’s previous home near where the Plaza Pacifica is now.
Heroes Hall board members, veterans, fairgrounds staff and others came to watch the old barracks make its slow crawl.
At one point, as Heroes Hall was being driven across the parking lot, more than a dozen people — in what became a ceremonial act but also a necessity because of the wind — held onto a giant American flag attached to the building’s side and walked alongside.
A few minutes later, the hall and its flag holders stopped in front of a stage set up for a ceremony whose speakers included state Sen. Janet Nguyen (R-Garden Grove).
“From this day forward, these old barracks will breathe new life,” she said.
Heroes Hall was formerly known as the Memorial Gardens Building, a name taken from a veterans memorial garden erected in 1954 then torn out in the 1980s because of the Pacific Amphitheatre construction.
In 2013, the fairgrounds planned to demolish the Memorial Gardens Building to make room for Plaza Pacifica — billed as a grander entrance for PacAmp — but the Fair Board backed off after hearing concerns from veterans and voted to reuse the historic structure as a veterans museum.
“I think she’s been standing here, waiting to take on this purpose,” said Michele Richards, the fairgrounds vice president of business development.
Officials pointed out that only 5% of Heroes Hall’s original wood needed replacing, a testament to its sturdy build.
The barracks was constructed about 1942 for the Santa Ana Army Air Base. At the time, it was one of 800 buildings within the 1,337-acre base.
Heroes Hall, set to open Nov. 11, Veterans Day, will feature rotating exhibits about Orange County’s military history, legacy and the sacrifices made by veterans. It will take up more than 12,000 square feet, including an outdoor pavilion.
