DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Bay City U.S.O. Building, and friend, this one's worth your time. Now picture Texas in 1941.
The world is at war, or close enough to it that everybody knows which way the wind is blowin'. And all across Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma, sixteen United Service Organization buildings go up that year — sixteen — like somebody drew a line in the sand and said we are going to take care of our people. This building right here in Bay City, Matagorda County, is one of them.
The land it sits on was loaned by the Pierce Estate — that name ought to ring a bell if you know anything about this part of Texas — and the whole thing was put up to serve two kinds of folks: the local citizens of Bay City, and the military personnel stationed over at Camp Hulen in nearby Palacios. Now, a coordinating council formed that same year with the idea of building a real community center, and when they passed the hat, Bay City citizens and businesses came through. The Bay City Gas Company stepped up in a big way too — their generosity is the reason this buff brick building got finished in brick veneer instead of something cheaper.
You can still see it today: a U-plan wing, banded windows, industrial sash, cantilevered overhangs, a flat roof. The architects called that kind of thing the International style. Out here on the Gulf Coast, we just called it solid.
The building was dedicated in 1942, and then the doors opened wide. Groups like the Women's Auxiliary and the Girls Service Organization came through those doors. And here's where the numbers start to tell the real story — because somebody kept the records, and the records do not lie.
Eleven thousand, two hundred and eighty-nine civilians served as leaders and program assistants in that building. Programs were attended by a hundred and fifty thousand, two hundred and thirty service personnel. And two hundred and twenty-two thousand, five hundred and nine civilians walked through those doors.
You add all that up, and you start to understand what this place meant to people during some of the hardest years this country ever saw. The facility was operated by the Y.M.C.A. and a local committee, all under the auspices of the U.S.O. itself. And it ran — it kept running — until 1945, when the U.S.O. terminated its operations.
Now, a lesser building might've been torn down right about then. Plenty were. In fact, of the five Gulf Coast U.S.O. buildings constructed early in the war, four of them are gone.
Vanished. This is the only one left standing. In 1945, the property on the north side of the block and the building itself were deeded over to Bay City Post Number 11 of the American Legion.
Post Number 11 then initiated long-term leases with the city of Bay City to keep the building maintained and to keep it going as a community center — because some things are too important to let go dark. The Texas Historical Commission placed its marker here in 1999, calling it a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. And that auditorium, those meeting rooms, that refreshment area — they're still in use.
Still active. Still vital, just like the marker says. One buff brick building on the Gulf Coast.
The last one standing. And if walls could talk, these walls have got three hundred and eighty-three thousand stories they could tell.
What the marker says
Erected in 1941 on land loaned by the Pierce Estate to serve both local citizens and World War ll military personnel at Camp Hulen in nearby Palacios, this is one of 16 United Service Organization (U.S.O.) facilities built that year in Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma. A coordinating council was formed that year to create a community center; Bay City citizens and businesses generously contributed to the U.S.O. project. Dedicated in 1942, the center hosted groups such as the Women's Auxiliary and Girls Service Organization. Records showed 11,289 civilians served as leaders and program assistants; programs were attended by 150,230 service personnel and 222,509 civilians. The facility was operated by the Y.M.C.A. and a local committee under the auspices of the U.S.O., which terminated its operations in 1945. The property on the north side of the block and the building were deeded to Bay City Post No. 11, the American Legion that year. Post No. 11 initiated long-term leases with the city of Bay City to maintain the building and continue its operation as a community center of the five Gulf Coast U.S.O buildings constructed early in the war, this is the only one left standing. A meeting place and city center, the building continues to be an active and vital part of the community. Constructed according to standardized plans and finished in a brick veneer through the generosity of the Bay City Gas Company, the buff brick building features a U-plan wing housing meeting rooms, a refreshment area, locker room, darkroom and a large auditorium. The building reflects the influences of the International style with banded windows, industrial sash, cantilevered overhangs and a flat roof of articulated massing. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark -1999