The beautiful “Art Center of Corpus Christi” building that we see today on Shoreline didn’t always look that way.
The building was actually constructed in 1941 as a recreation center for the hundreds of cadets and sailors arriving in Corpus Christi as the Naval Air Station was being built. The new Shoreline center was completed in just 58 days at a cost of $79,419 provided by the U.S. government, and built on land donated by the city.
The building was then turned over to the United Services Organization (the USO) who would staff and run the recreation center at no cost to the government.
Throughout World War II, the center provided a “home away from home” for NAS servicemen. There was a large ballroom for dances and live entertainment and game rooms for chess, checkers, cards, billiards, etc. There was a library for reading and rooms for sailors and cadets to socialize with the opposite sex, talk with counselors, get a free meal, or write letters back home.
With the war over, the USO on Shoreline officially closed on March 16, 1947. That same year, a Bayfront Beautification Plan being drawn up by the city included a recommendation to demolish the former USO building.
Fortunately, that never happened.
The building was turned over to the “American Legion” and was used by the organization to provide services and recreation for the city’s veterans. The American Legion occupied the building until April of 1958 when it was sold to Nueces County for $65,000. It became the new site of the Nueces County Tax Office, a function it served for almost 20 years.
In 1977, despite the recommendation by County Judge Bob Barnes that the Shoreline building be demolished, the county sold the building to the City of Corpus Christi for $159,000. After a $115,000 renovation, the old USO building reopened in April 1979 as the new “City Hall Annex”, providing some relief for the overcrowded offices in the old City Hall on Shoreline.
When a new, six-story City Hall was completed in 1988 on Leopard Street, all city offices (including those in the Annex on Shoreline) moved into the new building.
Yet again, the city considered demolishing the old USO building on Shoreline. But in December 1986, the Art Community Center, housed for years in the small 1936 Centennial Museum at South Bluff Park, petitioned the city to donate the old USO building to them.
In June 1987, the City Council voted to endorse a plan to turn the Annex building over to the Art group…..if they could raise the money needed to renovate the building and bring it up to code.
Hundreds of local artists donated artwork for fund-raising auctions and multiple donations flooded into the fund. By the end of May 1988, the required goal of $250,000 was reached. The building was turned over to the art community and the Art Center of Corpus Christi was born.
Architect Donald Greene was hired to transform the less-than-impressive, box-like annex into a bayfront building in which the city could take pride.
Using renovation funds that would eventually exceed $650,000, a beautiful enclosed courtyard was added to the old building along with extensive landscaping and modern furnishings. A gift shop and restaurant were also part of the renovation.
On January 6, 1991, the “new” building was opened to the public and to the community of artists in the Coastal Bend.
The Art Center would become a place for artists to create, show, and sell their work. The Art Center became a place that fosters art education through art classes for all ages. It also became a place for people to learn art through workshops, lectures, and demonstrations. And, of course, it became a place for tourists and locals alike to view new artwork through constantly changing exhibits, free of charge.
Major renovations and expansions in the early 2000’s and as recently as 2022 have turned the once drab, but historic USO building into the Corpus Christi bayfront gem that we see today.
Robert Parks is a special contributor to KRIS 6 News. Parks was a history teacher at Carroll High School for 19 years and is now retired. His knowledge of Corpus Christi history makes him a unique expert in the subject.
