For Men Only

Wilmington Hall, which the Los Angeles Housing Authority proudly calls the world’s largest hotel for men, threw open its doors Sunday to admit the first of the 3,000 shipyard workers it was built to house—75% single men, 25% married men who live there on weekdays because home is too far away, or will be after Dec. 1 gas rationing. Its 69 frame buildings, community center, cafeteria (seating 900), gymnasium-auditorium (capacity 1,350) are spread over eleven city blocks all within rifle shot of three big shipyards—California, Bethlehem and Consolidated—so that its tenants can walk to work.

“It’s three degrees better than the Ritz,” said A.F. of L.’s San Pedro-Wilmington Labor Review. More important, it is a shining example of wartime housing construction. Plumbing fixtures are rough cast iron with plastic handles. Some toilet fixtures have glass pipes. There are no bathtubs or private bathrooms, just showers in central bathrooms. Only lighting facilities are wall plugs for wood-stemmed, paper-shaded floor lamps (one for every man). Bedsprings have wooden bases. Interior walls are mainly plywood.

Built at a cost of only $2,342,000, the Hall will charge $4 a week per man for double rooms, $5.50 for singles, complete medical service, supervised recreation 24 hours a day (for all shifts), body-building classes, chess, checkers, ping-pong, horseshoe pitching, shuffleboard, movies in the gymnasium, use of the library and music room. The community center could get no materials for bowling alleys or pool tables.