The Lompoc Veterans Memorial Building is now home to 4th District Supervisor Joni Gray’s Lompoc offices.
On March 20, Gray and her staff were host to a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house during which about 200 Lompocans got to see the newly restored offices.
“For years, I’ve been concerned, as have local residents, about the building and what was going to happen to it,” Gray said. “I decided someone from the county should be here, and it might as well be me.”
Along with Gray’s offices, the building will continue to house the offices of several veterans’ organizations, such as the American Legion and the American GI Forum. The county, however, will now be in charge of leasing the building, which is available for weddings, parties, meetings, and other events.
Standing in the main hall of the Veterans Building, volunteer project coordinator Alice Milligan said she’s already collected about $1.5 million in donations to go toward the building’s restoration. Some of the projects on the docket include updating the veterans’ offices, repairing the roof, and installing acoustics in the main hall.
Local artist Thelma King is expected to continue painting the 1930s-era color scheme of turquoise, goldenrod, and burnt sienna throughout the entire building. And, if everything goes according to plan, King might add some Lompoc-inspired murals to the building’s walls.
After the building is fully restored, Milligan said, she and other project members will take the steps necessary to make the Lompoc landmark a county, state, and possibly national landmark.
The building’s transformation means a lot to the dozens of war veterans who showed up—medals and all—to the ribbon-cutting ceremonies.
“It’s a wonderful thing they’re doing,” said Al Ramirez, a retired paratrooper and Boots-n-Chutes coordinator, whose office is in the Veterans Building. “It’s been a long time coming, and it’s been a lot of headaches, but it’s on its way now.”
For more information about the Lompoc Veterans Memorial Building or to make a donation, visit lompoc-vmb-foundation.org.
This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 2, 2009.
