World War II Quonset hut for sale for $1.7 million in SLO County: ‘A true one of a kind’
An unusual building just hit the real estate market in Morro Bay: a World War II-era Quonset hut.
Listed by Jay Chiasson of Navigators Real Estate, the 4,000-square-foot building is located on 1141 Main St. on a half acre of land. It’s on sale for $1.7 million.
The long, domed structure with its Art Deco-style false front previously housed Antiques Et Cetera, an antique mall that’s now closed.
Built in 1941, the Quonset hut is an “architecturally unique structure” located within “walking distance to the town’s amenities and tourist-rich waterfront,” according to the listing on real estate website LoopNet. It comes complete with 12 parking spaces.
The single-story building, zoned C-1 for commercial business, has “excellent flex space, which offers a wide variety of retail and other type of situations,” the listing says. “The daily traffic from locals and tourists is non-stop. Give them a reason to pull in.”
There’s also a 20- by 30-foot storage structure behind the Quonset hut.
That’s located on a portion of the lot that’s zoned for residential use, meaning that there’s potential for a two-story duplex with views of the Pacific Ocean and Morro Rock, the listing says.
The neighborhood near the Hungry Fisherman restaurant includes several motels, inns and a recreational vehicle park. Restaurants and The Siren bar are a few blocks away.
“This is a true one of a kind,” the listing says. “Take a walk down temptation alley and see what you find. (It) could be your next gold mine!”
According to the Morro Bay History Society, Quonset huts started arriving in Morro Bay during World War II.
“They were especially common at the Morro Bay base where Navy, Coast Guard and Army troops practiced amphibious training,” according to a 2019 Hidden History report.
Quonset huts were named after the area where they were built, Quonset Point in Davisville, Rhode Island.
They’re typically “semi-circular housing structures, made out of corrugated or galvanized steel enclosed by plywood walls with doors and windows on the ends,” the report says.
The U.S. Navy used the huts “as anything from offices to latrines to housing units” during the war, the report said. Afterward, a government program sold the Quonset huts to veterans and civilians.
For details about the Main Street Quonset hut, contact Chiasson at 805-500-3911 or www.navhomes.com.
