:: UrbEx Series : Fort Ord ::
Fort Ord sits near Monterey, CA, on a 28,000 acre reserve that in its day was the place to go for infantry training in the US Army. It began it’s mark in US military history in 1846 during the Mexican-American War.
The location finally became known as Ft. Ord in 1940, and in September of 1994 it was closed by the US Army.
But by the time of it’s official recognition as a permanent Army outpost, it had grown to cover more than 20,000 acres. It was a famous staging area for many famous fighting units and divisions. Such as the 32nd-Infantry Division, 6th Infantry and the 3rd Infantry Division
There’s also an 8,000 acre firing-range there, and apparently some unexploded ordnance if you know what I mean
Aside from the firing range there’s also a 6500 acre munitions area in which the Army has been attempting to get rid of for several years now. Back in October 2003, the Army planned a control burn of 500 acres, but they wound up scorching about 1500! Yikes!
The Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1988 finally included Ft Ord as a target to reduce costs – overall, 120+ bases have closed since this act.
Ft Ord is just US military history now
See the Flickr set here.
:: BerDerp™ :: 
Loving on these pictures. I haven’t had a chance to make it out to Ord yet. Thanks for providing the motivation to get on it.
Nick F
February 10, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Thanks man. I don’t think I’ve seen your site before. Good stuff. You got some things on there that I didn’t know about & now I got some spots to peep!
kapshure
February 10, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Love your pictures, and I particularly love the last image. It feels really gentle and quite lyrical which is kind of a paradox. Thank you for stopping by on my site and for leaving a link.
dana | yellowtrace blog
March 16, 2010 at 7:47 pm
I’ve been researching for abandoned places to do a band photoshoot. I’m trying to find a place that is out of the way, not exposed to daily life much (bums and security, etc), a place that is somewhat secluded from the public. This army base has caught my eye and is just the place I’m looking for. Is a permit of pass of any type required to enter the premises? If so, is there any cost involved? Where is exactly is this place located?
-Miranda
Miranda
April 14, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Very cool. My grandfather was stationed here when he came to the US after WWII. Do you know if the structure in your photographs are still around?
jc
January 10, 2011 at 12:58 pm
pretty sure they’re still there.
kapshure
January 10, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Where is the swimming pool? I’ve been trying to find that
Jordan
February 20, 2011 at 1:26 am
@Jordan
I wasn’t driving that day, and had backseat a lot :/ I think it was near a church & some other business that had active customers? like a skating rink or something?
kapshure
February 20, 2011 at 6:20 pm