If you do NOT see the Table of Contents frame to the left of this page, then
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U.S. ARMY INSTALLATIONS - FRANKFURT
MILCOM HQ BLDG
AFN BUILDING
OFFENBACH KASERNE
ENGINEER COMPOUND
KENNEDY KASERNE
REBSTOCK AIRFIELD
BETTS KASERNE
DENTAL COMPOUND
For additions, corrections, or suggestions please contact the webmaster

MAPS
Installation Maps - late 1970s

1. Creighton W. Abrams Complex, 1970s

2. Drake and Edwards Kasernes, 1970s
 
3. Gibbs Barracks, 1970s

4. Gutleut Kaserne, 1970s

5. McNair and Michael Barracks, 1970s

6. Frankfurt Shopping Center, 1970s

7. Frankfurt MILCOM Headquarters, 1980s

 

8. Camp Eschborn, 1976

9. Drake Kaserne, 1976

10. Edwards Barracks, 1976

11. Camp King, 1976

12. Creighton W. Abrams Complex, 1976

13. Rose AAF, Bonames, 1976

14. USAH Frankfurt, 1976

15. Atterberry Area, 1976

16. Betts Area, 1976

17. Gibbs Bks, 1976
   

 
1945

Map of the Army Transportation System in Frankfurt & Vicinity. This map and the others marked 2 through 8 were included in the "Handbook - USFET Headquarters Command", published by the Information and Education Section, Headquarters Command, USFET, 1945.

Click on the thumbnail to view a larger format of the same map.

1. Army Transportation System in Frankfurt & Vicinity


2. Map "A" - Heddernheim

3. Map "B" - 97th Gen Hosp area

4. Map "C" - I.G. Farben Hochhaus area

5. Map "D" - WAC Circle area

6. Map "E" - Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof area

7. Map "F" - Hauptwache/Zeil area

8. Map - Höchst area

 

 
1946

Map of the Frankfurt am Main. This map was prepared by the 655th Engr TOPO Bn under the direction of the Chief of Engineers, HQ USFET.

Click on the thumbnail to view a larger format of the same map.

Click here for a facilities list.

Frankfurt am Main
Map has been divided into four separate sections for faster
download. Click on the area of interest for a larger view

 
1947

Map of the Frankfurt Military Post area. The map was included in Volume V of the "Third Year of the Occupation", OCCUPATION FORCES IN EUROPE SERIES, 1947-1948, published by the Historical Division, European Command, in 1948.

Click on the thumbnail to view a larger format of the same map.

Frankfurt Military Post
and Facilities


 
1949

Map of facilities in the Hq Frankfurt Military Post area. The map was included in the "Guide to Frankfurt Military Post" published by the Command Section, Hqs FMP in 1949.

Click on the thumbnail to view a larger format of the same map.

Frankfurt Military Post
and Facilities


 
1951

Map of facilities in the Hq Frankfurt Military Post area. The map was included in the "Guide to Frankfurt Military Post" published by the Command Section, Hqs FMP in 1951. (Shows some additional detail compared to the 1949 map.)

Click on the thumbnail to view a larger format of the same map.

Click here to see the List of facilities.

Frankfurt Military Post
and Facilities


 
1952

Map of facilities in the Hq Frankfurt Military Post area. The map was included in the "Frankfurt In Your Pocket" guide edited by Ruth Rutledge, Druck- und Verlagshaus Frankfurt a.M., 1952.

Click on the thumbnail to view a larger format of the same map.

Frankfurt Military Post
and Facilities


1980

Topographical maps of Frankfurt am Main and surrounding area. These maps are reproduced from the "U.S. Military Installation Atlas" published by the 37th Transportation Group in 1980.

Click on the thumbnail to view a larger format of the same map.

Click here for a list of the installations.

Frankfurt West

Frankfurt East

TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES
NOTE: I plan to post extracts from the "Troop Units" section of the telephone directories sometime in the near future - if I see that there is any interest.

1. ROUNDUP Telephone Directory, 15 July 1945

2. Frankfurt Telephone Directory, 1 October 1945

3. Continental Telephone Directory, 1 October 1945


4. Frankfurt Telephone Directory, 1 April 1946

5. Frankfurt, 15 September 1949

6. Frankfurt, 1 March 1952
 

7. NACOM Telephone Directory, 15 February 1956
     

COMMAND AND COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
NOTE: Click on thumbnail of newspaper to read the entire issue.
Occupation Chronicle - Some of the issues published while in Germany

1. Occupation Chronicle - page 1, Oct 9 1946 (2 MB - PDF!)


2. Occupation Chronicle - Jan 23 1948


 
Frankfurt Chronicle - Some of the issues published while in Germany

1. Frankfurt CHRONICLE - June 24 1982





PHOTOS
Click on thumbnail to view larger image

Frankfurt Kasernes

 

A. Kurhessen Kaserne

B. Kaserne des I.R. 81 an der Friedbergerwarte


C. Kurhessen Kaserne

D. Kaserne des I.R. 81

E. Kaserne des I.R. 81

F. Kurhessen Kaserne

G. Artillerie Kaserne, F.-Bonames

H. I.G. Farben administration bldg



 
I.G. Farben Bldg
Abrams Complex


 

Two MPs stand next to the IG Farben Headquarters Bldg directory board (Karen Ahmed)
(Click on the image to view a higher resolution version)

A 5-part series on the history of the IG Farben Building produced by AFN in the early 1990s
 

1. SHAEF Hqs, mid-1945

2. SHAEF Hqs from the rear
Click here to supersize

3. USFET HQ, Frankfurt, prob 1946
Click here to supersize


4. IG Farben Bldg, prob 1950
Click here to supersize

5. IG Farben, around 1950

6. CPS-5 area control radar, around 1950

7. Aerial view of Headquarters Building, V Corps, prob. 1954

8. IG Farben Hochaus, 1959
Click hier to supersize

9. IG Farben Hochaus, towards the east

Click hier to supersize

10. Aerial view of the Abrams Complex



11. IG Farben Building, around 1950



12. IG Farben, mid 1951


13. IG Farben, mid 1951


14. HQ US Forces, European Theater sign, prob late 1945
 

15. Rotunda Snack Bar, 1948


16. Back of IG Farben Bldg, 1948


17. Frankfurt HS, 1959/60
 



 
Frankfurt Misc.


 

1. Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, 1946


2. Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, 1946

3. RTO, Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, around 1947

4. Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, late 1940s

5. Inside the busy Hauptbahnhof, 1950


6. Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, 1954

7. Frankfurt devasted, 1945

8. Frankfurt a.M., 1958

The special street car #39 (reserved for use by US personnel) turns into the Karlstrasse in
downtown Frankfurt on its way to the Headquarters Compound (IG Farben Building)
in this photo from around 1946. Building on the right is the Schumann Theater; the
one on the far right is the Carlton Hotel (Webmaster's collection)

The entrance to the Schumann Post Exchange and Snack Bar across the street from
the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (main railroad station), 1949 (Webmaster's collection)
 

An American serviceman and his family stand at the entrance to the Schumann
Building, 1950s
(Webmaster's collection)
 

9. American Red Cross Club in the Schumann Theater building, 1945

10. Schumann ARC, 1946


11.
Schumann Theater, 1946

12. Schumann Theater, 1946

13. View of Bahnhofsplatz, 1946

14. Schumann ARC, 1947

15. Schumann Snack Bar, 1949


16. Schumann Club and Crossroads PX, 1950

17. Rendezvous Club, 1947

18. Carlton Hotel, 1947

19. Carlton and Excelsior Hotels, late 1940s

 


 
 

American servicemen enjoy the view from the Terrace Cafe at Schumann Theater across the
street from the main train station. Hotel Excelsior (left) and Hotel Carlton (right) were
requisitioned and used by the US Army. Photo from the immediate post-war period.
 

Four Seasons Hotel Annex, 1952 (Webmaster's Collection)
 

Hessischer Rundfunk: Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, 1962 (YouTube - in German)
A "behind the scenes" look at the operation of one of the largest & busiest train stations in Europe.
 

 
In and Around Frankfurt 2002-2003
Helmut Knauthe
 
For additional photos of Frankfurt City and former US facilities - check out the Frankfurt Bilder website! (see comments below in the Related Links section)

 

1. 97th General Hospital, 2002

2. 97th General Hospital, 2002

3. 97th GH guard house, 2002

4. 97th GH chapel, 2002

5. TMP No. 2, 2002


6. Goethe University, former IG Farben Hochhaus

7. Back of IG Farben Hochhaus with Rotunda, 2003

8. Former Officers Club, 2003

9. Bldg on former Gibbs Barracks, 2003

10. Former Abrams Bldg, 2004

 

11. Hqs Bldg, Drake


12. Hqs Bldg


13. Bldg 512


14. Bldg 513

15. Former 3rd AD Museum


16. Wehrmacht relic






 
 
WAC Circle
Shopping Center

 
 

WAC Circle with Frankfurt Shopping Area, August 1955 (Hank Johnson)
 

Main PX at WAC Circle, c. 1959 (Frank da Cruz - website)
The main snack bar was the big meeting place Sunday mornings. The PX after school too...
You used to be able to listen to records through big earphones before deciding whether to buy them.

Baseball field at WAC Circle, 1958 (Webmaster's collection)
 

1. Frankfurt PX


2. Frankfurt PX, prob late 1940s


3. Frankfurt PX, 1949

4. Aerial view of WAC Circle with Shopping Center, probably early 1950s

5. Frankfurt PX, 1951


6
. WAC Circle, 1951


7. Frankfurt PX, 1953


8
. WAC Circle PX, 1956
 

9
. Strassenbahn passes WAC Circle, 1955
 

 
 


 
 
Zephyr Diner


 

1. Zephyr Diner, 1950
 

2. Entrance, 1950
 

3. Sitting outside, 1950
 

4. 3rd Food Training Course participants, 1950
  

5. Inside the diner, 1950


6. Mr. Heinrich Fischer receives an award

 
 

 
 
 
 
Drake-Edwards Ksns


 

Former Drake Kaserne, recent (Mike Smith)
 

Former Drake Kaserne, recent (Mike Smith)
 

Edwards Kaserne, 1973 (Webmaster's collection)
 

1. Aerial view of Drake Kaserne (center) and Edwards Kaserne (right), May 1950

2. Aerial view of Drake Kaserne (center) with Edwards in the background, May 1950

3. Drake Kaserne, Main Gate 1958


4. Edwards Ksn, Main Gate 1963

5. Saturday Review at Drake Ksn, April 1956

6. Drake Ksn, April 1956

7. Drake Ksn, April 1956

8. Drake Ksn, April 1956

9. Drake Ksn, April 1956

10. Drake Ksn, April 1956
   
       
Gibbs Bks
     

1. Aerial view of Gibbs Barracks, May 1950


2. View towards Main Gate, Gibbs Barracks, 1952

3. View of parade ground on Gibbs Barracks, 1952

4. Gibbs Bks, Main Gate 1954

5. 19th Armor Gp Headquarters Building, Gibbs, 1954

6. EES Snack Bar, Gibbs Bks 1954 -- see recent pic

7. Main Gate, Gibbs Kaserne, 1958

8. NCO & EM Club, Gibbs Kaserne, 1958

9. Clubs, Gibbs Kaserne, 1958 -- see recent pic

10. Main street, Gibbs Kaserne, 1958 -- see recent pic

11. Gibbs EM Open Mess membership card

12. Gibbs EM Club schedule

13. Gibbs EM Open Mess Christmas Menu

14. Main Gate, Gibbs Bks, 1945 or 1946
-- see recent pic

15. Main Gate, Gibbs Bks, 1947
 
       
 
Gutleut Ksn


 

1. Gutleut Strasse and Kaserne, 1970
 

2. Aerial view of Gutleut Kaserne, May 1950

3. Gutleut Ksn, 1976


4. Main Gate, Gutleut Ksn, 1976
 
 

 
 
97th Gen Hosp


 

36. USAH Frankfurt, around 1956

37.
USAH Frankfurt, around 1956

 



 
 
Atterberry Ksn


 

Atterberry Kaserne during the Berlin Airlift, 1948-49 (Webmaster's collection)
 

1. Atterberry Ksn, 2004


2
. Atterberry Ksn, 2004


3
. Atterberry Ksn, 2004


4
. TMP #2, 2004



 
 
TMP #2


 

42
. TMP #2, 2004


43
. TMP #2, 2004


 



 
Camp Eschborn
Eschborn Airfield


 

Eschborn Airfield, 1946
Aerial views of Camp Eschborn, mid-1980s (Garry Terrell)
(Click on any of the thumbnails to view a higher resolution copy)
 

Camp Eschborn, satellite view - prior to being torn down (Google Maps)
 

317th Engr Bn headquarters building, Camp Eschborn (Steve Martinez)
 

Camp Eschborn, looking southwest (Steve Martinez)
 

1. Quonset huts near the mess hall, 1962

2. Mess Hall, 1962Heading towards the mess hall

3. Heading towards the mess hall




 

Camp Eschborn, 1962 (Bill Westland)
 

Barracks bldg 751 in the background, Camp Eschborn, 1962 (Bill Westland)
 

Two of the three bulk fuel storage tanks at Camp Eschborn, 1962 (Bill Westland)



 
Höchst


 

1. McNair Bks, prob 1950s

2. North entrance, McNair Bks, 2003


3. Höchst, mid 1960s

4. McNair Bks, 1974

5. Main gate, McNair Bks, 2002



 



 
Bad Nauheim
General Board, APO 807

 

Bad Nauheim EES Shopping Center, 1948 (Webmaster's collection)
 

US Parking lot in front of Shopping Center, 1948 (Webmaster's collection)
 

Fifteenth US Army patch

1. Sign in town pointing out direction to Hqs 15th Army offices

2. Grand Hotel, Bad Nauheim, 1945

3. 15th Army motor pool, Friedberg, 1945

4. Inside motor pool shop, Friedberg, 1945

5. Service station, Bad Nauheim, 1945

5. APO and message center, Bad Nauheim, 1945

6. 15th Army riding stables, Bad Nauheim, 1945
     

Former Bad Nauheim Sub-Post Headquarters, 1940s (Webmaster's collection)
(Can anyone provide additional information about the Bad Nauheim Sub-Post)
 

Location of former Shopping Center, 1950s (Webmaster's collection)
       
Oberursel
     

Aerial photo of Camp King, probably late 1950s
(Webmaster's collection)
 

H-13 helicopter lifts off from helipad at Camp King, mid-1960s (Herm Smith)
 

Mess hall (left) and Teen Center, mid-1960s (Herm Smith)
       

1. Former Officers Club, Bldg 1027, 2003

2. Rear view of O'Club, 2003

 

3. Camp King in 1953, as seen from the Hohemarkstrasse

4. Camp King as seen from the Maschinenfabrik, 1953
 

Looking up the hill from the mess hall, 1967 (Ralph Wilson
)
 

Photo taken from the bowling alley (Bldg #1005B), 1967 (Ralph Wilson)
 

Looking across the parade field towards Bldg #1005B (on the left), 1967 (Ralph Wilson)
 

5. Looking towards the main gate (far left)

6. Looking south from the EM barracks
 
       
Kransberg Castle
     

Kransberg Castle, 3rd Armd Div NCOA
 
   
Feldberg

   

1. Feldberg Radio Relay site, 2004

2. Communications complex on top of Grosser Feldberg, prob 1950s

3. Grosser Feldberg Tower 2003
 

4 Feldberg Radio Relay site, 2004
     
       
Rhein-Main AB
     

A C-121 "Connie" of the Atlantic Division, MATS at Rhein Main AB, 1950 (Walter Elkins)
 

Northern portion of Rhein-Main AB used by USAFE and civilian airlines, prob 1950

Main gate, Rhein-Main Air Base, 1974 (Webmaster's collection)
 

Approximate location of next seven photos
   

1. Rhein-Main AB tower

2. Passenger terminal

3.
Passenger terminal

4. Rhein-Main AB

5. Rhein-Main AB

6. Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

7. Base ops
 

8. Rhein-Main AB, prob 1950
Click here to supersize
9. Rhein-Main BX, 1990
 
       

 
HISTORIES & MISC. INFORMATION
 
Research Request
 
Information is being compiled for a history of the U.S. Army installations in the Frankfurt, Hoechst, Eschborn, Offenbach, Oberursel and Bad Nauheim areas, 1945 to 1990s.
Help keep the memories alive!
 
1. Historical information on installations and units
Requester:
Webmaster
Subject:
Looking for historical information on units and military activities including base support in the Frankfurt, Hoechst, Eschborn, Offenbach, Oberursel and Bad Nauheim areas between 1945 and the 1990s.
Contact: webmaster

2. Aerial & ground photos of kasernes & housing areas
Requester:
Webmaster
Subject: Looking for period photos of the US Army installations (including dependent housing areas, schools, shopping centers, service (gas) stations & miscellaneous storage or maintenance facilities used by EES/AAFES, Quartermaster, Ordnance, Signal and Transportation units/activities) in and around Frankfurt, Hoechst, Eschborn, Offenbach, Oberursel and Bad Nauheim from 1945 to the 1990s.
Contact: webmaster

3. Installation maps
Requester:
Webmaster
Subject: Looking for facility/post engineer maps of the various installations, activities and housing areas in the Frankfurt, Hoechst, Eschborn, Offenbach, Oberursel and Bad Nauheim areas from 1945 to 1990s.
Contact: webmaster

4. Military Community map
Requester: Webmaster
Subject: Looking for a map that shows in detail the Frankfurt military community boundaries for the period 1974-1990.
Contact: webmaster
 
Frankfurt Military Community & Military Post
 

Frankfurt Military Post sign on the Autobahn, ca. 1948 (Webmaster's collection)
 
Links to FMP Subpost Pages:
Bad Nauheim Subpost  
  Darmstadt Subpost  
  Griesheim Ordnance Depot  
  Hanau Subpost  
  Hanau Signal Depot  
  Höchst Subpost  
  Rhein-Main Air Base  

 
1948

Headquarters Compound in Frankfurt, 1945-1948
 

One of the gates into the Headquarters Compound, around 1947 (Webmaster's collection)
 

Article from the SCHENECTADY GAZETTE, Feb 9, 1948

 
1951
(Source: Guide to Frankfurt Military Post, 1951)

Air-To-Air Intercept
 
ORGANIZATION OF FMP (1951)

 
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Dec 5, 1951)
Ordnance Service Center, Frankfurt Military Post

The ordnance service center is located in Heddernheim, in what was formerly a German aircraft motor plant.

The center is operated by the 7865th Ordnance HAM Company.

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, March 23, 1951)
Three Big Office Buildings Returned to Germans

Three large office buildings were recently derequisitioned and returned to German authorities. The structures are the Allianz Building, the Holzhausen School Building and the Commando Building. The derequisitioning was possible due to a joint effort by the Frankfurt Military Post, HICOG, EUCOM and German officials to fund the construction of two new office annexes behind the Headquarters (= IG Farben) Building - at the rear of the Frankfurt Casino.

The Allianz Building on Mainzerlandstrasse (or Taunusanlage 18?) has housed at various times (since the beginning of the Occupation) the Frankfurt Screening Board; MG (= Military Government) historical division; US Army Air Lift Support Command; comptroller, FMP (= Frankfurt Military Post); FMP provost marshal section; US Displaced Persons Commission; International Refugee Organization (IRO); and HICOG units. Approx. 3,500 square feet of the entire 74,411 sq ft of floor space will be retained for use as FMP's central police station; the remainder will revert back to its original owners - the Allianz Insurance Company.
 

Allianz Building (center), recent (Bing Maps)
 
The Holzhausen School at Reuter Weg and Eschersheimerlandstrasse will be turned over in its entirety and will continue to be used as a school by the Germans. Agencies formerly located in the school included the Accommodations Agency; FMP billeting section; Post Quartermaster; Central Clearing Agency; Post Signal section and a British commissary.
 

Among other activities, the Telephone-Telegraph station was located at the Holzhausen
Schule on Eschersheimer Landstrasse, Frankfurt, around 1947 (Webmaster's collection)
 

Holzhausen School Building, recent (Bing Maps)
 
The Commando Building (1) (Bertramstrasse - located behind the Main Post Exchange) was formerly a German women's teachers college. During the war it was used by the German Luftwaffe as a recruiting center. In the immediate post-war period the building housed US Naval Affairs, Germany; later it was occupied by the 66th CIC, the EUCOM provost marshal; and the Joint Export-Import Agency. About 1,000 square feet of the total 47,457 sq ft of the building will be retained as storage space for the JEIA.
 

Commando Building (a.k.a. Academy Building?), recent (Bing Maps)
 
(Another S&S article in July 1950 reported that the Lurgi Haus, another office building requisitioned by the US Army after the war, was returned in July 1950 to the Germans. Agencies/offices located in that office building most likely moved into Annex "A" which was scheduled to be completed by August 1 1950.)

(A Dec 15 1950 article in the STRIPES reports that Annex "B" has been completed and several Frankfurt Military Post offices have started to move into the new building. Already located in Annex "B": the Post Signal section (moved from the Holzhausen School building); the Comptroller section (formerly at the Allianz Bldg); the Billeting section (from the Holzhausen School); the Civilian Personnel section, formerly at the Elizabethan School building.)
 

Annexes "A" & "B" - office buildings on the Headquarters Compound, late 1950s
 
(1) The Handbook USFET (1945) places the headquarters of US Naval Forces, Germany in the Bertram Strasse, just north of what would later become the Main Shopping Center. The USFET Frankfurt Telephone Directory of April 1946, identifies that location as the "Academy" Building. I believe that what was initially known as the Academy Building was at some point (probably only a few years later) redesignated as the "Commando" Building.

1952

The Chronicle, Frankfurt Military Post, May 9, 1952

The Chronicle, Frankfurt Military Post, Sep 26, 1952
(Click on one of the images to read the corresponding 4-page newspaper - PDF file)
 

1953

What's new in the District, September 25, 1953

(Click on the image to read the 8-page newspaper - PDF file)
 


US military & German civilian traffic in the Frankfurt area, 1953 (Webmaster's collection)
 
The above photo shows a typical scene near any of the German cities with large US troop concentrations in the 1950s.

With the large increase of US military troops and installations in southern Germany after the military build up of the early 1950s and the exponential increase of German civilian traffic resulting from the post-war economic recovery in Germany (Wirtschaftswunder), the main roads around southern German cities and towns with an American military presence began to experienced heavy traffic congestion and its associated problems (noise, pollution, accidents, etc.).

 

Hansaallee - (1) Headquarters Taunus District (1960s) and (2) Fankfurt MILCOM Hqs (1970s-80s) (Bing Maps)
 
1954
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, May 19, 1954)
Northern Area Command recently completed the acquisition of land in the Frankfurt area that will be used for housing construction projects scheduled to begin soon. The land is located in the Gibbs, Drake, Edwards, and IG Farben Complex areas, as well as adjacent to the HICOG housing development and the Hoechst cemetery. Plans call for the construction of 103 buildings which will include 1,854 housing units. The acquisition of suitable land for housing construction will now allow the US Army to release sooner German housing currently under requisition.

NACom engineer construction officials state that the new housing units will be completed in 1955.

 

7811 Kaserne, Frankfurt Garrison headquarters (Webmaster's collection)
 
1955
(Source: Email from Kenneth Van Booven, 7811 SCU)

MILCOM HQ, 1980s
 
In 1955-56 I was stationed in a small compound in Frankfurt.  Actually, my room faced the streets of Frankfurt.  I don't even recall if the compound had a specific name (Webmaster: this area was known as MILCOM HQ on Hansa Allee in the 1980s).  There were about 20 guys living there along with several NCO's who lived off base.  Our official name was Headquarters Company, 7811 Army Unit.  In our same section of the building we had an MP Detachment as well as being next to the 314th Army Band. Further back in the compound was an Engineering Company.
 
Most of my company, along with the MP Detachment, worked in the Northern Area Command located in the I. G. Farben Building which was about nine city blocks south of our billets. The mess hall was about mid-way between.  Believe the location was on Hansa Allee.  About a block  to the east of the mess was a WAC Detachment and across the street from them was an Air Force unit. These were at the PX Circle.
 
Do you have any more information on the 7811 Army Unit?
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Thanks for your response. I do recall the engineering unit (Webmaster: Engineer Compound in the 1980s) as well as the dental area (Webmaster: Dental Compound).
 
Last week I met with three others who were stationed there. One actually worked in the engineering unit and lives in Lansing, Il.  The other two live in East Moline and Effingham, Ill. Know of two others (one living in St. Louis area and one in West Palm Beach) also in my unit.  They couldn't make it. This was sort of a 50th reunion as we all were sent stateside in 1956.  Actually, that was my job.  Cutting orders and sending people home.  We came up with about 20-25 more names.
 
Where you show the gym on the map there also was another long building to the East on the street.  This is where the engineers had their billets.  Also the guard was posted from a lower room of this building. I worked for Capt. Yakerson in the redeployment section of NACOM.  Our CO was Capt. Wiggins. 

During my first night in the compound, probably in March of 1955, (and for several days later) two of us had to escort a Pvt. Verdeen everywhere he went. He had defected to the East/Russians and was part of an exchange.

Except for daily work routine, the only other event was two planes carrying paratroopers crashing together in the Black Forest and they moved the remains to QM refrigeration warehouses outside of Frankfurt and I had guard duty at night for a week or more.  Sort of a lasting impression for a 19/20 year old.


Northern end of Headquarters Compound with Ambassador Arms Hotel, 1959
 

Ambassador Arms Hotel (transient billets), c. 1961 (Frank da Cruz - website)
 
1956
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, April 18, 1956)
A two-building, three-story transient hotel for American personnel was opened on April 17, 1956 with a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Maj Gen Richard W. Stephens, NACOM CG.

The new transient quarters, known as the Ambassador Arms, is located on the corner of Miquel Allee and Siolistrasse, near the Frankfurt American High School. The hotel will be used by American families awaiting housing or shipping space back to the States.

In addition to family quarters, the 96-room hotel has two VIP suites, a nursery and a lobby in each section. A central hotel parking court separates the two buildings.

The completion of the Ambassador Arms (a brick-and-cement-block structure that has been under construction since March 1955) allows Frankfurt Sub-area to release three German hotels back to the local economy. The hotels being returned are the Park Hotel and Vier Jahreszeiten Hotel (both in downtown Frankfurt near the main train station/Hauptbahnhof) and the Park Hotel Sanatorium in Bad Homburg.
 

Park Hotel in the Wiesenhüttenstrasse near the Hauptbahnhof -
several years after being returned to its original German owners (German postcard)


Frankfurt American High School, 1975 (Frank da Cruz)
 

Frankfurt American High School, 1975 - two rows of "Butler" huts
behind the school provided extra classroom space (Frank da Cruz)
 
1959
(Source: Email from Frank da Cruz, dependent, Frankfurt, 1958-61; 3rd Armd Cav Regt, 1963-66)
When my family arrived in Frankfurt (we crossed by ship to Bremerhaven and drove down in our car which was stowed in the ship's hold), we stayed for a few days in the Ambassador Arms. I think that's when some of those pictures were taken. The first morning I woke up there I could look out the window and see the kids arriving at the high school where I would start within a few days.

Having grown up in rural (and then later suburban) Virginia, which was still segregrated, it was the first time I had seen a diverse student body. The experience of going to school there changed my life in many ways.

For example, in Virginia in junior high school (I left in the middle of 9th grade), if you wanted to be cool, you had to do everything in a certain way -- dress, talk, act, etc, and if you didn't you would be an outcast. At Frankfurt HS, on the other hand, since there were people of all races and backgrounds from all over the country, not to mention Puerto Rico, and even some Germans. There was no one style to conform to; everybody could be themselves. What's more, there was no stigma attached to doing well in school, and some of the coolest people could also be some of the best students. I enjoyed most of my classes, and had several of the best teachers there I ever had or would have. Going back to Virginia for senior year was a real comedown.

Anyway, back to the Ambassador Arms... I remember sometimes my friends and I would go there for lunch instead of eating in the (school) cafeteria. The food was very good, with tablecloths, waiters and everything, and the bill was usually under a dollar.


1. FAHS, 1959

2. FAHS, 1959

3. Teen Club, 1959


Baseball field behind the Frankfurt Shopping Center, mid 1950s
 
(Source: Email from Theodore "Ted" Boyd)
I love the picture of the PX/Commissary in Frankfurt showing the baseball field. I remember my parents shopping but leaving me and my sister in the bleachers to watch baseball games. This was the early 1960s. I was in the 6th grade. We were stationed in Giessen at the time.

Years later I met a communications individual who was stationed in Frankfurt (I.G. Farben building) in the 1980s and told me there was not a baseball field by the PX! Your picture proves me right.

My father was a German linguist (US Army CIC.) In the early 1950s we were in Augsburg. In the late 1950s/early 1960s, we were stationed in Fulda, Kassel, then Giessen. Baltimore was our yoyo string. All I was told is that he worked with displaced persons in Germany.

Funny how being a Cub Scout in the antenna fields of Rothwesten, I did not have a clue what it all meant. Being in the USASA later it all became clear! Thankfully the antenna fields were not the T-site!


 
1967
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Jan 11, 1967)
Taunus District headquarters, previously located in Annex B, behind the IG Farben Building, in Frankfurt, has been moved to a newly constructed 12-story building at the juncture of Hansa Allee and Am Dornbusch (just north of the IG Farben bldg.) (See the Bing Maps bird's eye view image with link above.) The District hqs occupies the top three floors of the new office building.

District commander is Col James J. Hatch. His command offices are located on the 11th floor. The other two floors occupied by the District contain administrative offices.

An EES cafeteria is planned for the ground floor.

 
1968
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, November 15, 1968 & March 17, 1969)
Annex "B" - The office building in the I.G. Farben complex known as Annex "B"  was partially destroyed (over 75 percent of the building) by a fire on November 13, 1968. At the time, the building housed the headquarters of the US Army Engineer Command, Europe and the 18th Finance Section (Hessen Support District).

One wing (Wing C) of the six-wing annex was completely gutted; three others and the main front section of the two-story structure were heavily damaged.

The 386 personnel of HQ ENGCOMEUR and the 140 personnel of the 18th Fin had to be moved to temporary quarters in the IG Farben building and the nearby gymnasium.

(Webmaster note: 18th Finance would soon move into new permanent quarters in Annex "A." ENGCOMEUR would seek funding from DoD to build a new structure to replace the fire-ravaged old headquarters. The new building would be constructed on the site of the old Annex "B.")

USMCA Frankfurt (APO 09757) - Histories, Misc. Information
 
Frankfurt MILCOM insignia
 
Frankfurt ACS - General Information Guide
 
(Source: Frankfurt ACS, 1969)

ACE Welcome Guide
 
The General Information Guide was prepared by Army Community Services, HQ Support District Hessen, to provide a convenient guide to facilities and services within Frankfurt Military Community.

The information contained in this edition was relevant to the 1969.

 
(Source: Frankfurt ACS, May 1977)

ACE Welcome Guide
 
The General Information Guide was prepared by Frankfurt Army Community Services to provide a convenient guide to facilities and services within Frankfurt Military Community.

The information contained in this edition was relevant to the 1977 time period.

 
HISTORY OF THE ABRAMS BUILDING

Source: Public Affairs Office, V Corps, (1987?)

Occupied by the US Forces at the end of World War II, the General Creighton W. Abrams Building in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, has been used continuously by the US Army for the past forty-two years. The tract of land on which the Abrams Building is situated (the Abrams Complex) has been in continuous use for 600 years. In the 14th century, a fortress, the Grüneburg ("Green Fortress"), was constructed in the area of the present-day Grüneburg Park. Over the ensuing three centuries the need for a fortress on this site declined, and it was abandoned. In 1851, the City of Frankfurt purchased the landeventually developing the larger part into a municipal park, Grüneburg Park. The City selected the smaller part to become a location for a facility for the mentally ill.

In the summer of 1927, the board of the powerful "I.G. Farbenindustrie" voted on buying additional property from the Rothschilde in Frankfurt for the construction of their office imperium.

Mr. Hans Poelzig, the then already famous architect, having designed various noted buildings in his home of Berlin and the League of Nations Palace in Geneva, Switzerland, was chosen to design the entire complex.

Construction started in March 1928 and was completed in 1930. In the days of the I.G. Farben trust's greatness, 3,000 workers toiled throughout the nine floors (counting the basement and the attic) and six wings of the continent's largest office building. Architecturally, the building is a masterpiece, built in the shape of a crescent, with wings projecting from its convex. Its length is 240 meters (approximately 800 feet) by 30 meters wide (100 feet) and has over 500 rooms. As exterior material, the construction engineers used Travertine stone, and marble on the inside. Poelzig, its creator, did succeed in not scrificing form to function. The building has stood for 60 years as a testament to the principle that architecture can be designed to be both functional and esthetic.  

Headquarters V Corps, 1954?

Click on the thumbnail to view a
larger format of the same map.

Although the I.G. Farben building in its vastness was the largest aerial target in the Frankfurt area, the structure was spared bombing. When US troops occupied Frankfurt, General Dwight D. Eisenhower requisitioned the building for his headquarters after the US Army's 5th Division captured Frankfurt on 29 March 1945. It remained the headquarters for the US Army in Europe for several years.

From 1945 to 1947, the I.G. Farben Building was the location of the Supreme Headquarters, Allied European Forces as well as the headquarters for the US occupation forces and the Military Governor. On 10 May 1947, permanent orders prohibited further reference to the building as "I.G. Farben" and designated it as the Headquarters Building, European Command. In January 1952, Headquarters V US Army Corps assumed control of the building. In December 1955, the I.G. Farben Industry in Receivership sold the building and grounds to the German government, which in turn granted US Forces indefinite use of the complex.

The original office used by General Eisenhower has been refurbished and dedicated in honor of the former Supreme Allied Commander as the Eisenhower Conference Room.

In a ceremony on 16 April 1975, the building was officially named in honor of General Creighton W. Abrams: the General Creighton W. Abrams Building. (Deceased) Gen Abrams was former Army Chief of Staff, the last commander of US Forces in Vietnam, and for a period of one year, July 1963-July 1964, commander of V Corps.

HISTORY OF EDWARDS BARRACKS
 
Click on image to view a larger resolution of the map and access information on the location of units and facilities at Edwards Barracks in the mid-1960s.

Webmaster requests additional information on units and activities at Edwards and other Frankfurt installations during the 1945-1990 period.

HISTORY OF GIBBS KASERNE

(Source:Email from John Decker)
I was assigned to the 92nd Trans. Co. during this period (1966-1968) at Gibbs K.

Other companys stationed at this kaserne were:
CO C 308th S&S BN
the V CORPS HQ CO (which worked downtown at the I G Farben Building)
the 109th MPs
an airborne ranger company
an Air Force unit

I don't remember the names of the ABN or Air Force units.

Hope this info is of some use or help to you.

(Source: Company A, 709th Military Police Battalion, Yearbook 1976)
HISTORY OF GUTLEUT KASERNE
Gutleut Kaserne has been part of the city of Frankfurt's history since the early middle ages. It is depicted as a site for billeting military troops with knights in armor galloping to and from the Gutleut Complex. Gutleut's name dates back to these very early days; to the street that passes in front of it. At the time, it was named "tauten Leute" for it was a path to a religious monastery. A translation of "tauten Leute" represents good people. At this point in time, the "tauten Leute Haus," run by monks was a sanitorium for the ill I and aged.

In 1776, Germany's 81st Infantry Regiment was billeted on what is now referred to as Gutleut Kaserne. These Germans, known also as Hessens, were the allies of the British during the United States Revolution of 1776. These hired soldiers were led from Gutleut to the United States by Count Frederick I I of Hessen, and fought until 1784. Almost one hundred years after the American Revolutionary War, the original Gutleut Kaserne was torn down, in 1870. New plans were drawn between 1877 and 1879 by the Royal War Minister of Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm I. The Kaserne was constructed by the Architectural Engineer Association of Frankfurt. Upon completion, the Kaserne was divided into three individual kasernes, each occupied by German Army Battalions. The present transient detachment, building #1164 and #1162, housed the 31st Infantry Battalion and the 21st Replacement Battalion Headquarters, now located in Building #1163, housed the German 2nd Artillery Battalion. As of 1910 all three individual kasernes became one complex known as Gutleut Kaserne.

During World War I, the Kaserne housed the District Commander of Frankfurt. Buildings not used by the Commander, were used as a stockade, Military Police Station, and Dining Hall. Military Police Detachment personnel were responsible for keeping the law and order within the Frankfurt Guard. After World War I, the German Army had no further use for the kaserne. It became a private family housing area for the handicapped people with a small income. In 1930 the German Police took over the ownership of the kaserne.

Gutleut Kaserne was not used to any great extent during World War II by Hitler. He wanted his troops to have all new facilities so he ordered Gibbs, Betts and Atterbery Kasernes to be built. One of Hitler's requests was that no church or chapel be built on these kasernes. Above the archway to the entrance of Gutleut Kaserne is the original chapel. Today, this large room stands empty, but the vaulted ceiling, and cathedral windows hint of its former function. The present Stateside NCO/EM Club, at one time was nothing more than a supply room. Upon the close of World War II, in 1945, the United States Army confiscated Gutleut Kaserne and the Army Security Agency, Europe, occupied it. After the ASA moved from Gutleut US Army units moved in and out of the Kaserne. The stockade in the rear of the kaserne was used until 1972. In that year all confinement duties in USAREUR were taken over by Mannheim and Fuerth, Germany. Today, Gutleut Kaserne is occupied by Headquarters, 709th Military Police Battalion; Alpha Company, 709th Military Police Battalion; 570th Military Police Platoon (Railway Police); 21st Replacement Battalion Transient Detachment, and Headquarters, 21st Replacement Battalion.

 
HISTORY OF McNAIR BARRACKS

Source: Welcome Issue, 22nd Sig Bde Voice of the Corps, 31 Oct 1989.

McNair Kaserne, home of the 22d Signal Brigade, was named after General Leslie McNair, an American commander killed in the closing days of World War II after the arrival of the occupational Army.

Originally built between 1919 and 1920, the buildings were designed for use by French occupational forces at the conclusion of the First World War. The French Army lived in the kaserne for 12 years when, with the resurgence of German military might and world prominence, it withdrew to French territory.

The kaserne remained vacant for only one short year. Hitler's rise to power was reflected throughout Germany with increased military preparedness and the formation of special guard units. One such unit reoccupied the empty buildings of the kaserne and remained until 1937.

With the possiblity of war increasing, the Special Guards were relocated and the kaserne again changed hands. That year, an anti-aircraft unit, whose purpose was defending Frankfurt from enemy bombs, took up residence in the kaserne.

When open hostilities broke out in Europe in 1939, the anti-aircraft unit was removed and a unit of the German Highway Patrol Police moved into McNair. The Police force remained quartered at the kaserne until the end of the war, with the mission of controlling and supervising movement of military and civilian vehicles in the Frankfurt-Hoechst areas.

The war ended and the occupational Army of the United States moved into Germany to deter further aggression and rebuild a shattered Germany. A unit of the Army of Occupation was moved into the kaserne which was then renamed after Gen. McNair. One year after wars' end, the 9th Artillery and 317th Engineer Battalion were assigned to McNair.

Gradually, the emphasis in defense and rebuilding changed to defense of a revitalized Western Europe against the aggressive nature of the Communist governments of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed in 1949 and Germany was welcomed back into the world community and rebuilt its defense forces. The mission of the units stationed at McNair Kaserne reflected these changing attitudes.

Finally in 1964, the 317th moved to Camp Eschborn and the 9th Artillery relocated at Giessen and V Corps ordered the 32d Sig. Bn. (Corps) to take up residence at McNair. Company B of the 18th Service and Support Battalion was assigned to the kaserne also but was moved in late 1972. On March 16, 1981, the 22d Sig. Bde. (Corps) was activated and the 17th and 32d Sig. Bns. and Headquarters and Headquarters Company were located in Hoechst, while the 440th remained in Darmstadt. The rest is history.

 
HISTORY OF OFFENBACH KASERNE

A brief history (in German) of the Kaserne on Bieberer Strasse in Offenbach -- Landser, Schupos und Agenten.

Includes a photo of the area today. The kaserne was torn down and a large retail store built in its place.

 
(Source: Rhein-Main Air Base - Gateway to Europe, Welcome Booklet published by Parade Publications in Germany, prob around 1964)
 
 

Related Links:
I.G. Farben Building
V Corps History - to view the excellent History document, select Library, then History, and finally, V Corps History Revised November 2001. The file (over 3 MB; but worth it) is in PDF format and will require the Adobe Reader.
Camp King, Oberursel - great site hosted by Sam Flynn; my home from 1957-1960
3rd Armored Division Association
- in Frankfurt from 1956 to 1992
4th Infantry (IVY) Division Association - in Frankfurt from 1951 to 1956
Palmgarten Club - American Red Cross club (german-language)
12th Troop Carrier Squadron
- Rhein Main Air Base, 1951-1954
McNair Kaserne - Late 1970s - Doug Otoupal's website dedicated to his tour with the 32nd Sig bn at McNair Kaserne
Feldberg RRL Site - Veterans of the USAF communications site in the Taunus Mountains
Frankfurt - Dokumentation zur Nachkriegszeit - a German web site (sorry, only auf Deutsch!) that focuses on the rebuilding of the beautiful city of Frankfurt am Main that had been significantly damaged during World War II. This is a "must see" for anyone stationed in or near Frankfurt between VE-Day and the 1970s. Lots of great photos!
Frankfurter Bilder (photos) Website -
the team of photographers working on this website has collected over 4000 great photos of the city since they started taking pictures in 1996. Currently they are working on documenting the former US military facilities and dependent housing areas. To find the US Army related pics, type the keyword "USARMY" into the textbox next to the SUCHEN button (top right hand corner). Another "must see" for anyone stationed in or near Frankfurt who wants to "walk down memory lane ..."
Forgotten Memories
- Dan Nisto has created a wonderful Photo Page that he keeps updating as he visits abandoned, and now almost forgotten US military installations in Germany.