The Oak Knoll Naval Hospital’s carcass will be demolished this Friday, sometime between 10:00 am and noon.  There’s been an awful, silent and ignored hulk shadowing the Oakland Hills for 15 years.  Good riddance, we say.

According to the Oak Knoll Coalition, a group of neighbors, the main hospital will be exploded this week.  They reported that developer SunCal will raze all the remaining masonry buildings by year-end.  However Club Knoll, a relic of the country club which preceded the hospital, will be saved for later refurbishment.

Over the past few years, there have been several visitors to this supposedly off-limit place.  Check out the fascinating coverage (part 1, part 2), images and videos which document the derelict hospital compound — and also honor what once took place on the hill.

The hospital base was opened from 1942-1996, which means the East Bay’s filled with former workers, their families, patients and even those born there.  Please visit the Facebook petition underway to create a fitting memorial on the hillside.  It’s a nice idea, we think.

So what’s next?  After the demolitions, we wait for new homes and a little open space.  Presumably housing developers will get capitalized again, whether it’s SunCal or someone else — though nothing is truly known or scheduled at this point.

Update:   Courtesy of The Bay Citizen, here’s a video showing the hospital implosion.