Monteith Barracks Fuerth

   
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Old Pictures until 1993 from Monteith Barracks

The Monteith Golf Course

 

Right: Two photos from 1961 and 2006 (Bischof & Broel), published in the "Sparkasse" calendar 2007.
Left: 18 September 2010: A pan from the former bowling alley (left) to the right.

Below: Comparisons betwenn 18 September 2010 and 30 October 2010.  These buildings are broken down.

18 September 2010.


30 October 2010: The same place .

18 September 2010.

30 October 2010: The remainders of the building on the right.

18 September 2010.

30 October 2010: Prepared for breakdown.

18 September 2010.

30 October 2010.

18 September 2010.

30 October 2010.

18 September 2010.
20 Dec 2009:
The conversion of Monteith Bks. is on the way. New names have been given to this area: "Alter Flugplatz" and "Golfpark".

The old buildings have been or will be converted to modernized apartments, subsidized  by the government - and quickly sold.
The more the conversion continues, the more the  installations inside the buildings will be detroyed.
Mrs. Renate Trautwein tries to record as many of the inscriptions and paintings as possible.
She is also interested in the underground installations like bunkers and passages between the buildings. Who can contribute photos, information or contacts please e-mail to info@nbg-mil-com.de. Thank you.


29 May 2009: The conversion goes on.

29 May 2009: The tank wash installation is removed (left).

29 May 2009: The maintenance ramp.

29 May 2009: The east side with the horse park in the back.
The conversion of Monteith Barracks is going on. The old quarters are completely under renovation. Many of the new apartments are already sold (photos from 31 January 2009).

Business companies are interested in settling down at Monteith
("Fürther Nachrichten" from 24 February 2009).
Above: 31 May 2008: The building left of the entrance gate. At the right edge stood the chapel.


 
The area left of the entrance gate at Monteith is renovated now.  The buildings are gutted.

A real estate company will sell the appartments.
     

20 January 2008:

Monteith is the last of the three kaserns of Fürth under conversion. Left of the entrance road about 300 appartments will be offered. Partly new ones, partly by completely renovating the old quarters.

"Fürther Nachrichten" (18 Jan 2008)

"Fürther Nachrichten" (2 Feb 2008)

 

The significant guard house on the right.

The chapel was located in the middle of the picture.

The bowling building.

The bowling building on the right.

The place of the chapel.

A show house is already completed.

 

The bowling building.

 

These quarters will be renovated.


 



Around PX, barber shop, library and bank.


The telephone center is removed (2 Dec 2007)




The mess hall has been removed as well (2 Dec 2007)

The place of the mess hall.
24 November 2007 - The chapel has been torn down (left). The entrance gate has been renewed (right).

All pictures from 18 February 2007:

Left: The building 295 at the former main gate has been removed completely - and with it the washed-out letters "Monteith Barracks".

Right: The road that turned right after the main gate. The sewage system is completely renewed.


A WWII shelter

Grass is growing

The former chapel


Path to the mess hall, Bld 330


Bld 330 -the mess hall

Bld 283 - the telephone office

The former loading platform

Bld 280 - post engineers office

A garage

The tank washing pond

On sundays families are skating or operating radio controlled model cars

Pictures from 3 December 2006:
Above the repair shop along the landing strip.

The landing strip is completely covered with an earth wall that protects fairway No. 16 of the golf course. This wall will hold solar panels with 1 MW power output.
Impressions from the "Golfpark", the former Monteith Barracks
(15 October 2006)

Inside Bld. 300

Left: The former Picnic area (in front). The building for the new locker rooms of the golf club is placed on the former tennis court.

Right: The reminders of the picnic area are stored in the back of the garage building that is now used for the golf club machines.

Above and Below: hole No. 8 and tee-box No. 9.

Three Aerial pictures from 2005.

The new entrance at Vacher Straße.

The street is named Willy-Messerschmidt-Straße. In the back: the former hospital.

An old loading platform.

The former Officers Club.

The benches and tables of the barbeque area.

the second hangar is renovated and used as a warehouse.
The City of Fuerth improves the infrastructure of the "Golfpark" with more than 5.5 Million Euro.
A second entrance gate will be opend along Vacher Straße (alongside fairway 8). The supply lines (water, Sewage, natural gas) will be upgraded, street surfaces will be renewed and sidewalks will be added. With metal detectors "Army scrap" is identified and then removed (from steel helmets to ammunition).
See "Fürther Nachrichten" from 23 February 2006.

Inside a lodging building.

Any idea what this poles were used for?
The name "Golfpark" is more and more common for the area of the former Monteith Barracks. The industrial area at Monteith is displayed. An article from the "Fuerther Nachrichten" (26 November 2005).    

No panic: the German Bundeswehr doesn't take over Monteith Barracks!

It just celebrates its 50th anniversary with an exibition there. The "Eurofighter" (right) is a mockup (the former airstrip is for a long time covered with an earth wall to protect the golf course laying behind) and even the German Navy (Bundesmarine) was opening an information tent (9-30-05 to 10-3-05).

After the successful conversion of Johnson Barracks and Darby Kaserne the area of the former Monteith Barracks will follow. Half of the area is owned by the Golf Club Fuerth, the course - in a better shape than ever - is a positive factor for investors. One third of the rest is sold to companies, one third is reserved for parks and the city of Fuerth is looking forward selling the last third of the area as well.
More details see "Fürther Nachrichten" from 7 September 2005 (part 1 and part 2).
31 January 2005:
The Fuerth City Government and the Government of Germany signed an agreement that allows the conversion of the former Monteith Barracks into an industrial park. More than 30 acres are available for various companies. Daum-Electronics, GWU-Solar, TM-Studios, the advertising ageny Schmidt&Schmidt and the horsepark already use 12 acres. The Golf Club Fuerth owns another 100 acres (with 27 holes now!).
Parts of the green areas shall be preserved. Maybe some of the old Army quarters shall be renovated as appartments. More and more the declaration "Alter Flugplatz Atzenhof" (Old Airport Atzenhof) is used instead of "Monteith Barracks".

A riding school shall be established in one of the hangars (the one close to the Farrnbach valley in the South) with approx. 30 horse boxes. (Fuerther Nachrichten from 22 January 2004). The "horsepark" will be opened end of August 2004 (Fuerther Nachrichten from 20 August 2004).

       

All pictures from 21 September 2003. Above: the place of the flagpole.

Right: the picnic area near the driving range.

Left: Doug Batson sent me this picture and wrote: "Bernd, I have an ideal companion photo for the picnic area at Monteith Barracks. Attached is a 1986 Organization Day Picnic photo from that same location. The tall, thin, bearded man behind me is Chuck Walker, Education Services Specialist. I was the Guidance Counselor, both of us were employed at the Monteith Barracks Army Education Center. The two little boys are my sons, Kevin and Benjamin Batson (der kleinste), who, you can write both still live in Fuerth."
See Allen Ham's old pictures on the bottom of the page. Thank you, Allen.
Areal pictures from 17 August 2003.
The grass is brown after a long, hot and dry summer. The greenkeepers of the golf course deserve their name. The storage areas are empty. One big warehouse (top) is renovated by Daum electronics.
 
Heavy vandalism at Monteith School and Kindergarten ("Fuerther Nachrichten" from 26 May 2003):
Two students broke into the school during the weekend and caused damage estimated to millions of Euro. They devastated 25 classrooms by opening the water pipes, destroyed the computers, windows etc.The damage was discovered on Sunday morning when golf players saw water floods coming out of the walls! The students set fire to the Kindergarten as well but this got out by itself. - Three days later the police seized two 14 and 17 year old students from this school who confessed their action.

The streets inside Monteith Barracks were named after flight pioneers and other persons.

24 July 2003: After heavy protests from different groups against the Ernst-Udet-Straße it was renamed to Gustav-Weißkopf-Straße. Ernst Udet was a famous stunt pilot but later as "Generalluftzeugmeister" heavily involved in the Nazi regime. Gustav Weisskopf (or Whitehead!) was a flight pioneer. Rumors say that he has flown an motorized aeroplane earlier than the Wright brothers!

8 March 2003: Some renovations are done in the buildings (left).

Behind the Bowling Alley (right).

News: 8 March 2003: "daum electronic", a manufacturer for home exercisers will move into Building No 7, the former gym hall and cafeteria. More pictures will follow.
(computer animation by daum electronic)

 

The name "Monteith Barracks" will come out of use soon. The letters have been removed from the entrance gate end of 2002 and officially its now called the "old airport" ("Alter Flugplatz").

The initiator of this campaign is a friend of mine who grew up there in the thirties when it really was an important airport (see history below). He convinced the Lord Mayor, the press and others that Fuerth should more emphasize its aviation history.

Not much has changed at Monteith (the following pictures were taken on 6 January 2003)

Left side of the entrance gate where the guard shelter stood. The chapel is used by a religious group.

 


The old runway has been covered with an earth dam to separate the golf course from the rest of the area (left corners of the pictures above and below).
History:
The city of Fuerth purchased in 1915 the caserne area for use as an airport and named it Flugplatz Atzenhof (Airfield Atzenhof). The initial use of the Atzenhof Flugplatz was as a training school for student pilots. During WW I, it was used exclusively for military training.

After the war and in spite of the limitations on aircraft imposed by the Versailles Treaty, the Atzenhof Flugplatz became a successful commercial airport It was expanded considerably between 1918 and 1933 and was a regular stop on many European flights.
Plan

Areal Picture Golf Course The golf course and the school (date unknown).

Link

Areal Photo Storage Area
The storage area
Part of the success was based on good rail connections and large storage areas at the airport. In 1935 Atzenhof Flugplatz again became a training station for military pilots. Four years later it was officially designated as Atzenhof Kaserne and used solely as a military airfield and another three years later the Deutsche Reich acquired the installation. It was heavily damaged by Allied bombers in 1943.
Main Gate from Vacher Straße
The main gate from Vacher Straße (date unknown)
Main gate from inside
The main gate from the inside
(11 September 1993)

Emptying the bowling alley (11 September 1993)
After confiscation by the U.S. Army in April 1945 Atzenhof Kaserne was officially designated Monteith Barracks in 1949 in memory of 1LT Jimmie W. Monteith Jr., 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, who had been killed in action 6 June 1944 near Colleville-sur-Mer, France. In the 1950's Infantry Regiments were stationed here. The construction of the Rhein-Main-Donau Canal reduced the large area to its present size. 
After being the home of the 1st Armored Division Support Command for more than 20 years, Monteith Barracks was returned to the German Government in September 1993 with the exception of the Monteith golf course.

Bld. 293
Building 10 on 4 June 1999




(on the right) Bld. 293 on 11 September 1993
Bld 295
Guided Tour
Guided tour on 11 September 1993

Monteith Barracks still look the same as it did when closed. Most buildings are empty. Handicrafts, musicians, church groups, and artists use only a few of them. The former elementary school is now a special education school. The kindergarden is in operation as well.
The 1st Golf Club Fuerth purchased the complete golf course and takes good care of it. Some water hazards have been added and the driving range has shelters now. 


 

 

Don Morgan:
"I am sending you an image of the 4th. Armored Division patch, hoping that you will post it on your home page for all the guys from the old 4th. AD to view."



Closure of Monteith Barracks on 15 September 1993

("Sentinel" from 24 September 1993)

Drawdown
The Stars and Stripes is lowered for the very last time on 15 September 1993