Camp Merritt, California

In the spring of eighteen ninety-eight, rows of white canvas tents stretched across these blocks, transforming a defunct racetrack into a sprawling military installation. Known as Camp Merritt, this site served as a temporary staging ground for eighteen thousand volunteer soldiers preparing to depart for the Philippine Islands during the Spanish-American War. The camp occupied land between what are now Arguello Boulevard and Sixth Avenue, stretching north toward California Street.