Pepperrell Air Force Base - Base Closure

Base Closure

The strategic importance of the base continued to decline, and it was identified for closure in 1959.

On May 15, 1960 the last American forces departed Pepperrell AFB when the United States Army Transportation Terminal Command Arctic closed its headquarters.

On August 10, 1960 the American flag was lowered at Pepperrell AFB and the Union Jack and the Canadian Red Ensign were raised as the base property was transferred back to the Crown, Her Majesty in Right of Canada. The Government of Canada kept a small portion of the base for use as what is now CFS St. John's. The remainder was transferred to the Government of Newfoundland, which subsequently sold off and developed the remainder of the property.

As a legacy to Newfoundland, and in honor of Dr. Charles Alberton Janeway, on August 9, 1966 the Janeway Children’s Hospital opened its doors in the building previously used by the United States Air Force as its on-base hospital. The old facility, with a bomb shelter in the basement, was slated for demolition in 2008.

The former brick junior/senior high school building on the base, which hosted classes for the first time during the 1956-57 school year, later became a Children's Rehabilitation Center and, most recently, has been renovated and converted into condominiums. The base theater, located just inside the main gate, was torn down in 1984. While a majority of the original buildings constructed in the early 1940s remain, including the former Officers Club and base gymnasium/bowling alley, a number of others, notably several barracks directly down the hill from the Officers Club, have been demolished. Since closure, a number of new buildings have been built amongst original buildings on the grounds of the former base. Former military dependents, who were students at the junior/senior high school, continue to enjoy revisiting the base even as recently as 2010, 50 years after its closure.