Mid-century Livermore saw a demographic shift from farms and ranches to
suburbanization and continuing support of the existing health care
industry, New Deal programs, a naval airbase, and two national
laboratories. The health care industry flourished with the dedication in
1925 of a veterans' hospital, which is still operational today; the
Livermore Sanitarium for the treatment of alcoholism and mental
disorders; and the Del Valle Sanitarium for the treatment of
tuberculosis. During the 1930s, Livermore residents supported the Hetch
Hetchy Project and numerous efforts of the Works Progress
Administration. A naval airbase for training pilots was established in
1942, during World War II. This base became the Lawrence Livermore
Radiation Laboratory in the 1950s and was soon accompanied by an
extension of Sandia National Laboratories across the street.