DeSoto Homes, Building Nos. C-1--C-2, 712-726 North Fourth Avenue, Rome

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2403-D. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

North Fifth Avenue, Rome, Floyd County, Georgia Building Number C-1 is located at the northeast interior corner of the complex at 726 North Fourth Avenue. Building Number C-2 is located adjacent to the parking lot on the southeastern side of the DeSoto Homes complex at 712 North Fourth Avenue. USGS Rome South Quadrangle, Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates: 16S Corrected on 21 October using Google Earth, datum by HABS Collections Technician Angela Sloan. The coordinates represent the approximate center of the roof of each building. There are no restrictions on its release to the public. Building No. Building No.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2403-D. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Built in under the United States Housing Authority, DeSoto Homes is significant as the first federally funded public housing project in Rome, Georgia. Building Numbers C-1 and C-2 are the two examples of a Type C Plan Building in the DeSoto Homes housing project. The Type C Plan Building is a two-story, seven-unit row house with five, four-and-a- half room units and one, three room unit on each floor at the eastern end of the building. DESOTO HOMES, BUILDING NOS. C-1 (Charles Hight Homes) HABS No. GA-2403-D (Page 2) PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History: 1. Date of erection: 2. Architects: The associated firms of Cooper and Cooper and Odis Clay Poundstone. 3.

Original and subsequent owners: Housing Authority of the City of Rome, to Northwest Georgia Housing Authority, to present. 4. Original and subsequent uses: Public housing units for the Housing Authority of the City of Rome and Northwest Georgia Housing Authority. 5. Builder, Contractor, Suppliers: Contractor: Griffin Construction Company, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia Landscape Architect: William C. Pauley, Atlanta, Georgia Structural Engineer: Armstrong, Mechanical Engineer: A.L. Lindstrom, Electrical Engineer: Bush, Civil Engineer: Jere Dodd 6.

Original Plans and construction: The Commission of the Housing Authority of the City of Rome approved the working drawings submitted for DeSoto Homes on June 12, The project contractors, Griffin Construction Company, Inc., won the base bid contract of Site clearance and construction of DeSoto Homes began in early September and was completed in the fall of Aside from the replacement of the original doors and windows, Building Numbers C-1 and C-2 retain their original appearance and interior plans. 7.

Alterations and additions: The exterior stucco finish on both Type C Plan Buildings were repaired and repainted in and again in As part of Phase I of the Rome Housing Authority s building modernization plans during the early aluminum screen doors were replaced and rear canopies and gutters were also changed. During the larger CIAP DESOTO HOMES, BUILDING NOS. C-1 (Charles Hight Homes) HABS No. GA-2403-D (Page 3) modernization program in the early new bathroom fixtures, tile floors and sheetrock were installed, as were new kitchen cabinets. The original steel casement windows in each building were replaced with double and tripartite anodized aluminum sash windows.

Original gas heaters were replaced with the existing wall furnaces and water heaters were upgraded and relocated to utility closets within the kitchens. Subsequent renovation work completed during the included interior improvements (painting, new bathroom tiling) and additional gutter and appliance replacements. B. Historical Context The Housing Authority of the City of Rome developed DeSoto Homes as a segregated, federally subsidized low-rent housing project for white residents.

DeSoto Homes, along with Altoview Terrace, which was built for African-American tenants, were two of the earliest housing projects built in Georgia following the passage of the Federal United States Housing Act in and enactment of state enabling legislation for the creation of local public housing authorities in Located in the Fourth Ward section of Rome, the project was designed in a Spanish Colonial Revival style by the associated Atlanta firms of Cooper and Cooper and Odis Clay Poundstone. The Griffin Construction Company, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia was awarded the construction contract for the project with a low bid of Site clearance and development began in September and was completed by October Tenants began moving into the new units by November of that year.

The twenty-eight building Desoto Homes project is located within an urban setting and contains 148 residential units and a public Administrative Building. The one- and two-story buildings are symmetrically arranged to create multiple vistas. The landscaped site plan, designed by landscape architect William C. Pauley, is laced with concrete walkways, small lawns of green space, and a central open playground area. There are two Type C Plan Buildings in the DeSoto Homes complex. Both were built as part of the original housing project. Building Numbers C-1 and C-2 are transversely located on North Fourth Avenue. Both are two-story buildings with six two-story, two-bedroom units and one upper level, one-bedroom unit.

Each building was renovated as part of the modernization plans of the and which resulted in the replacement of much of the interior fabric in all units, removal of the original steel casement fenestration, and installation of metal front doors, screen doors, and rear canopies. DESOTO HOMES, BUILDING NOS. C-1 (Charles Hight Homes) HABS No. GA-2403-D (Page 4) Between and the lower working class families and individuals comprised most of the residents in DeSoto Homes. By the however, the majority of tenants were elderly. In the project was renamed Charles A. Hight Homes in honor of the businessman and longstanding commission chairman of the Housing Authority of the City of Rome.

By Charles Hight Homes was determined to be functionally obsolete and was designated for potential redevelopment by the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority (formerly the Housing Authority of the City of Rome). The complex currently stands vacant. Part II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement 1. Architectural character: Building Numbers C-1 and C-2 are the two Type C Plan Buildings located with the DeSoto Homes project. Both were built in as two-story, seven-unit dwellings with Spanish Colonial Revival style architectural detailing. In the Type C Plan Building, five apartments have a four-and-a-half room standardized floor plan featuring a combined kitchen and dining room with a utility closet, a living room, two bedrooms, and a full bathroom.

Two, three-room units located at the western end of the building have a kitchen with a utility closet, a living room, one bedroom, and a full bathroom. 2. Condition of fabric: The buildings are in good structural condition. Despite the replacement of the historic windows and doors and renovation of much of the interior fabric, the original appearances and floor plans of the buildings are intact. B. Description of Exterior: 1. Overall dimensions: A Type C Plan Building is two-stories in height with a symmetrical facade. It measures 101 2 in length and has an overall depth of 26 4 . Refer to plans for detailed measurements. DESOTO HOMES, BUILDING NOS. C-1 (Charles Hight Homes) HABS No. GA-2403-D (Page 5) 2.

Foundations: The foundations of Type C Plan Buildings are composed of 8 thick concrete block wall footings supporting a reinforced 8 concrete slab. 3. Walls: Walls are 8 thick structural terra cotta block, also known as hollow tile block, and covered with a grayish- blue painted stucco finish. A belt course delineates the building s first and second stories. 4. Structural Systems, framing: The Type C Plan Building is constructed of structural terra cotta block masonry with a 2 x 6 trussed frame roof. 5. Porches, stoops: The front elevation of a Type C Plan Building has three shared, flat canopy porches with concrete slab foundations. Two 4 metal pipe columns support the porch roofs.

Four smaller concrete slab porches with cantilevered metal canopies are located over the back doorways on the rear elevation. 6. Chimneys: Building Numbers C-1 and C-2 have four chimneys. One interior end double flue vent chimney is located on the western elevation, and three quadruple flue chimneys are interiorly located along the roof ridge. All are transversely placed and coated with a stucco finish. 7. Openings a. Doorways and doors: Each building has six doors on the front elevation and rear elevation accessing each two-story apartment and the first story, single-bedroom unit. A small flight of concrete steps lead to a single exterior door on the west side of each building that access the interior stairway to the upstairs single-bedroom apartment.

All existing exterior doors are flat metal replacements with aluminum screen doors. DESOTO HOMES, BUILDING NOS. C-1 (Charles Hight Homes) HABS No. GA-2403-D (Page 6) b. Windows and shutters: There are seven window openings of varying size on each story of the Type C Plan Building fa ade. The building rear elevations have twelve windows on the second story and seven on the first. A single window is present on each story on west elevation. The east elevation has two vertical windows centrally located on the building s second story and two larger window sizes on the first.

Although the two Type C Plan Buildings retain the sizes and locations of the original fenestration, all current windows are non-historic two-over-two, anodized aluminum sash replacements of the historic steel casement multi-light windows. 8. Roof: a. Shape, covering: Both Type C Plan Buildings are covered with a medium- pitched, side-gable roof with wood louvered vents at the gable ends. The roofs are covered with original red slate tile shingles. b. Cornice, eaves: The Type C Plan Building roof has a slight eave overhang that is boxed with continuous brick dentil molding of alternating stretcher and header courses along the cornice. C. Description of Interior: 1. Floor plans: Type C Plan Buildings have a linear-massed plan that is six units wide and two units deep.

Each building contains seven residential units. There are five, two- story, four-and-a-half room plan apartments with a combined kitchen and dining area and living room on the first floor and a central hall opening to two bedrooms and one bathroom on the second story. The two, single- story three-room apartments located on the western end of each building have a living room, kitchen, bath, and bedroom. DESOTO HOMES, BUILDING NOS. C-1 (Charles Hight Homes) HABS No. GA-2403-D (Page 7) 2. Stairways: Each two-story, four-and-a-half room apartment has a straight stairway with an open wing wall leading from the living room to the upstairs hall. The wing wall rail is capped with sheet metal and has a black painted finish.

The twelve stair treads have rubber coverings and risers have been painted black. The original wood handrails have a dark painted finish. A closet is located below the stairway in the living room. The interior stairway on the west elevation side entrance of both Type C Plan Buildings leads to the living room area of the second story, three-room apartment. The eight stair treads have rubber coverings and risers have been painted black. The original wood handrails have a dark painted finish. 3. Flooring: Both Type C Plan Buildings have asphalt tile flooring applied over concrete slab throughout, save for bathrooms, which have replacement square ceramic tile. 4.

Wall and ceiling finish: All remaining original walls retain a plaster finish; however, due to the extensive renovations made to the DeSoto Homes housing project during the mid many of the Type C Plan Buildings walls and ceilings are sheetrock with a painted finish. 5. Openings: a. Doorways and doors: Both Type C Plan Buildings appear to retain their original interior two panel wood doors. Interior closet doors were added as part of the modernization work in the Doorways have 3 1/2 wide, plain wood casing with a painted finish. b. Windows: DESOTO HOMES, BUILDING NOS. C-1 (Charles Hight Homes) HABS No. GA-2403-D (Page 8) Interior window surrounds are generally devoid of casing and detailing save for unadorned, blocked stools and aprons with sheet metal capping and a painted finish. 6.

Decorative features and trim: Developed as low-income housing units, the apartment interiors of Type C Plan Buildings are minimally ornamented. All interior partitions and doors are painted a uniform off-white. One of the few distinctive features is painted black clay tile base molding found in each room, save for the bathroom. DESOTO HOMES, BUILDING NOS. C-1 (Charles Hight Homes) HABS No. GA-2403-D (Page 9) 7. Hardware: Most interior doors retain their original brass doorknob and mortis lockset hardware although examples of cylindrical lock metal door sets on closet doors installed in the or are also present. 8. Mechanical Equipment: a.

Heating, air conditioning, ventilation: Apartment units in each building have been updated to include modern central HVAC and wall furnace heating systems. The original water heaters have been replaced and relocated within utility closets next to the kitchen. b. Lighting: Apartment units in each building have been updated to include adequate electrical wiring systems with modern breaker panels, wall outlets, and overhead lighting fixtures in the kitchen, living room, and hallway areas. c. Plumbing: All Type C Plan Buildings have plumbing systems installed as part of the original development. Kitchen sinks and bathroom fixtures have been updated over time during the and The original water heaters have been replaced and relocated within utility closets next to the kitchen. D. Site: 1.

Historic landscape design: Both Type C Plan Buildings are oriented to the north. Building Number C-1 is located in the northeast corner of the DeSoto Homes complex with the west elevation end facing North Fourth Avenue. Building Number C-2 is located to the immediate south of the semi-circular parking area, also with the west elevation end of the building facing North Fourth Avenue. Angled automobile parking areas for the residents are located at north and south ends of North Fourth Avenue and Keelway Drive. A semi-circular lot is also located DESOTO HOMES, BUILDING NOS. C-1 (Charles Hight Homes) HABS No. GA-2403-D (Page 10) in the area of the former spray pool behind the Administration Building. Part III.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION Existing architectural and engineering drawings, historic views, documents and records, and interviews were used to compile this information. Much of the material was located at the Authority s Archives or within the Maintenance Department s files. For a full bibliography, please refer to Part III Sources of Information for DeSoto Homes, HABS No. GA-2403. Part IV. PROJECT INFORMATION This documentation was prepared to assist the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority in meeting their Section 106 responsibilities under the National Historic Preservation Act as amended.

After consultation with the Georgia Historic Preservation Division the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers the housing to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places based on Criterion A, namely, events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. The Authority, as administrator of federal funds allocated for this purpose, wishes to redevelop the site and its plans will have an adverse effect on the eligible property. Thus HUD, the Authority, and HPD entered into a Memorandum of Agreement in to complete a HABS Level II documentation of the DeSoto Homes. In addition, the Authority has elected to complete a second recordation project that documents the historically-associated Altoview Terrace.

DeSoto Homes is documented in HABS No. GA-2403 while Altoview Terrace s number is yet to be assigned.