Fort Benning, Main Post, Bachelor Officers Quarters, Building No. 36, Richardson Circle, Fort Benning Military Reservation

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2430-A. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Richardson Circle, Main Post, Fort Benning, Chattahoochee County, Georgia The building is located at latitude: longitude: The coordinate represents the center point of the roof and was obtained from Google Earth imagery. The USGS quadrangle map is Fort Benning, Georgia- Alabama, photo-revised

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2430-A. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Building No. 36 was completed in and is part of a complex of three identical bachelor officer quarters (BOQ). The BOQ was built at Fort Benning as part of the permanent building construction program completed between and The construction program was part of an Army-wide program initiated in and continued during the Building No. 36 was identified as a contributing resource to the National Register-eligible Fort Benning Main Post Historic District (Fort Benning Appendix B). Building No. 36 is located near the center of the academic area of the historic district and is one of a group that forms the eastern terminus of the formally landscaped open space north of the former Infantry School (Building No. The architecture of Building No.

36 contributes to the overall architectural cohesiveness of Fort Benning, an installation that is an outstanding example of military architecture, community planning, and landscape architecture for the period between and The Fort Benning Main Post Historic District is also significant for its association with the modernization and development of the nation s military from to (Perry Description: Building No. 36 is a multi-unit residential building constructed in the French Provincial style. The building adopts a U-shaped footprint comprising a two- story main block with one-story wings projecting from the west fa ade. The overall building dimensions are 143 -8 x 71 10 with a height of 34 -8 .

The main block measures 143 -8 x 39 -6 and has nine bays along the west fa ade and twenty-one bays along the east rear wall. The sides are three bays wide. The front projecting wings measure 26 -5 x 32 -4 with two bays on the front and three bays on each side. The center bays of the front and the rear walls of the main block feature two-story, slightly projecting bays with stuccoed quoining. Each projecting bay is capped by a broken pediment with returns. A small stuccoed decorative indented oval accents the center of the pediment on the front wall. A wood-frame, twelve-light oval window is located in the pediment on the rear wall. The upper window sash is fixed while the lower sash is hinged in the middle. FORT BENNING, MAIN POST, BACHELOR OFFICERS QUARTERS, BUILDING No. 36 HABS No.

GA-2430-A (Page 2) The raised foundation is constructed of poured concrete with a concrete water table. The exterior walls are structural clay tile finished with stucco. The scored structural clay tiles measure 4 x 12 and 12 x 12 . All building corners are stuccoed and scored to resemble stone quoins. The steeply-pitched hipped roof is clad with flat, scored, clay tiles that are colored in variegated shades of reddish clay, from pale to dark red. A wood cornice adorns the eave along all walls. The roof of the main block has six dormers on the west side, four dormers on the east side, and one dormer on each end. The dormers in the roof of the main block are arched and contain arch-topped, six- over-six-light, double-hung sash windows.

Single round dormers project from each roof plane of the one-story wings and contain circular nine-light windows. The front faces of all dormers are finished with copper cladding. A 10 -0 -wide, two-story arcade spans the front and provides access to the residential units. The bays of the arcade are defined by two-story piers that are scored and stuccoed to resemble ashlar. The first-floor openings along the arcade have slightly segmental arches ornamented with stone scrolls with the exception of the center bay, which is a square opening. The second-story arcade openings are rectangular with the exception of the center bay, which has a segmental arch. The arcade openings on the first and second stories are spanned by ornamental metal railings.

The central bay on the front of the main block is sheltered under a one-story porch that projects beyond the arcade and the two-story projecting center bay. The flat porch roof is supported on paired wood pillars with simple Doric capitals set on simple bases. The flat porch roof is capped by a narrow balcony with an ornamental metal balustrade. The main doorway from the arcade into the first- floor lobby contains double two-raised panel, wood doors. The doors are set in a wide wood molded surround. Paired French doors comprising ten lights over single wood panels originally provided access to the residential units. Most exterior doors were replaced with modern metal doors.

Paired French doors also were installed along the sides of the main block, the fronts of the projecting wings, and along the first floor of the rear wall corresponding to the common lounge. The French doors provided cross ventilation; the base of each opening was blocked by an ornamental metal railing. All French door openings are ornamented with stuccoed surrounds. The building incorporates two sizes of windows, which correspond to the interior plan. Eight-over-eight-light windows were installed in the living spaces, while six-over-six-light windows were installed in the bathrooms. All windows are FORT BENNING, MAIN POST, BACHELOR OFFICERS QUARTERS, BUILDING No. 36 HABS No. GA-2430-A (Page 3) wood-frame, double-hung sash units.

The windows are recessed into deep rectangular openings defined by quarter cove wood moldings and stone sills. The windows in the sides of the front wings are installed over wood panels with ornamental metal railings. Selected openings, primarily on the front and side walls, originally were outfitted with louvered wood shutters. All shutters have been removed. Since construction in several changes in building use have occurred. The building originally was classified as bachelor officer quarters. Subsequent reclassifications include VIP quarters, officer quarters-transient, and guest housing. Physical alterations to Building No. 36 are documented in the real property files and the drawings files.

Between and real property entries detailed interior and exterior painting and floor refinishing (Fort Benning real property records). In frame interior walls were inserted into the common lounge area to form a kitchen. The kitchen was outfitted with appliances for residents use. In addition, a maids storage area was installed. These spaces were in place by (Jaeger Company Fort Benning drawing archive DEH-35146 In a guest laundry was installed in a section of the common lounge along the rear wall. A partial wall was installed over two sets of French doors. The guest laundry accommodated three automatic washing machines and three electric dryers. A service sink and a storage closet for maid service also were installed. In the heating system was upgraded.

The old boiler and radiators were removed from the building (Fort Benning real property records). In the building became part of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) after the completion of a major rehabilitation. History: Building No. 36 is one of three identical bachelor officers quarters (BOQ) completed in The BOQ was constructed to house eighteen bachelor officers and was completed during a major building program at Fort Benning to provide barracks for enlisted personnel and family housing for commissioned and non-commissioned officers.

The installation construction program was part of a larger, nationwide military construction program that the Army initiated during the mid-1920s and continued during the as part of the Federal government s efforts to put civilians to work during the Depression. FORT BENNING, MAIN POST, BACHELOR OFFICERS QUARTERS, BUILDING No. 36 HABS No. GA-2430-A (Page 4) Bachelor officers quarters evolved as a distinct building type on Army posts during the and when the Army began to consolidate troops into larger, permanent posts. In the Quartermaster Department issued its first standardized plan for a BOQ. The typical BOQ contained individual sleeping rooms and sitting rooms, a shared dining room, a reading room, a kitchen, and recreation rooms for billiards and cards.

Early Quartermaster standard plans had Victorian ornamentation. During the first decade of the twentieth century, the BOQ plans were issued in the Colonial Revival (Goodwin & Associates, Inc. Vol. NARA Standard Plans). BOQs typically were located near the parade ground or near the officer family housing area. The standardized design of the BOQ was updated during the to provide each officer with an individual living room, a bedroom, and a private bath. Kitchen facilities typically were provided in the building (Chambers The BOQs constructed during the reflected the prevailing architectural styles used by the Quartermaster Corps: the Georgian Colonial Revival and the Spanish/Mission Colonial Revival styles. At a few installations, BOQs were designed in special regional architectural styles.

The BOQ at Fort Benning is an example of the style described in a contemporary article as French provincial characterized by high pitched roofs, French doors, and casement windows ( Housing the Army This style also was used for the buildings constructed at Barksdale Army Airfield, now Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB), Louisiana. The standardized plan was used again for the BOQ constructed at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, and adapted for the construction of the three BOQs (Building Nos. 36, 37, and 38) at Fort Benning, Georgia (Fort Benning scanned drawing archive The contract to build the three bachelor officers quarters was awarded in November The general contractor was Algernon Blair of Montgomery, Alabama. Carl H. Jabelonsky, the constructing quartermaster at Fort Benning, accepted Building No.

36 as completed on September 7, (NARA RG 77 Completion Report, Book 5, Building No. 36 was named Lewis Hall in honor of Colonel Evan E. Lewis (NARA RG 77 Completion Report, Book 5, Colonel Evan E. Lewis was born in the Dakota Territory in November (Arlington National Cemetery Website). Lewis graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in (Cullum Following his graduation, he was promoted to second lieutenant in the Infantry. By the outbreak of World War I, Lewis held the rank of major. During the war, he was promoted to Colonel and served in the Infantry Regiment of the Division. He personally led his men into the battle, including hand-to-hand fighting with the enemy.

He earned two Distinguished Service Crosses for his extraordinary heroism in He also FORT BENNING, MAIN POST, BACHELOR OFFICERS QUARTERS, BUILDING No. 36 HABS No. GA-2430-A (Page 5) received three Silver Star Citations, as well as the Italian War Cross, the Croix de Guerre from the French government, and membership in the French Legion of Honor (Arlington National Cemetery Website). Following the war, he reverted to his former rank of major. He graduated from the Infantry School Advanced Course in and from the Army War College in Washington, in He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in He passed away while serving as a staff officer stationed at Fort Hamilton in Lewis was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery (Arlington National Cemetery Website).

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2430-A. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Arlington National Cemetery Website Evan E. Lewis, Colonel United States Army. Posted December 23, Viewed online, October 30, Chambers, Lt. Col. John S. Quarters for Our Army. The Quartermaster Review (March-April Cullum, George W. Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York since its Establishment in Seemann & Peters, Printers, Saginaw, MI. Fort Benning, Directorate of Public Works, Environmental Management Division Historic Properties Component of the Integrated Cultural Resource Management Plan for Certification under the Army Alternate Procedures for Historic Properties in lieu of 36 CFR Part 800 for Section 106 compliance of the National Historic Preservation Act.

On file at Environmental Management Division, Directorate of Public Works, Fort Benning. Project Files maintained by the Environmental Management Division, Directorate of Public Works, Fort Benning. Real Property Records. Directorate of Public Works, Fort Benning. Var. Scanned drawing archive. Provided by Environmental Management Division, Directorate of Public Works, Fort Benning. FORT BENNING, MAIN POST, BACHELOR OFFICERS QUARTERS, BUILDING No. 36 HABS No. GA-2430-A (Page 6) Goodwin, R. Christopher, & Associates, Inc. National Historic Context for Department of Defense Installations, Prepared for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, Baltimore, Maryland. Four volumes.

Housing the Army The Quartermaster Review (March-April Jaeger Company (The) Fort Benning Historic Resource Interior Survey: Building No. 36. Digital document on file at Environmental Management Division, Directorate of Public Works, Fort Benning, Georgia. National Archives and Records Administration Record Group 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Entry Construction Completion Reports Fort Benning, Georgia. Completion Reports, Book 5, Perry, Susanne Seale Fort Benning Main Post Historic District. Draft National Register nomination on file at Environmental Management Division, Directorate of Public Works, Fort Benning. Historians: Katherine Grandine, Senior Historian, and Benjamin Riggle, Historian R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc., December

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2430-A. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This documentation package was prepared to mitigate the effects of renovations undertaken to Building Nos. 36, 37, and 38, contributing resources to the National Register-eligible Fort Benning Main Post Historic District.

The renovation project was completed as part of the transformation of Fort Benning into a Maneuver Center of Excellence under the Base Realignment and Closure Act of The Fort Benning Historic Properties Component of the Integrated Cultural Resource Management Plan for Certification under the Army Alternate Procedures for Historic Properties in lieu of 36 CFR Part 800 for Section 106 compliance of the National Historic Preservation Act of as amended, in effect since February states that, when renovations occur that do not meet the Secretary of the Interior s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, treatment will take the form of documentation in accordance with the standards of the Historic American Buildings Survey and/or the Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER) or similar equivalent documentation (Fort Benning The scope of the project called for intensive historic and FORT BENNING, MAIN POST, BACHELOR OFFICERS QUARTERS, BUILDING No.

36 HABS No. GA-2430-A (Page 7) photo-documentation of one representative example of the BOQs. Building No. 36 was selected for photo-documentation. Additional information and historic photographs are presented HABS No. GA-2430. FORT BENNING, MAIN POST, BACHELOR OFFICERS QUARTERS, BUILDING No. 36 HABS No. GA-2430-A (Page 8) Excerpt of Fort Benning Main Post Map Showing Building No. 36 Location