Fort Gordon Signal School, Signal Towers Complex, 502-506 Chamberlain Avenue U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence, Fort Gordon

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS GA-6-D. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The United States (U.S.) Army Southeastern Signal School is located on the grounds of Fort Gordon in Richmond County, Georgia. The campus is bounded by Chamberlain Avenue to the south and 8th Avenue to the east, north and west. The Signal Tower Complex is located at Chamberlain Avenue, U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence. Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates: 17S 393558E (Center of the flag pole, obtained December via Google Earth. No restrictions on public release.)

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS GA-6-D. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Signal Towers Complex is one of 13 buildings within a designed landscape that comprises the Fort Gordon Signal School campus (HALS GA-6). The property is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for associations with military defense communications, and design values associated with New Formalism The Army s adoption of this style projected a modernist image that matched its investment in emerging communications technology that defined the Cold War. It is also significant for its associations with military education as the sole institution dedicated to advanced instruction in electronic communications. Description: The Signal Towers Complex served as a central administration complex for the Southeastern Signal School Campus (Figure 1).

It is composed of the administrative offices of the eleven-story Signal Towers (Building the school library Conrad Hall (Building and two adjacent auditoriums Alexander/Olmstead Halls (Building all joined by covered walkways. Conrad Hall is named in honor of Major General Victor Allen Conrad United States Army, who attained the rank of Chief Signal Officer, Supreme Allied Powers Europe. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Alexander Hall is named in honor of Brigadier General E.

Porter Alexander Confederate States of America, appointed First Signal Officer Confederate Army in June Olmstead Hall is named in honor of Major General Dawson Olmstead United States Army, who assumed command of the Signal Corps School in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey in and was appointed Chief Signal Officer of the Army in Designed in a Mid-Twentieth-Century-Modern design variant known as New Formalism, the Signal Tower Complex has the following character-defining features: FORT GORDON SIGNAL SCHOOL,

Signal Towers Complex Hals

No. GA-6-D (Page 2) - Monumental scale - Appears to float on the landscape or to be set on a podium - Rectangular massing - Flat roof - Brick veneer forming large expanses of smooth surfaces - Exposed structural system of distinctive waffle slab concrete - Delicacy of details such as brushed aluminum architectural lettering for signage, overhanging eaves with perforations in the waffle slab for light/shadow effects on the brick veneer Signal Towers (Building Signal Towers (the name has historically been plural even though there is only one tower) is the headquarters building for the Signal School. The eleven-story Signal Towers features a ground level lobby with a dining room and a campus bookstore (Figure 2).

A typical tower floor features offices surrounding a rectangular corridor with egress stairs, mechanical rooms and latrines in a central service core (Figure 3). The tenth floor features a wraparound patio. The eleventh floor is for mechanical equipment. The main entrance is on the south side of the building facing the landscaped courtyard. The front doors are plate glass set into bright aluminum frames, and the other doors on the first floor are the same. The service doors are steel. The windows on the first floor are plate glass set into bright aluminum frames with tan panels placed above and below the plate glass. All other windows have been replaced on the building with anodized bronze aluminum one-over-one windows.

The canopy/covered walkway around the first floor features a large waffle roof. Floors two through seven project over the second floor windows; the second floor windows are recessed back from the plane of the stories above. The second floor has one original window that remains on the north side of the building, next to an original door. Windows on floors three through nine are ribbon windows. There are three sets of five anodized, bronze aluminum, one-over-one windows. Each set is separated from the other by double columns of bricks that extend out from the concrete structure. The tenth floor is set back from the extending bays, providing a balcony space. The windows on the tenth floor windows are also anodized bronze, aluminum one-over-one windows.

A large concrete canopy tops the tenth floor with the words, SIGNAL TOWERS on the south elevation of the canopy. A rectangular service core rises above the concrete canopy. Alexander/Olmstead Hall (Building Alexander is the larger of the two adjacent auditoriums (Figure 4). The primary entrance is on the north side of the auditorium in line with the outer covered walkway that connects it to Conrad FORT GORDON SIGNAL SCHOOL, SIGNAL TOWERS COMPLEX HALS No. GA-6-D (Page 3) Hall and the Signal Towers. Both sets of primary entrance doors are bright aluminum frames with plate glass. Ubiquitous tan panels are to either side and above the entrance doors. Alexander features a grand lobby with entrances to the north and south.

The auditorium features a sloped floor for seating with an orchestra pit between the first row and the stage. Flanking the stage are dressing rooms and a control room. Olmstead is a smaller auditorium with sloped seating and a projection room between it and the lobby on the north side. Large precast T-beams form the roof over both auditoriums and extend from the north to south on the primary structure. A concrete waffle roof canopy surrounds this building with large can ceiling lights, connecting it to Conrad Hall and the Signal Towers. Conrad Hall (Building Located between Signal Towers and Alexander/Olmstead Auditoriums, Conrad Hall was originally designed as the campus library.

Entry is through a large landscaping court with covered walkways connecting it to the Signal Towers to the north and the auditoriums to the south. The 98 square floor plan is organized around a central reading area with office, conference and study rooms surrounding the perimeter (Figure 7). Flooring surfaces are simple and unrefined throughout the complex. Floors covered with square composite, marbled tiles measuring 12 x 12 are common throughout, as is polished concrete. Some surfaces have been covered over with indoor/outdoor carpet. Corridors and major spaces feature exposed concrete waffle slab painted beige. Interior walls are generally painted concrete masonry units. Original hardware is brush aluminum. Doorknobs are round with brushed aluminum back plates.

Large, brushed aluminum lettering of the name of each the structure in a sans serif font is prominently located on Conrad Hall and Alexander Auditorium (Figure 9). The buildings have been well maintained and exhibit no evidence of structural failure. Most all original fabric, materials, and components are intact, with wear and tear that would be expected on a structure over fifty years of age. However, HVAC and plumbing systems have reached the end of their operational lifespan, resulting in high maintenance costs. Hazardous materials such as friable asbestos are present, as are mold and mildew issues. Paint failure is evident on the concrete waffle slabs. Exterior original lighting fixtures are in generally poor condition, with some lamp posts missing parts.

FORT GORDON SIGNAL SCHOOL, SIGNAL TOWERS COMPLEX HALS No. GA-6-D (Page 4) History: Refer to HALS No. GA-6 for historical context of the Fort Gordon Signal School campus.

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS GA-6-D. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Drawings: Drawings are in the public domain, on file at the Directorate of Public Works, Fort Gordon, Georgia. Secondary and Published: Adams, Sunny E. and Adam D. Smith. Character-Defining Features of Contributing Buildings and Structures in the Fort Gordon, Georgia, Signal School Campus Historic District. ERDC/CERL Champaign, IL: Engineer Research and Development Center Construction Engineering Laboratory. Smith, Adam D., and Sunny E. Stone. 2005a. Fort Gordon Architectural Survey ERDC/CERL 1. Champaign, IL: Engineer Research and Development Center- Construction Engineering Research Laboratory. Fort Gordon Cold War Architectural Survey Volume 1: Historic Context and Survey Results. ERDC/CERL Vol. I.

Champaign, IL: Engineer Research and Development Center-Construction Engineering Research Laboratory. Fort Gordon Cold War Architectural Survey Volume 2: Signal School Survey Forms. ERDC/CERL Vol. II. Champaign, IL: Engineer Research and Development Center--Construction Engineering Research Laboratory.

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS GA-6-D. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Compiled from work by Adam Smith and Sonny Stone, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with editing and additional writing by Joseph S. Murphey, Historical Architect, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. Completed in February FORT GORDON SIGNAL SCHOOL,

Signal Towers Complex Hals

No. GA-6-D (Page 5) Supplemental Material: < NORTH Figure 1. Undated Site Plan of the Southeastern Signal School. (Fort Gordon FORT GORDON SIGNAL SCHOOL, SIGNAL TOWERS COMPLEX HALS No. GA-6-D (Page 6) Figure 2. Ground Floor Plan of Signal Towers, (Fort Gordon FORT GORDON SIGNAL SCHOOL, SIGNAL TOWERS COMPLEX HALS No. GA-6-D (Page 7) Figure 3. Typical floor plan of Signal Towers, (Fort Gordon FORT GORDON SIGNAL SCHOOL, SIGNAL TOWERS COMPLEX HALS No. GA-6-D (Page 8) Figure 4. Floor plan of Alexander and Olmstead Halls, (Fort Gordon FORT GORDON SIGNAL SCHOOL, SIGNAL TOWERS COMPLEX HALS No. GA-6-D (Page 9) Figure 5. West half detail of Figure 4 floor plan of Alexander and Olmstead Halls, (Fort Gordon FORT GORDON SIGNAL SCHOOL, SIGNAL TOWERS COMPLEX HALS No. GA-6-D (Page 10) Figure 6.

East half detail of Figure 4 floor plan of Alexander and Olmstead Halls, (Fort Gordon FORT GORDON SIGNAL SCHOOL, SIGNAL TOWERS COMPLEX HALS No. GA-6-D (Page 11) Figure 7. Floor plan of Conrad Hall, Originally designed as a library, it was converted into the Signal Corps Museum. (Fort Gordon FORT GORDON SIGNAL SCHOOL, SIGNAL TOWERS COMPLEX HALS No. GA-6-D (Page 12) Figure 8. Signal Towers Complex Plaza, (Fort Gordon Figure 9. Typical brushed aluminum architectural lettering. (Joseph Murphey)