Building 1 is a contributing resource in the Fort Thomas Military Reservation National Register of Historic Places district nomination, which details the reservation's significance for its association with U.S. military history and with events and persons of significance in American history. 1 The building is also significant as part of a distinct group of administrative officers' quarters with an intact setting and landscape and as an example of standardized Army family-housing design. Description: Building 1 is a two-and-one-half-story, Queen Anne style dwelling constructed of local red brick and set on a stone and brick foundation containing a full basement. It is a side-gabled residence with an off-centered, full-height, rounded projection with a balcony on the third level.
The projection, containing the main staircase in the interior of the building, exhibits a large tri-part window containing a one-over-one central sash and narrow eight-light wood sashes along each side, as well as a tooled stone lintel and sill. A tri-part arched window exhibiting a brick and tooled stone arch is directly above the lintel. The balcony level of the projection features a central doorway flanked by one window on each side, an overhanging hip roof supported by Tuscan columns, decorative pressed tin covering the apron across the front of the balcony, and asphalt shingle cladding along the sidewalls above the primary roof of the building. A two-light wood-sash window with a brick jack arch is centered in the basement level of the projection.
The primary entry bay on the fac;:ade elevation, sheltered by a single-story hip-roof porch with Tuscan columns, features a replacement door with nonhistoric sidelights and a large transom window with the number 1 on it. A large, tooled stone lintel and sill are found at the main entry and on all remaining original doorway and window openings on the fac;:ade and side elevations of the building. Two small windows are located on the first level on the west end of the fac;:ade elevation: one has been enclosed with a vent, but the other retains the original divided wood sash. A secondary entry on the fac;:ade elevation is found within a single-story, brick, enclosed porch addition that extends the width of the east elevation, wrapping around an original two-story, three-sided bay on that side.
A side entry, accessible via a double staircase with poured concrete steps, also leads into the enclosed porch addition. The addition and the concrete steps are supported by a mortared stone foundation and exhibit a series of large metal sash windows with poured concrete sills. 1 Betty Maddox Daniels, "Fort Thomas Military Reservation District National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form" (Kentucky Heritage Council, FORT THOMAS MILITARY RESERVATION, BUILDING 1 HABS No. KY-301-A (page 2) The rear elevation of Building 1 features an original two-story, shed-roof extension and a nonhistoric, flat-roof, double-vehicular garage extending to the rear from the basement level. A deck, accessible by a doorway from the dining room on the first floor, is found on the roof of the garage.
Short brick posts connected by metal railings are found around the edges of the deck. A wooden fire escape ladder leads from the deck to a small porch on the second level; the porch is supported by large, wooden brackets. A wooden staircase leads from the ground level up to the deck and to a porch on the first level of the west end of the rear elevation. The rear porch leads to an entry in this location and is supported by a shed-roof overhang supported by narrow Tuscan columns. An entryway is also situated on the west end of the rear elevation on the basement level sheltered beneath the first-floor porch. The windows throughout the rear elevation of the building exhibit slightly smaller tooled stone sills and brick arches.
Six-over-six, double-hung, wood-sash windows with poured concrete sills are found on the west elevation of the vehicular garage. The windows on the first floor of the west side elevation exhibit metal awnings, and the basement windows on the west elevation exhibit brick jack arches. The quarter-round attic windows flanking the corbelled exterior chimney have been replaced with rectangular windows. Two narrow, vertical, recessed bands along the exterior chimney have been covered in cement or stucco cladding. The roof of the entire building is sheathed in asphalt shingles, and the roof of the front porch is sheathed in tin panels. A single shed-roof dormer extends from the roof above the fac;:ade elevation, and another is found above the rear elevation.
Both dormers feature replacement windows, small rounded extensions with a wood bar crossing in front of the window, and S-curved consoles supporting a slight roof overhang. The sidewalls of the dormers are clad in asphalt shingles. A wide wooden cornice runs along the primary wall plane of the fac;:ade and rear elevations of the building, exhibiting cornice returns on both side elevations. A similar wood cornice is found on each side elevation, as well as on the two-story, shed-roof extension on the rear elevation. A simple wood cornice wraps around the vehicular garage addition. In addition to the corbelled chimney on the west end of the building, a second chimney pierces the roof slightly east of the center of the building.
Both chimneys exhibit wide brick bands extending out slightly near the top. The main floor interior of Building 1 features an asymmetrical plan with a reception hall, parlor, library, dining room, kitchen, two pantries, the sun porch addition, and a grand staircase within the curved extension on the fac;:ade elevation. The public rooms exhibit decorative features, including wide fluted molding around the large doorways and openings, wide floorboards, pocket doors, picture rails, and tall ceilings. The two angled walls once containing windows within the three-sided bay on the east elevation now contain doorways to the sun porch addition.
Additional doorways lead from the dining room out to the deck that has been established on the flat roof of the vehicular garage addition and from the kitchen to the elevated rear porch. Both carpeting and the original wood floors are found on the main floor of the dwelling. Original built-in cabinets are found in the butler's pantry between the dining room and kitchen, though a modern half bath has been added to the rear of this space. Built-in shelving has been added to the library. The kitchen has been fully updated, though it remains in its original location. The grand staircase features FORT THOMAS MILITARY RESERVATION, BUILDING 1 HABS No.
KY-301-A (page 3) substantial Newell posts decorated with fluting, carved floral patterns, sawtooth designs and wooden spheres on top, a balustrade containing spiral-turned posts, and a bench seat on the landing overhanging the main reception hall, which is supported by decorative brackets. A substantial decorative molding runs underneath the balustrade. Where the staircase turns and runs over the reception hall, the Newell posts extend downward and are finished off with decorative pendants. The large tri- part, arched window found on the landing contains panes of stained glass. An additional service stair connecting through a doorway to the main landing of the grand staircase is accessible off the kitchen in the same location as the stairway to the basement.
The service stair exhibits similar Newell posts, though slightly smaller in scale, and a similar balustrade. Two fireplaces are found on the main level. The fireplace in the parlor appears to feature a replacement surround exhibiting Greek ears, <lentil molding below the mantel, tile within the firebox, a red brick surround, and tile hearth. The fireplace in the dining room, situated on an angled wall and sharing the same chimney as the parlor fireplace, features a more ornate original appearance with floral patterned relief tile surround and tiled hearth in shades of greens, yellows, and browns, and a painted wood mantel above long S-curve supports that extend from the mantel to the floor.
Floral and abstract carvings are found in the wood between the mantel and the supports and horizontally between the mantel and the tile surround. Round wooden detail pieces extend from either side of the vertical supports near where they meet the mantel. A metal insert is found within the firebox and reads "NNES & Co. Standard" across the top. The second floor features a main hall at the top of the grand staircase. Currently there are four bedrooms and three bathrooms on the second floor. Each feature single-leaf entry doors with transom windows above, wood paneled doors, and wood door and window surrounds and baseboards that are decorative but slightly less substantial in scale than those found on the first floor.
A number of large closets, including a walk-through linen closet between the bathroom and bedroom on the west end and a large walk-in storage space at the northeast comer, are found on the second level. All three bathrooms exhibit modern fixtures and finishes. The second floor, with the exception of the bathrooms, features modem carpeting. The only fireplace on the second level is found in the largest bedroom on the southeast corner of the dwelling. This is the same bedroom that contains the three-sided bay window. This fireplace retains an ornate original mantel and surround. The relatively simple, painted wood mantel is supported by a decorative um at each end. Each urn is set on a curved bracket.
The firebox features a metal insert similar to the one previously described in the dining room on the main floor. The hearth exhibits decorative tiles in shades of blues and browns, and the surround exhibits relief tile work in shades of blue with portrait tiles in the image of a woman and man facing one another at the two upper corners. These portrait tiles have been attributed to Herman Mueller during his time at the Kensington Art Tile Company of Newport, Kentucky. Mueller, classically trained in Nuremberg and Munich, became a well known figure in American ceramics during the late nineteenth century, which was the heyday of the tile industry that boomed as the result of several factors combining at an opportune FORT THOMAS MILITARY RESERVATION, BUILDING 1 HABS No.
KY-301-A (page 4) time during the industrial revolution.2 Both portrait and relief tiles were not only considered fashionable during the Victorian period, but ample variety and supply were available locally due to the comparatively large number of tile companies in operation in and around Ohio at the time. The three-dimensional nature of these molded style tiles "created a range of new opportunities for innovative decorative schemes. The glazes pooled in the recessed areas of the molded surface [giving] the tiles added depth."3 It is assumed that similar tile work found in many of the other administrative officers' quarters at Fort Thomas, including the tile work found in the dining room of Building 1, is also from the Kensington Art Tile Company.
An enclosed, narrow staircase from the main hall on the second level leads to the finished attic, or the third floor, which contains a hallway, four rooms, and a small bathroom. One of the bedrooms on the third level extends forward into the rounded extension above the grand staircase. This room features a doorway leading out to the balcony. The openings on the third level exhibit fluted moldings and bull's eyes, similar to what are found on the main floor. The doorways from the hallway into the bedrooms each feature a small transom window. The upper level retains wood flooring and linoleum in the bathroom. Metal door hinges with scrolled detailing remain extant. The interior walls of Building 1 appear to be plaster that has been wallpapered and painted.
The ceilings on the main and third floors appear original; however, some of the ceilings on the second level have been covered with acoustical tiles. Original wood-sash windows, primarily one-over-one double-hung sashes, are found throughout the upper levels of the building, though a few windows exhibit replacement sashes or have been enclosed. Building 1 also features a full basement level. The basement exhibits stone foundation walls, brick foundation walls, some pargeted walls, brick piers, and some nonhistoric concrete-block support piers. Two-light, two-over-two double-hung, and six-over-six double-hung wood sash windows are found in the basement. A small half bathroom is located in the basement near the doorway leading out to the vehicular garage.
An additional door leading to the outside beneath the rear porch behind the kitchen is also found in the basement. Also associated with Building 1 is a stone barbecue pit, a decorative stone wishing well, a stone pathway, and a low stone wall. All of these elements are located in the building's backyard. The nomination form estimates the barbecue pit as having been constructed in though it is not mentioned as either a contributing or a noncontributing element.
4 During the New Deal era of the men who were part of the Civil Military Training Corps, led by recent West Point graduates, were employed at the Fort Thomas post base digging stones from the ground and using them to construct walls, gates, steps, and benches throughout the reservation; 2 Norman Karlson, American Art Tile (New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., and Gordon Lang, Ten Centuries ofDecorative Ceramics Tiles (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 3 Lang, 4 Daniels, I FORT THOMAS MILITARY RESERVATION, BUILDING 1 HABS No. KY-301-A (page 5) these crews also worked to beautify the site with additional landscaping. 5 It is possible these stone elements were a result of those endeavors.
Building 1 is situated at the north end of The Loop (Alexander Circle) where the somewhat oval-shaped central green comes almost to a point. A circular planter is situated between the central green and the building, creating a circular drive, turn- around, or parking area directly in front of the quarters. This building was the first completed on the base and was situated on the choicest site on post, overlooking the Ohio River. 6 It also claims the most commanding position within The Loop, projecting authority for the post commander not only through its size and ornamentation but through its siting and relation to the other administrative officers' quarters. A flag pole was once situated within the central green, adding to the pomp of this residential area of the base.
An additional private drive, present on a site plan, passes to the rear of Buildings 6, and 30 and leads to another small, circular planter and turn-around area at the rear of Building 1. It also provides access to the vehicular garage addition and backyard. Much of the original landscape planning, layout, and plantings were designed and/ or chosen by Colonel Cochran, the first post commander and original resident of Building 1. 7 Building 1 at the Fort Thomas Military Reservation is in generally good condition on both the exterior and interior. Some materials, such as mortar and roofing materials in some locations and the metal skirt around the balcony, are showing signs of deterioration.
Though the building is vacant, it and the grounds around it appear to be actively maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the City of Fort Thomas (owner of Tower Park). The building remains locked and is regularly patrolled and inspected by the Department of Veterans Affairs security and maintenance staff. History: Building 1 was constructed by local contractor/builder Henry Schriver in It was designed by the Office of the Quartermaster General. The design for this residence was identified in Grashof s study on U.S. Army family housing standardized plans as one that was also constructed as the commanding officer's quarters in both Fort Riley, Kansas and Fort McPherson, Georgia (no date).
A comment notes that it was originally planned for Newport, Kentucky, but that the original drawings were marked "superceded" in This plan, however, named by the author of the study as OQ-43, is in fact Building 1 found at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. 8 Constructed to serve as the commandant's quarters, this building contained the largest single residential unit and the most elaborate of the ten administrative 5 Betty Maddox Daniels, "Fort Thomas Military Reservation," in The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky, ed. Paul A. Tenkotte and James C. Claypool (Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 6 Paul T. Knapp, Fort Thomas Kentucky Its History ..
.Its Heritage (Fort Thomas, Kentucky: Fort Thomas Centennial Committee?, 7 Floor plans and drawings, Files of the Facilities Management Department of the Fort Thomas facility of the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Fort Thomas, Kentucky. 8 Bethanie C. Grashof, "A Study of United States Army Family Housing Standardized Plans 1866-I Vol. 2 (Center for Architectural Conservation, College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, May FORT THOMAS MILITARY RESERVATION, BUILDING 1 HABS No. KY-301-A (page 6) officers' quarters that would eventually be situated around The Loop (later named Alexander Circle) and on Main Street (later named Cochran Avenue) directly adjacent to The Loop.
Though approximately forty buildings and structures were planned for the base, the first building erected was Building 1, completed in December on the north end of The Loop for a cost of just over 9 It was built first so that the post commander, Colonel Cochran, could move in and oversee the remaining construction.
It is said that the colonel was "quite proud of his new quarters on the very edge of the bluff that towered almost 500 feet above the river directly below." 10 The quarters constructed at Fort Thomas were considered "wonderfully comfortable and modern by comparison with accommodations found in [other] western army posts."11 The plans presented by Grashof, noted as those plans on file for the commanding officer's quarters at Fort Riley, Kansas, depict the building as having a main entry vestibule, although it does not appear the building at Fort Thomas ever featured a vestibule.
The only other variations of note to the original plans on the first floor are the lack of a fireplace in the reception hall, the enclosed sun porch addition, the addition of a half bath to the butler's pantry, and the use of a pocket rather than a swinging door between the parlor and library. On the second level, the only variations from these original plans evident today include the conversion of the original dressing room into a master bathroom and closet, the conversion of the original servant's room into a bathroom, and the reversal of a few door openings. 12 With the exception of these changes and some updated finishes and fixtures, the commandant's quarters at Fort Thomas remain nearly the same today as when they were originally designed.
In addition, upon referencing early site plans, it appears little to no alteration to the layout, design, landscape, or setting has occurred within the area containing the ten administrative officers' quarters, with the exception of the construction of the stone elements, which likely occurred during the 13 Having originally been constructed in to house the post commander, Building 1 was at that time under the ownership of the U.S. Army. This remained the case until when the U.S. Army Air Force assumed control of the post in order to utilize the barracks building as a hospital, which only lasted until when all of the buildings became the property of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
It was shortly thereafter declared surplus by the War Department and in October fell under the ownership of the Veterans Administration (later the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs), who again utilized the barracks building for a hospital as well as a nursing home care facility. The remainder of the Fort Thomas Military Reservation has been used for a variety of purposes since the Department of Veterans Affairs assumed ownership of the site, including a military equipment storage site, an Induction Center during the Korean War, an Army Reserve Center, National Guard 9 Daniels, and Betty Maddox Daniels, "Fort Thomas Military Reservation Description and History," Northern Kentucky Heritage 6, no. 2 3.
10 Knapp, 11 Ibid 12 Grashof, 13 Floor plans and drawings, Files of the Facilities Management Department of the Fort Thomas facility of the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Fort Thomas, Kentucky. FORT THOMAS MILITARY RESERVATION, BUILDING 1 HABS No. KY-301-A (page 7) artillery unit headquarters, and Veterans Affairs personnel housing. 14 In and again in much of the acreage at the then deactivated Fort Thomas Military Reservation was divided off, although the ten administrative officers' quarters situated around Alexander Circle and along Cochran Avenue remained under the ownership of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and were utilized as housing.
The Department of Veterans Affairs still owns them today; however, all ten quarters were vacated sometime during the first decade of the twenty-first century.
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