Building 4-5 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 4-5 is a two-and-one-half-story, symmetrical duplex dwelling constructed of local red brick and set on a stone and brick foundation containing a full basement.
Though situated within a planned group of Queen Anne styled dwellings, Building 4- 5 is much simpler and exhibits little to no decorative ornamentation on the exterior. The five-row common-bond brick building contains a two-and-one-half-story, gable- roof main block with a two-story, gable-roof forward extension centered within the symmetrical fac;:ade elevation; two-story, three-sided bays on each side elevation; and a large, full-height, gable-roof extension to the rear. Single-story, hip-roof porches flank the forward extension and wrap around both front corners of the building, providing access to the primary entry for both residential units within the duplex.
The main entry into each unit is situated on each side elevation of the forward extension; both entries contain replacement doors, original transom windows, and nonhistoric storm doors. Both front porches are supported by square, wood Tuscan columns and exhibit simple replacement balustrades with small rectangular balusters. The majority of the windows throughout the building appear to contain original double-hung wood sashes, with the single windows exhibiting two-over-two sashes and the paired windows each exhibiting one-over-one sashes. All windows on the building exhibit rectangular stone lintels and sills that have been painted white, with the exception of the attic windows on the side elevations.
The northeast gable end exhibits a replacement rectangular window with a brick sill in the attic level, while the gable on the southwest elevation retains its original round window. Two-light basement windows are visible on the fa<;ade and both side elevations. The rear elevation of Building 4-5 features two rear entries on the first floor and two rear entries on the basement level, which is fully visible at the rear of the building. Both entries on the first floor contain replacement doors, transom windows, and nonhistoric storm doors. The entries are accessible via a shared poured-concrete porch with two concrete stairways.
The porch is sheltered by a hip roof that is 1 Betty Maddox Daniels, "Fort Thomas Military Reservation District National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form" (Kentucky Heritage Council, FORT THOMAS MILITARY RESERVATION, BUILDING 4-5 HABS No. (page 2) supported by poured-concrete Tuscan columns. The porch floor is supported by square concrete supports. The two basement entries feature replacement doors and storm doors. The roof of the entire building is sheathed in asphalt shingles. A simple wood soffit is found throughout. Four chimneys pierce the roof of the building: two interior chimneys at the rear gabled elevation and paired interior ridge chimneys in the main block. The roofs of the porches are sheathed in tin panels.
The interior floor plans on the first floor of both units 4 and 5 are identical but reversed from one another, with the exception of a few small alterations that have taken place over time. Each unit features a main entry hall extending from the primary entry along the entire length of the building to the rear entry door. The first floor features a parlor, a dining room, and a kitchen. Between the dining room and kitchen is a small room that remains empty in both units. In unit 4, an angled wall in the dining room, once open as an entryway into the butler's pantry area, has been enclosed, and a built-in cabinet has been added, but the entryway remains as originally designed in unit 5. A hallway between the small room and the main entry hall houses a built-in butler's pantry.
A single-run staircase is found at the front of the main hall in front of a doorway separating the front of the dwelling from the rear, while another single-run staircase is found at the rear of the main hall. Both staircases are flush against the central wall dividing the duplex into two distinct residential units.2 The first floor of unit 4 features original wood floors, fluted moldings and bull's eyes topped with small decorative scrolls around all of the openings, wide baseboard moldings, decorative scroll patterns beneath each stair tread on the stringboard, Newell posts with chamfered comers on their base portions and a decorative urn on their tops, and pendants below the Newell posts on the second level.
The parlor retains the original fireplace, which exhibits a replacement tile hearth as well as a decorative metal coal insert. The tile surround exhibits relief tile work in shades of browns, oranges, and subtle blues. Two portrait tiles are found at the upper comers exhibiting the busts of a man and woman facing one another. Though the particular design has not been identified, this tile work is most likely attributable to the Kensington Art Tile Company of Newport, Kentucky, whose similar tile work is found in Building 1. The mantel and surround are painted wood and exhibit floral carvings laid out horizontally between the firebox and the mantelpiece. The mantelpiece itself is supported by a curved bracket that features a decorative, carved, horizontal element below it.
A small half bath has been added in a former storage closet beneath the back stairway. The first floor of unit 5 exhibits similar characteristics to unit 4; however, in unit 5 the main floor is carpeted. The parlor fireplace in unit 5 features a similar relief tile surround exhibiting primarily shades of green. Again the portraits of a woman and man facing one another are found at the upper corners. The fireplace also features a decorative metal coal insert, an original 2 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; and Bethanie C. Grashof, "A Study of United States Army Family Housing Standardized Plans Vol.
2 (Center for Architectural Conservation, College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, May FORT THOMAS MILITARY RESERVATION, BUILDING 4-5 HABS No. (page 3) tile hearth, and a decorative mantel and surround exhibiting curved brackets and a central panel with a decorative carving. A small bathroom and closet have been added in a former storage area beneath the front stairway, and the original closet beneath the back stairway has been enlarged. The second floor of both units 4 and 5 features a long central hallway above the main floor entry hall, each featuring a central doorway dividing the hallway much like on the first floor.
The second floors each also feature five original bedrooms, one of which has been converted to a master bathroom and storage closet in unit 5. A wall was knocked out of the same small bedroom in unit 4, creating one larger room out of two smaller rooms. A modernized bathroom in the location of the only original bathroom in each unit is situated at the rear of the central hallway adjacent to a bedroom that was originally utilized as the servant's room. 3 The second floor of both units exhibits features generally similar to the first floor, including original wood flooring, wide baseboard moldings, slightly simplified but still decorative moldings surrounding the openings, transom windows above all the entry doorways, and Newell posts identical to those on the first floor.
An enclosed, narrow staircase from the rear of the central hall on the second level leads to the attic, or the third floor, in both units 4 and 5. The third floor in unit 5 remains almost totally an unfinished, completely open attic space. The only exception is a small finished room situated at the rear of the building. The third floor in unit 4 features a central hallway, an unfinished attic space, and two finished rooms. Wood floors, simplified moldings, and Newell posts with carved sunburst designs are also found on the third floor of unit 4. Building 4-5 also features a full basement beneath each of the two residential units. The basement exhibits stone foundation walls, brick foundation walls, some pargeted walls, and brick piers.
The various support walls create a series of large rooms in the basement. Two-light wood-sash and single-light replacement-sash windows are found in the basement. Additional doors leading to the outside beneath the rear porches are found on the rear wall in each basement. Building 4-5 is situated near the north end of The Loop (Alexander Circle) between Buildings 6 and Named for the order in which it was constructed, this building, along with a number of the other administrative officers' quarters on Alexander Circle, was completed immediately after the commandant's quarters (Building 1).
These quarters were situated within one of the best areas on the military reservation, taking advantage not only of the private residential feel afforded by the natural landscape and the placement of the buildings but also sweeping views of the valley and the Ohio River below. A private drive, present on a site plan, passes to the rear of Buildings 1, 6, and 30. A vehicular garage was at one point situated to the rear of Building however, it is no longer extant, and only concrete parking . 4 pad s remain. 3 Floor plans and drawings; and Grashof, 4 Floor plans and drawings. FORT THOMAS MILITARY RESERVATION, BUILDING 4-5 HABS No. (page 4) Building 4-5 at the Fort Thomas Military Reservation is in moderate to poor condition on both the exterior and interior.
Water damage on the southwest elevation has impacted both the exterior brick walls and the interior rooms near that location. Moisture issues seem prevalent throughout the building. It appears that the brickwork and mortar have already been repaired in the locations of both chimneys on the rear elevation, as well as in small areas in other locations around the building, and some of the roofing material is deteriorating. Though vacant, the building and surrounding grounds 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 4-5 was constructed by local contractor/builder Henry Schriver between and It was designed under the Office of the Quartermaster General. The specific 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 Fort Riley, Kansas and was designed by George E. Pond, being then issued through the Department ofMissouri. 5 Constructed to serve as a duplex residence for administrative officers, this building is identical in plan to two additional quarters, Buildings 2-3 and Though quite large, these three buildings are the least ornate or decorated of any buildings on The Loop.
Nonetheless, the quarters constructed at Fort Thomas were considered "wonderfully comfortable and modern by comparison with accommodations found in western army posts.',6 The plans presented by Grashof, copies of plans on file at Fort Riley, Kansas, depict each unit as having a main entry vestibule, though it does not appear that Building 4- 5 at Fort Thomas was constructed with this feature. The only other variations of note to the original plans on the first floor are the lack of fireplaces in the dining rooms, the enclosure of the entryway between the dining room and butler's pantry in unit 4, the addition of bathrooms beneath the stairs, and the lack of pocket doors as drawn in the original plans.
On the second level, the only variation from these original plans evident today includes the conversion of an original bedroom in each unit into a bathroom, as seen in unit 5, or a larger bedroom, as seen in unit 4. 7 With the exception of these changes and some updated finishes and fixtures, Building 4-5 at Fort Thomas remains nearly the same today as when it was 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 some stone landscaping elements, which likely were built during the 8 Building 4-5 was originally under the ownership of the U.S. Army.
This was the case until when the U.S. Army Air Force assumed control of the post in order to 5 Grashof, 6 Ibid 7 Ibid. 8 Floor plans and drawings. FORT THOMAS MILITARY RESERVATION, BUILDING 4-5 HABS No. (page 5) 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 artillery unit headquarters, and Veterans Affairs personnel housing. 9 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 A venue 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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