Bureau of Mines Boulder City Experimental Station, Pump House, Date Street north of U.S. Highway 93, Boulder City

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS NEV,2-BOUC,1J-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Date Street Complex, bordered by U.S. Highway 93 Truck Route, and Elm and Date streets Boulder City, Clark County, Nevada The Pump House is located near the center of the complex, southeast of Building 500 and west of Building Boulder City, Nev., Topographic Quadrangle, U.S.G.S., Photorevised Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates: (approximate center of building)

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS NEV,2-BOUC,1J-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Pump House, as part of the Date Street Complex, was part of the Bureau of Mines Electrometallurgical Research Facility located in Boulder City. As such, it is within the designated Boulder City Historic District. One of five buildings considered eligible that is to be demolished, this building retains its integrity with no changes or additions. In a report of a survey of the Date Street Complex, Christine Pfaff notes that this building was constructed during the period of significance for the District, contributed to the functioning of the Research Facility, is significant as part of the complex under National Register Criterion a, and, therefore, is considered a contributing element to the District.

The significance of the Boulder City Historic District is tied to the Boulder Canyon Project (Hoover Dam) and to the history of American City Planning. This was the first community constructed following the federal New Towns model, as well as the "first fully-developed experience in new town planning as promoted by the Community Planning Movement, a movement which is recognized as the force which most influenced contemporary community planning practices" (Woodward et al. Description: The Pump House is a one-story brick building constructed on a simple rectangle plan. It is oriented on a northwest-southeast axis, but the descriptions of the elevations will be addressed as north, south, east, and west. The building measures 12 (north/south) by 10 (east/west) feet.

Although there are no records indicating the date of construction, a map of the complex with a penned date of"l/15/42" (Pfaff 12) includes it. This suggests a construction date, which coincides with the increased facilities and increased water usage (both raw and treated). Historic BUREAU OF MINES BOULDER CITY EXPERIMENTAL STATION, PUMP HOUSE HABS No. (Page 2) photographs taken in the early to mid of the various buildings constructed near the Pump House also show it The building has a low pitch (25 ), front-gabled roof of corrugated sheet metal. The eaves are open with wood rafters exposed and an overhang (4 inches on east and west, 8 inches on north and south) on all sides. There is corrugated sheet metal in both gables.

The brick is American bond that sits on a poured concrete base that is 2 feet above ground surface on the east elevation. The windows are all recessed, wood-framed, 6-part divided-light awning types. All have brick sills and lintels. The primary .(front) elevation faces east. A door is offset to the south end of the elevation. It is hollow wood in a recessed a wood frame. A concrete pad is located at the entrance area. The south elevation has a centered window. A rectangular concrete vault (7 feet north/south by 4 feet east/west) is attached to the Pump House by a pipe, approximately 8 inches in diameter. The west elevation has a centered window with an electrical line to the north. The foundation appears to be shorter on this elevation due to landscaping.

The north elevation also has a centered window. On the wall near the east edge is an old metal sign that reads "DANGER [in an oval] I SPEED I LIMIT I 15 I MILES PER HOUR." The interior floor of the building is poured concrete. Inside are pump motors, valves, pipes, and an electrical system with pressure gauges. On the west wall in the north comer are three electrical boxes connected to the pumping equipment, which covers most of the floor area. There are two holes in the south: one for the pipe connected to the concrete vault located below the window in the southeast corner, and one with no pipe in the southwest comer. The interior is open to the roof frame, with an incandescent light in the center. The concrete vault has a pipe on the south end that goes into the underground system.

That pipe is approximately 10 inches in diameter. The top of the vault has a metal cover plate with four metal braces or holds, two at each end. The north end has a smaller opening into the vault. Inside is a "NEPTUNE METER CO. I TRIDENT I GALLONS I NEWYORJ;' water meter. West of the Pump House are three concrete vaults with underground utility access covers, one or more of which may be for water. Additional Documentation: Building Elevations and Floor Plans (Attachment 1: 2 pages) BUREAU OF MINES BOULDER CITY EXPERIMENTAL STATION, PUMP HOUSE HABS No. (Page 3) ~ ~ I- UJ I: ~ 0 0 z() z() r L., r ~ -"{ > w > _j w w _j w z() z() z- 0 r Zr _ r 0 _j o- _ _j "'I l: ~ ~ () = ~w . rl: ~ w: -1 a~ tj) a ~ r I r -.. - tj) UJ tj) WW ~ - w 33 ~ w~ -<I.

3W~ 0.: t oc ~ 80 aii) 0 ~ .J "'w I- I: ~ z r 8 0 r ~ w ~ w _j w _J w z 0 z f- 0 Z-1 Zr 0() i=l: ~w ~ -0 rr ~ r() -. ~w ~ 0 ~ tj) . ~() . 3 a II<! f- - :t I~ z (l .. r . wO~ - w 3Z~ w () =i BUREAU OF MINES BOULDER CITY EXPERIMENTAL STATION, PUMP HOUSE HABS No. (Page 4) I II II ~ II II co~ATEo----+rr- METAL ~ II j 11 II 01 WO. F~INc:rs WEIG~ STATION DEMO. ROOF PLAN SCALE : I'-"" 26' "" CONC. 5LA6 AT SCALE CONC. 5L.A6 VE~TICAL CO~ATED SIDINc:rs 01 WP. STUDS. U.O. FLOOF't l'llEMOVE AND ~L.OCATE (QR STOFOtEJ SCAL.E EQUll"'MENT. VEF'tlFr WITl-I Oll.NEF't WEIG~STATION DEMOLITION FLAN SCALE : 1'-ID"