Fort Rodman Military Reservation, Maintenance Storage, Middle of Fort Rodman complex, New Bedford

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MASS,3-NEBED,27V-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Maintenance Storage Building at Fort Rodman is a World War II "temporary" structure built according to standardized plans and then soon modified. Description: The present building is two-by-ten bays, has a gable roof with asphalt shingles, drop wood siding, a form of tongue-and-groove boards laid horizontally, and a sill set on concrete piers covered with a metal termite shield and masked with a wood "skirt". The front of the building faces the street and on that side the fenestration consists of a garage door, a single door, two windows~ another door, a window, a door and two windows. On the right-hand gable end there are two windows and a vent in the peak of the gable.

The back of the building has four windows, a door, and five more windows; the left hand gable end has two windows and an attached playground shed. Because this building deviates so radically from the original plan, it is not clear which of its original features and finishes are still intact. Most of the doors seem to have been replaced but the drop siding remains and the original termite shield is visible in some places. History: Building was originally built as a company administration, or supply, building, but it bears little resemblance to other buildings con- structed according to the same standardized plan, Plan It actually may have not been intended as a company building, for there are only five company "blocks" at Fort Rodman.

In any case, Building was soon modified by a long addition on the west end and a change in fenestration, making it hard to identify the structure with other company administration buildings at the base. The use of Building remained quite consistent over time; however, it was probably originally used for storage. Thus, is a reasonable intact example of a World War II "temporary" structure built according to a 700 Series plan and, since it was altered soon after the original construction it is probably the only example in existence. FORT RODMAN MILITARY RESERVATION, MAINTENANCE STORAGE (Fort Rodman Military Reservation, Building HABS No. MA-1256-V (Page 2) Source: Architectural Inventory Form, on file at Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA.