Ogden Arsenal, Change House, 7884 New Jersey Drive, Layton

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER UTAH,6-LAY.V,1AS-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

New Jersey Drive, North Loading Plant, Hill Air Force Base, Layton Vicinity, Davis County, Utah Note: For shelving purposes at the Library of Congress, Layton Vicinity in Davis County was assigned as the "official" location of Hill Air Force Base, Building is actually in the Ogden Vicinity of Weber County. UTM: Date of Construction: Architect: Unknown Builder: Unknown

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER UTAH,6-LAY.V,1AS-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Workers changed into and out of protective clothing in Building which provides particularly vivid images of the accommodations made for worker safety and welfare at Ogden Arsenal during World War II. This building, along with other structures at the base, renders a unique picture of the U.S. Army build-up which occurred on the eve of and during World War II. History: Building housed a lunch room and lockers, showers, and toilets for both men and women who worked at the North Loading Plant. Workers arrived at the plant in their own clothes and immediately reported to the Change House, where they changed into government issued protective coverall uniforms that contained no pockets, cuffs, or belts.

Two Change Houses were located in the North Loading Plant; Building to the east was for workers who washed with a sulfur solution to remove poisonous chemicals from their skin. Building was for workers who did not handle chemicals that required them to wash with sulphur. OGDEN ARSENAL, CHANGE HOUSE HAER No. UT-84-AS Page 2 The building was originally bisected into two halves that were separated by a continuous concrete wall. One side housed the lunch room, while the other side contained the men's and women's locker and toilet facilities. The men's facilities were approximately twice the size of the women's. General Description: Building x is a one-story, gable-roofed building, located in the original North Loading Plant area.

It is similar in function and design to building in the original West Loading Plant area except that building is elevated four feet above grade in order to accommodate a basement. The building is framed with reinforced concrete columns which articulate four bays along its length. Short gabled sheds on each end enclose stairs that lead down into a basement. The north facade of the building contains two single door entries that lead into the r original lunch room and men's locker room. Similar doors on the south facade r lead into the lunch room and women's locker room. Each of these doors is accessed by two sets of stairs that lead to a common landing. The nine-pane windows to the lunch room area are larger than the six-pane locker room windows.

Each end elevation contains four windows, with the lunch room side containing an additional two doors. Modifications to convert the structure into a storage facility include the addition of a loading ramp and loading door on the west facade. The slope of the roof is a typical arsenal feature. It is covered with corrugated asbestos, with lightning "aerials" (rods) along the ridge line.