The Cedar City Automotive Central Repair Shop was one of four central repair shop sites established by the federal government in the intermountain region of the western United States to service vehicles and machinery used by the Civilian Conservation Corps Utility Building "B" was the second largest building on the site and was built in a simplified Modernistic style.
Its segmentally arched truss roof is unusual when compared to other Forest Service buildings of the era and, generally, the building's style marks the adoption of more modern forms of architectural design by Forest Service regional architects and engineers in the late As a whole, the Cedar City site is one of the few tangible reminders of the infrastructure developed to house and serve the CCC program: the other three repair shops have been demolished or significantly altered, as have most of the CCC camps in the region. PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History 1.
Date of erection: Cedar City deeded a acre parcel of land (later calculated at acres) to the United States Government on February 11, for the purpose of erecting a central repair shop for vehicles used by the Civilian Conservation Corps. USDA Forest Service Region 4 Engineering prepared a "Site Plan Showing Sewage Disposal Plan" in April, followed by a site improvement plan in May (see HABS No. UT-139, Supplemental Material, Figures 1 and 2). Both plans depicted the proposed size, location, and use of the three principal buildings on the site, including Utility Building which was CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No. UT-139-B (Page 2) located just west of the Automotive Repair Shop.
Two sheets of plans for the latter building were finalized on April 27, (see HABS No. UT-139, Supplemental Material, Figures 9 and A July 27 article in the Iron County Record reported that a commence work order had been received: "The project calls for the construction of several buildings of various types, all of which must be completed within ninety days." Site grading was underway by August 3, with work on the buildings expected to begin in a few days.1 Due to a dispute over jurisdiction, the shops, which had been completed at a cost of about sat empty until September when the CCC assumed responsibility.2 2. Architect: USDA Forest Service, Region 4 Engineering. The original plans for the Utility Building were designed by "H. W.
C," Harry Caughlin (also spelled Coughlan and Caughlan), and drawn by Caughlin and "A. W. Alan W. Johnson.3 Arval L. Anderson was the Regional Engineer from to and all work was conducted under his supervision. The drawings were checked and approved by George L. Nichols (Architectural Engineer) and also approved by George E. Kreizenbeck (Construction Supervisor). The unifying hand behind the site plan and building design was Nichols (see Narrative Overview in HABS No. UT-139 for further discussion). In February of Nichols prepared specifications for the position of an assistant architectural draftsman and expressed his "desire to get Harry Coughlan from [Region 1] on transfer.
A letter was prepared to R-l for consideration."4 This temporary transfer was apparently for the specific purpose of assisting with the central repair shop work.5 Caughlin was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and received a degree in architecture from the University of Idaho in "In the Depression year of Harry got a job with the Forest Service, got married, and moved to Missoula - though not necessarily in that order." He worked on numerous CCC buildings in the region under architect Bill Fox and engineer Clyde Fickes.
After transfer to Region 4, Caughlin worked on the guayule rubber project during World War II "along with many other Forest Service architects and engineers," then returned to Region 1 where he became Regional Architect until his retirement in 1 Iron County Record, 3 August 2 Iron County Record, 16 May and 22 August Johnson was an engineering draftsman in Region 4 from to In he transferred to "Transportation Plans, Water Power" and in to "Water Resources" within the Engineering division (USDA Forest Service, Region 4 files). 4 George Lee Nichols Collection, MS 78 (Box 2, Folder 13 February (Special Collections, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah).
5 Nichols' only other mention of Caughlin was on Saturday, April 29, two days after the final drawings were dated, stating that Caughlin and others worked a full day on the repair shop plans (Ibid., 29 April John R. Grosvenor, A History of the Architecture of the USDA Forest Service (Washington DC: United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Engineering Staff, p. CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No. UT-139-B (Page 3) It appears that Caughlin's design was based on the very similar Automotive Repair Shop design, prepared by his co-worker Calvin Spaun. The regional office hired Spaun by after he had worked for the Ogden firm of Hodgson and McClenahan.
The firm's designs for the Art Deco Forest Service Regional Office and later the Ogden High School and Ogden Municipal Building must have influenced Spaun.7 The four central repair shops (located in Cedar City and Salt Lake City, Utah, Boise, Idaho, and Reno, Nevada) contained the first large, industrial-type buildings in urban settings designed by Region 4, and the use of modernistic design elements and modern materials represented a departure from the more traditional building forms and materials of the preceding years. The designs were certainly influenced not only by the required size and use of the buildings but by current trends for both public buildings and industrial structures.
In addition to any personal influences on Caughlin and Spaun, the Regional Office's recent experience with public architecture and its familiarity with Art Deco design (acquired while supervising the design and construction of its own office building in Ogden) certainly influenced the Utility Building design. High construction estimates for Caughlin and Spaun's alternative designs forced major modifications to the Utility Building and the Automotive Repair Shop. In his journal, George Nichols first mentioned plan revisions on June 15, these were being made by Spaun, Lloyd C. McDonald, and a Mr. N. Pidgeon, who seems to have been responsible for the bulk of the work.8 On June 28, Region 4 was visited by none other than W.
Ellis Groben, Consulting Architect in the Washington Office of the Forest Service, whom Nichols escorted around the region for about ten days to visit and discuss various project sites in Utah and Idaho, including the Salt Lake City repair shop site. Nichols and Groben spent at least two days revising and finalizing the shop plans together.9 For the Automotive Repair Shop, no designer was listed on the final drawings but Groben approved them on July 6-7 before he returned to Washington; Pidgeon and Nichols also approved and signed them. No revised drawings of the Utility Building have been located, but it is most likely that the same team of architects and engineers crafted its final design. All of these building have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
McDonald was hired on June 16, as a Junior Engineering Draftsman to work on revising shop plans. Nichols listed his home address as 390 South 4 West, Logan, Utah [George Lee Nichols Collection, MS 78 (Box 2, Folder 16 June Pidgeon may have been sent to Region 4 from the Washington Office specifically to make plan revisions - he and Nichols worked closely together on the shop plans through the month of June, but there is no other mention of him in the journal. 9 George Lee Nichols Collection, MS 78 (Box 2, Folder 27 June - 6 July CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No. UT-139-B (Page 4) The unifying hand behind the site plans and building designs was Nichols a Utah native.
Nichols was hired by Region 4 as a draftsman, was promoted to chief draftsman in and later to architectural engineer; he retired in as the Regional Architect. 3. Original and subsequent owners, occupants, and uses: United States government, to present. The government agency with jurisdiction over the site has changed over the years. The site was designed and constructed by the Forest Service and then turned over to the CCC in With the advent of World War II, the CCC declined and was terminated by Congress in when the Ninth Corps Area of the US Army assumed control of the site.
In the site and all buildings were transferred to the US Grazing Service (shortly to become the Bureau of Land Management, or The BLM assumed responsibility and use of the site but, in agreed to share space with the Forest Service. This raised a series of questions concerning the legal owner of the property that apparently wasn't resolved until when the agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) governing joint use of the site. The Forest Service assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the three historic buildings: the Automotive Repair Shop, the Utility Building, and the Gasoline and Oil House.
Historically the agency with jurisdiction over the site has been the site user and, until about the all of the agencies have used the Utility Building for its original purpose, the repair and maintenance of vehicles. (The original plans included bays for lubricating, welding, painting and washing). Beginning in the as use of the site declined, vehicle maintenance and repair was concentrated in the Automotive Repair Shop and the Utility Building was converted to use for other purposes, often by multiple agencies. In the MOU, the Dixie National Forest and the Cedar City District of the BLM agreed to develop an annual operating plan for site use, maintenance and repair, with the Forest Service taking major responsibility for the site and buildings.
An associated site plan indicates that the Utility Building was shared by the two agencies. A Facilities Master Plan noted that the Cedar City District of the Dixie used the east half of the Utility Building for a woodworking/sign-making shop while the BLM used the west half for sign making and carpentry. In about the BLM abandoned the Utility Building to the Forest Service. The Cedar City District recreation and fire dispatch crews then occupied the east side of the building and placed several small, temporary buildings just to the south for use as offices. The sign shop was moved into the old shop on the west side.
In about the Forest Service decreed the building unsafe and today it is used for storage only, largely of unwanted materials in lieu of disposal.10 10 Interview with Marian Jacklin, Archaeologist, Dixie National Forest, 6 April CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No. UT-139-B (Page 5) 4. Builder, contractor, suppliers: The Utility Building was built by the United States government. George Kreizenbeck, a Forest Service employee who had been overseeing the CCC camps on the Payette National Forest, was transferred to Ogden to supervise the construction of four CCC central repair shops in Region 4. including the one in Cedar City.
After failing to receive bids from Cedar City contractors that met budget requirements, the Forest Service chose to build using force account labor. William Woods, an engineer from Region 4, supervised the site grading and preparation.11 According to the local newspaper, efforts were made to hire a local contractor to supervise construction but none was available, and it is assumed that Forest Service personnel purchased locally available materials and supervised Forest Service labor. 5. Original plans and construction: The original standard drawings for the Utility Buildings at the four repair shops in Region 4 were contained in two sheets of drawings dated April 27, (see HABS No. UT-139, Supplemental Material, Figures 9 and "H. W.
C." (Harry Caughlin) prepared the plans, elevations, and details (Sheet 1) while Caughlin and "V. L. D." (Verne L. Despain) prepared details for the steel trusses and bracing (Sheet The original designs of the Utility Building and the Automotive Repair Shop were quite unified in massing, roof shape, fenestration patterns and materials, door schedules, and decorative details. No revised drawings have been located, but the Cedar City shop was a smaller and more simplified version of the proposed design (see photographs taken shortly after construction in HABS No. UT-139, Supplemental Material, Figures 15 and The building width remained the same but it was shortened by about 20 feet. One of the four garage doors on the facade was eliminated and replaced with a large window.
The three windows on the end walls were reduced to one. The banded parapet walls on all sides of the roof were eliminated along with the internal roof drainage system. Decorative Modernistic details like "concrete corrugated fluting" beneath the windows and exterior lighting fixtures were eliminated. The original drawings were eventually given the Region 4 standard plan number although this designation is not noted on the drawings other than by a handwritten note added at a later date. 6. Alterations and additions: The greatest alteration made to the Utility Building occurred in when the BLM moved it from its original location west of the Francis W.
"Bill" Woods was employed by the Forest Service as a draftsman by and was promoted to Associate Civil Engineer in January He retired in (USDA Forest Service, Region 4 files). Verne L. Despain was hired as a temporary employee in Engineering under a relief agency program in By he was working with the Roads and Trails section of the regional office and by was the branch chief of Civil Engineering (USDA Forest Service, Region 4 files). CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No. UT-139-B (Page 6) Automotive Repair Shop to its present location south of shop, near the southern edge of the site.
On August 5, the BLM finalized a set of drawings that proposed building a district office at the west end of the site, necessitating the relocation of the Utility Building. More detailed drawings dated September 15, specified that the "Warehouse" be relocated and placed on a new concrete foundation, that its west end be aligned with the west side of the Automotive Repair Shop's south wing, that an asphalt approach be laid across the entire north side, that unspecified repairs be made, and that the garage doors be replaced. Photographs indicate that the building had been moved by August just in time to avoid damage from the flash flood that swept through the site (see HABS No.
UT-139, Supplemental Material, Figures 22 and The old foundations remain in place and are visible west of the repair shop. None of the other site changes proposed in were ever made. The Utility Building remained otherwise unaltered (on the exterior, at least) until the early when the second garage door from the east was blocked. By this time the building was no longer used for vehicle maintenance of any kind and the garage doors were obsolete. The other two original garage doors were removed and the openings blocked in about in order to provide a better-insulated and warmer workspace.13 It was probably at about this time that the ceiling in the west bay was lowered, creating unused attic space under the vault of the roof and blocking the tops of the windows.
On the interior, the east half of the building was extensively modified in the early when the Forest Service fire dispatch and recreation crews moved in. Mezzanines, accessed by separate staircases, were constructed in both garage bays to increase storage and the east bay was divided into a large and small office, both with wood paneling and vinyl tile floors. The large window on the south side of the east bay was blocked on the interior and a two-pane sliding metal window was set into the original window. At some point the original man doors on the east and west walls were replaced with solid metal doors.
The only addition to the building was made in the mid- when a 20' x 23' concrete slab was poured against the west end of the building and covered with a metal shed roof to provide open storage space.14 B. Historical Context: See the Narrative Overview in HABS No. UT-139 for a complete discussion. In summary: Marian Jacklin interview, 6 April Interview with Dale Peterson, Head Mechanic (ret.), WCF Repair Shop, 8 April CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No.
UT-139-B (Page 7) The Cedar City Automotive Central Repair Shop was designed and constructed under the supervision of the USDA Forest Service in The site was one of four central repair shops established by the federal government in the intermountain region of the western United States to service vehicles and machinery used by the President Franklin Roosevelt had established the CCC in as one of the cornerstones of his New Deal, a comprehensive suite of short-term economic recovery and reform programs designed to relieve the effects of the depression. The CCC program was designed to effect the stabilization, restoration, and improvement of natural resources on federal lands while providing work for unemployed young men.
Roosevelt appointed Robert Fechner as the Director of the and he worked in concert with an advisory council comprising representatives from the Departments of Labor, War, Agriculture, and Interior. The Department of Labor supervised the selection of enrollees for the CCC camps while the Department of War oversaw physical conditioning, transportation, camp construction and administration, and supplies. The Departments of Agriculture and Interior planned and conducted the CCC work projects on national, state, and private forests and parks, respectively. The CCC reflected the Army both organizationally and geographically because of the War Department's role in logistical administration and support, with the camps divided into regions mirroring the nine corps areas of the Army.
Forest Service Regions 4 (Intermountain), 5 (California), and 6 (Pacific Northwest) were administered by the Ninth Corps Area. By the late Fechner recognized the need for centralized repair facilities for CCC vehicles and equipment. The CCC used a vast amount of motorized equipment in the course of its extensive operations, the responsibility for repair and maintenance of which had always lain with the co-operating agencies. In Fechner decided to alter this policy, proposing to set up a huge chain of central machine repair shops directly under his control.
All repairs of CCC machinery would henceforth have to be carried out there, and the director's office, not the technical services or Army, would hire and pay the mechanics and other employees.15 Within the Forest Service, the need for centralized repair facilities for the forests in general and the CCC in particular had been long been recognized, and planning for automotive central repair shops had begun in or earlier. The Washington 15 John A. Salmond, The Civilian Conservation Corps. A New Deal Case Study. (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, pp. CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No.
UT-139-B (Page 8) office published a book of acceptable building plans for its administrative buildings that included a section on shops and service buildings.16 Five of the plans were for CCC central repair shops, including a design for Region 4 that is nearly identical to the shop that would be built at Cedar City. Advanced planning and construction of the automotive central repair shops began in earnest in late immediately after the President reaffirmed Fechner's authority over the On February 7, the Intermountain Regional Forester directed a memorandum to the supervisors of the Dixie, Boise, and Toiyabe National Forests stating that, "The Chief of the Forest Service has finally agreed to proceed with Mr.
Fechner's plan for establishing central repair shops for the maintenance of all CCC equipment." In a very short time, the Intermountain Region established central repair shops in Salt Lake City and Cedar City, Utah; Boise, Idaho; and Reno, Nevada. These repair shops were located roughly at the four corners of the region and serviced vehicles used by the Forest Service, National Park Service, Division of Grazing, and Soil Conservation Service CCC camps.
The Cedar City shop was responsible for vehicles and heavy machinery in the central and southern parts of Utah and Nevada, and the first shop superintendent reported that it would serve 14 CCC camps.17 While the Army was responsible for CCC camp construction, the national forests and parks were responsible for creating and designing all projects conducted by the ranging from trails and roads to bridges and buildings. In Region 4, the Forest Service Engineering division in Ogden, Utah, conducted all of the design work, including that for the central automotive repair shops. Initial site plans indicated that three buildings were slated for immediate construction: the Automotive Repair Shop, Utility Building and Gasoline and Oil House. Up to four more per site were planned for the future.
The four central repair shops were the first large, industrial-type structures in urban settings designed by Region 4, and the use of Modernistic design elements and modern materials represented a departure from the more traditional building forms and materials of the preceding years. Designs for the Automotive Repair Shop and the Utility Building were certainly influenced not only by the required size and use of the buildings but by current design trends for both public buildings and industrial structures. In fact, a contemporary forest service publication written by Groben, as Consulting Architect in the Washington Office, exhorted that "Major Repair Shops, located usually in cities or towns...
should be designed after the fashion of the modern commercial shop and in accordance with the best 16 USDA Forest Service Division of Engineering, Acceptable Plans, Forest Service Administrative Buildings (Washington. DC: USDA Forest Service, Section F. 17 Iron County Record, 22 August CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No. UT-139-B (Page 9) engineering practice."18 Mere pragmatism probably dictated the use of a pre- existing traditional Region 4 plan for the simple Gasoline and Oil House.
However, the fortunate combination of the two modern buildings with the traditional building captures a transitional period in the designs of Forest Service regional architects and engineers in the late as the agency continued to expand and seek a coherent architectural identity.
Cedar City bids were opened on May 16, but these were "considerably higher than bids on similar jobs throughout the western states" and no contract was let."19 By the end of July, with economizing measures in place, it was announced that the shops would be erected on force account; the shop was nearly complete by the end of September.20 Despite the push to design and construct the Cedar City shop, the three buildings sat empty for a year due to a struggle for control of the CCC between the director and the advisory council.21 By mid-May it was decided to place the repair shops under the control of the CCC rather than the Forest Service.
The Cedar City shop functioned smoothly for about a year under the CCC but it is unclear how successful this centralized system would have been in the long term. Disadvantages included inefficiency of operations (e.g., towing broken trucks up to 500 miles away for even simple repairs), a diminishment of economic benefit to local communities because local labor and materials were bypassed, and a resultant decrease in goodwill between the communities and the camps. The CCC remained popular through its final days but was doomed by its strong association with relief work, viewed as increasingly unnecessary in light of the United States' entrance into World War II in December the improving wartime economy, and the need for young men on farms, in industry, and ultimately on the battlefield.
In June Congress refused to appropriate money for the CCC and it was officially terminated. In April Roosevelt ordered that all CCC automotive repair shops be transferred to the Army along with approximately pieces of automotive equipment.22 At Cedar City, the two civilian administrators and ten mechanics were to be retained and the shop used both to overhaul CCC trucks and equipment for Army use and to train soldiers as mechanics.23 This change in use prompted plans for betterment work at the shop in June including concrete paving on 18 W. Ellis Groben, Principles of Architectural Planning for Forest Service Administrative Improvements (Washington, DC: USDA Forest Service, Engineering Division, p. 51.
19 Iron County Record, 16 May 20 Iron County Record, 27 July 21 Iron County Record, 15 August 22 /ro County Record, 23 April 23 Iron County Record, 7 May CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No. UT-139-B (Page 10) the approach road from Main Street and around all sides of the Automotive Repair Shop; new footings under a failing portion of the shop's south wall; reconstruction of a damaged portion of the shop's east wall; and the installation of a roof and enclosing walls over the shop's coal dock. The Army transferred the site to the U. S. Grazing Service in November with the condition that it would be shared with the Forest Service.
However, a misunderstanding over land ownership and site jurisdiction caused the Forest Service to relinquish any claim to or use of the lot until the In the Grazing Service and the GLO were merged under the Department of the Interior to form the By the BLM had assumed sole responsibility and use of the Cedar City repair shop, which became known as either the BLM Yard or, more formally, the Cedar City Administrative Site by the early In the Forest Service began seeking a new home for the WCF Shop because of fund reductions and a directive that all Federal agencies share items and sites when feasible.
A May 19 memorandum from the Dixie Forest Supervisor to the Regional Forester stated that the BLM had given approval for the Forest Service to occupy the Cedar City shop and an MOU was prepared and signed that granted the east half of the Automotive Repair Shop to the Dixie National Forest for the purpose of maintaining WCF vehicles and equipment assigned to the Dixie. By early however, the Forest Service had realized that they might still be the legal owners of the site and lengthy wrangling over site jurisdiction ensued.
During this period the agencies retained joint use of the shop, with the Forest Service "operating a full time repair shop with two mechanics on duty" and the BLM using their half of the building for vehicle and material storage.24 In December the BLM concluded that "whereas the BLM owns the property on the site and has made use of both the site and property for the past 31 years, the U. S. Forest Service is the owner of record based on a gift deed from the Mayor of Cedar City."25 In a new MOU was prepared in which the Dixie National Forest and the Cedar City District of the BLM agreed to develop an annual operating plan for site use, maintenance and repair, with the Forest Service taking major responsibility for the site and buildings.
An associated site plan indicates that the BLM retained the use of its buildings and corrals on the east end of the site and control of the Gasoline and Oil House, that the Utility Building and Automotive Repair Shop were shared jointly, and that parking space was allotted for Forest Service, and GSA vehicles. 24 Memorandum from Glenn Bradley, Chief of Lands Management, Dixie National Forest, to Regional Forester, 9 January USDA Forest Service, Region4files. 25 Memorandum from William G. Leavell, Associate State Director, to State Director, 6 December USDA Forest Service, Dixie National Forest files. CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No.
UT-139-B (Page 11) The Forest Service, and GSA have continued to share the site and buildings through the present. Efforts to assign one building to each agency never proved successful.26 A Facilities Master Plan noted that the Forest Service was responsible for the three original buildings although use of the space was shared. The Cedar City District of the Dixie used the east half of the Utility Building for a woodworking shop while the BLM used the west half for sign making and carpentry.
By about all WCF equipment on the Dixie, Uinta and Fishlake National Forests was serviced by the Cedar City repair shop, which was still shared with GSA under an MOU.27 At about that time, the BLM abandoned the Utility Building to the Forest Service.28 The Cedar City District recreation and fire dispatch crews then occupied the building, the latter of whom placed several small, temporary buildings just to the south for use as offices.29 Today, of the three original buildings on site, only the Automotive Repair Shop is actively used; the Utility Building is used for storage only, and largely of unwanted materials in lieu of disposal. PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement: 1.
Architectural character: The original, unbuilt design was a good example of the Art Deco style applied to an industrial building. Modifications resulted in a building with very simple Modernistic massing and details. 2. Condition of fabric: Fair. This condition is mainly caused by deferred maintenance of the roof, windows, and vulnerable wooden elements like eaves on the exterior. Inappropriate alterations to doors, windows, and interior spaces have also compromised the building's architectural character. B. Description of Exterior: 1. Overall dimensions: 32'-0"(main shop); x 18'-0"(open shed addition). The building is rectangular in plan and divided into a double-width garage bay on the west end and two regular width bays to the east.
The entire building was originally one story tall, with a high, open ceiling to accommodate vehicle maintenance activities, but the ceiling of the west bay has been dropped 26 Dale Peterson interview, 8 April 27 Ibid. 28 In the BLM constructed a new office and warehouse about a mile to the north and then gradually moved most of its operations to that facility. 29 Marian Jacklin interview, 6 April CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No. UT-139-B (Page 12) and mezzanines have been added to the two east bays. The facade originally faced south but was reoriented to face north when the building was moved. 2. Foundations: Poured, reinforced concrete stem wall and 4" slab foundation, with wide continuous footings beneath the walls.
This foundation system dates to and differs from the original; see and drawings. The shed-roofed addition is built on a concrete slab. 3. Walls: A continuation of the foundation wall extends 6" above the floor and is surmounted by wood-framed walls. On the exterior side, the framing is covered by diagonal board sheathing, wire lath, and cement-based stucco painted off- white. 4. Structural systems, framing: The floor is composed of reinforced, poured concrete slabs and dates to The structural system, which dates to is of wood framing that employs 6" x 6" posts under the roof trusses and 2" x 6" studs between trusses.
The posts support three laminated wood bowstring roof trusses that span the interior width of the building (see detail drawings) while the end walls support simpler wood trusses with verticals at 16" on center and no diagonals. Patented in by Squire Whipple, the bowstring truss was commonly used for bridge construction thereafter and was later adapted to span the wide spaces of commercial, industrial, and military buildings (e.g., airplane hangars). Lateral bracing is minimal and makeshift, mainly provided by a single strut in the form of a beam mounted on the upper side of the bottom chords and extending from the west end wall to the third mid-wall truss. The strut was apparently sawn off when the mezzanine was added to the east bay.
The drawings called for metal trusses like those used in the Automotive Repair Shop, but economy and/or availability dictated the use of wood trusses. The open shed is anchored to the main building on the east end and supported by three tubular metal posts on the west side. The shed roof is supported by wood trusses. 5. Chimney: Photographs taken in ca. and show a chimney at about the center of the building, just north of the roof apex (at the partition between the west and center bays) (see HABS No. UT-139, Supplemental Material, Figures 18 and This chimney is not specified on the drawings but it may have taken the place of a metal flue intended to vent the forge in the welding shop.
When the building was moved in the drawings noted, "Contractor shall demolish an existing brick chimney x approx. 20' high) located inside bldg.;"this was accordingly done. CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No. UT-139-B (Page 13) 6. Openings a. Doorways and doors: The original man doors on the east and west ends of the building were specified as paneled wood doors with nine lights, but a photograph from depicts a four-light wood door in the west wall (now the east wall) (see HABS No. UT-139, Supplemental Material, Figure Solid metal doors have replaced both original man doors.
The original overhead garage doors were of paneled wood with three rows of wired glass glazing (a total of 18 lights), identical to those used on the Automotive Repair Shop. In the doors were replaced with what appear to be unglazed wood-paneled overhead doors (see HABS No. UT- Supplemental Material, Figure In the the doors were removed and the openings were filled with wood framing covered with unpainted plywood (east bay), painted plywood (center bay), and painted particleboard (west bay). b. Windows: The steel, multi-paned windows are composed of fixed panes surrounding an awning-type functional panel. All of the windows are the same; each comprises a 20-light central panel with an eight-light functional awning flanked by 15-light fixed windows.
The windows have wood lintels (finished with stucco) and canted concrete sills. All windows are original but the east window on the south side has been modified to accommodate a one-pane by one-pane sliding metal window at the base of the central window panel. Metal bars have been placed across this window and the lower third of the east window for increased security. Each end wall has a wood-framed, rectangular vent fitted with fixed wood louvers at the attic level. Each is backed by a functional wood shutter that is operated from the building's interior. 7. Roof: a. Shape, covering: The segmentally arched roof is covered with several layers of asphalt roll roofing; on the south side much of it has blown loose, exposing the roof deck.
The bent wood boards that form the roof deck are visible on the interior and run perpendicular to the long axis of the roof (i.e., they span over the arch); they are supported by wood joists whose ends are doubled over the roof trusses. The wood-framed shed roof of the west addition has a moderate pitch and is covered with ridged metal panels. b. Eaves: The building has wood eaves on the long sides and raised stucco rakeboards over metal lath on the end walls. The eaves are CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No. UT-139-B (Page 14) identical to those on the repair shop; see drawings for cross sections and details. All wood eave elements are painted off-white.
Early photographs indicate that the building was constructed without a roof drainage system, but a short length of metal gutter and a downspout have since been added above the east garage bay. C. Description of Interior: 1. Floor plans: The original drawings called for four roughly equal bays to house a "Paint Shop," "Grease Room," "Car Washing," and "Welding Shop." As built, the Utility Building was divided into a double-width western bay and two single- width bays to the east; the original use of each bay is unclear. The bays are divided by wood-framed and sided walls, but interior doors allow passage between the bays. Mezzanines were added to the two east bays in the each is accessed by a separate staircase.
The east bay was also divided into two rooms: a small office at the south end and a larger, open office to the north. See floor plans from and for comparison. 2. Stairs: In the central bay, a single-flight open staircase with wood stringers, wood treads, no risers, and a railing composed of metal pipe and dimensional lumber rises against the east wall. It leads to an open mezzanine that extends across the south half of the room. In the east bay, a single-flight enclosed staircase with wood stringers, particleboard treads, no risers, and a railing composed of dimensional lumber rises against the west wall. It leads to a closed mezzanine that extends across the entire bay. 3. Flooring: The floors date to and are of reinforced, poured concrete.
The floor of the east bay was covered with beige vinyl tile when it was remodeled in the early The mezzanine floors are of unfinished plywood. 4. Wall and ceiling finish: The wood-framed walls in the west and center bays are finished with horizontal shiplap siding with a 7" exposure, painted pale green and white respectively. The wood-framed walls of the east bay probably have a similar finish, but it is now covered with two types of vertical wood-veneer paneling that was installed in the early The mezzanine walls are finished with painted shiplap siding to the level of the roof. The trusses are faced or filled with particleboard (discolored to black) except for the end wall truss, where the diagonal wood sheathing of the exterior wall is visible between the verticals.
Originally all ceilings were unfinished, leaving the roof framing exposed. In the or early a drop ceiling was depended from the bottom chords of the trusses in the west bay; this ceiling is presently covered with rigid polyisocyanurate insulation boards. The roof framing is exposed in both mezzanines and in the center bay, although the center mezzanine creates a low CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No. UT-139-B (Page 15) ceiling over the south half of the room that is finished with polyiso boards. The first floor ceiling in the east bay is of acoustic tile hung in a metal framework. 5. Openings: a. Doorways and doors: No original interior doors remain. All of the garage doors have been removed and the openings filled with wood framing.
On the interior, the west opening is finished with painted plywood, the center opening is finished with painted particleboard, and the east opening is completely obscured by the wood paneling installed in the early The original passage between the west and center bays was enlarged at some point and fitted with a hollow-core, painted wood, sliding door set on an overhead track. Unpainted wood hollow-core doors were used in the east bay when it was remodeled in the early b. Windows: Windows are set in plain wood casings with flat wood sills and have no interior trim. The tops of all windows are cut off either by the dropped ceiling (west bay) or mezzanine floors (center and east bays), but this provides natural light in the upper level rooms.
Wood paneling masks all parts of the window on the south wall of the east bay except for the inset sliding window. 6. Mechanical equipment: a. HV AC: The original drawings specified a mixture of unit heaters and radiators that were presumably provided with steam heat piped underground from the coal boiler in the Automotive Repair Shop. It is not clear to what degree the specifications were followed and the original design of the heating system is further obscured by the fact that the building was moved and the heating system re-configured. Today, steam heat for the shop is provided by underground steam pipes leading from the coal boiler south to the Utility Building. The main supply pipe enters at the northeast corner of the west bay.
Secondary pipes were originally mounted near the roof framing, leading to unit heaters depended from the bottom chords of the trusses. When the west bay ceiling was lowered and mezzanines were added in the center and east bays, the heaters were lowered as well. Presently, Modine unit heaters hang in the northwest corners of the west and center bays and a supplemental electric heater hangs in the southwest corner of the center bay. No heat source of any kind remains in the east bay. An original ventilation fan is mounted in the south wall of the west bay, between the two windows, and the opening is fitted with a metal cover. A second ventilation fan, also apparently original, is located at the base of CEDAR CITY AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP, UTILITY BUILDING "B" (Sign Shop) HABS No.
UT-139-B (Page 16) the south exterior wall of the center bay, just beneath the window. The exterior fan cover is missing but its outline is visible as a shadow on the stucco. b. Lighting: Surface-mounted metal conduit supplies electricity to the building. At least three types of light fixtures were specified on the drawings, but it is unclear if all of these fixtures were used. On the main level, all lighting is provided by modern fluorescent strip fixtures. Three original fixtures with green metal reflectors remain in the mezzanines; these appear to correspond with "Type #1 - #4" on the drawings. c. Plumbing: Plumbing includes that described for the steam heat system as well as surface-mounted, galvanized water supply pipes operated with stopcocks.
There are no toilets or sinks in the building. D. Site 1. Historic landscape design: The landscaping around the building is very simple and reflects site plans developed between and when the building was moved. The building is set on a small rise, slightly above the Automotive Repair Shop; this difference in elevation was enough to prevent any damage to the building in the August flood. Dirt and gravel surround the building on the east, south, and west sides. Asphalt paving was added along the length of the north side in to provide an approach to the three garage bays; the paving is now disused and deteriorated. PART III. SOURCES OF INFORMATION See HABS No. UT-139. PART IV. PROJECT INFORMATION See HABS No. UT-139.
Block