Atch A SOW Atch 1 Fort Snelling West District Report 40 pages.pdf

Fort Snelling West District - Historical Context Study and Development Guidelines

Prepared by Miller Dunwiddie Architecture and Hess, Roise and Company

April 2010

This project has been funded in part by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society and with support from Hennepin County.

i

Prepared for

Hennepin County

Prepared by

Miller Dunwiddie Architecture Hess, Roise and Company

Study Participants John Anfi nson: Historian, Mississippi National River & Recreation Area, National Park Service

Natascha Wiener: Historical Architect, State Historic Preservation Offi ce, Minnesota Historical Society Mary Ann Heidemann: Review & Compliance, State Historic Preservation Offi ce, Minnesota Historical Society

Dennis Gimmestad: Review & Compliance, State Historic Preservation Offi ce, Minnesota Historical Society Patrick Connoy: Senior Administrative Manager, Hennepin County Housing, Community Works & Transit Dean Michalko: Senior Administrative Manager, Hennepin County Housing, Community Works & Transit

John Evans: Senior Environmentalist, Hennepin County Environmental Services Charles Liddy, AIA: Principal, Miller Dunwiddie Architecture Kelly Mastin: Project Manager, Miller Dunwiddie Architecture

Dan Green, AIA: Architect, Miller Dunwiddie Architecture Deborah Yang: Designer, Miller Dunwiddie Architecture

Charlene Roise: Historical Consultant, Hess, Roise and Company Penny Petersen: Historical Consultant, Hess, Roise and Company

Stephanie Atwood: Historical Consultant, Hess, Roise and Company

Hiawatha LRT Fort Snelling Station Area Plan Team Dan Cornejo: Cornejo Consulting Michael Schroeder: LHB, Corp.

Tom Lincoln: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.

Fort Snelling West District - Historical Context Study and Development Guidelines iii

Introduction

Historical Context Study

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Historical Context Study and Development Guidelines Introduction 1 Study Area Map 4 Fort Snelling Area Property Ownership map 5 Existing Building Identifi cation Map 6 Demolished Building Identifi cation Map 7

Introduction 9

Historical Context - Upper Post of Fort Snelling 10 Military Reservation Fort Snelling Minnesota, 1889 12 Map of Military Reservation Fort Snelling Minn., 1893 13 Fort Snelling, Minn. 14 Fort Snelling and Environs, 1939 16 Fort Snelling and Environs, 1939/aerial overlay 17

Historic Zones 18 Historic Zones Map 19

Quartermaster Zone 19 Artillery Zone 21 Cavalry Zone 21

Historic Materials and Massing 22

Fort Snelling Upper Post: Properties West of Bloomington Road 24

Fort Snelling West District Interior Conditions Survey 38 iv

Development Guidelines Introduction 73

Treatment Zones 75 Introduction 75 Treatment Zones Map 77

Treatment Zone F 78 Treatment Zone G 80 Treatment Zone H1 82 Treatment Zone H2 86 Treatment Zone H3 88 Treatment Zone J1 90 Treatment Zone J2 92 Treatment Zone K 94

Rehabilitation Guidelines 95 Introduction 95

Historic Materials: Masonry 96 Historic Materials: Wood 98 Historic Materials: Metals 101 Exterior features 103 Interior features 106

New Construction Guidelines 108 Introduction 108 New Construction Guidelines 108

Landscape Guidelines 110 Introduction 110 Landscape Elements and Guidelines 110 Views Map 112

Vegetation and Historic Features Map 118

West District Existing Circulation Patterns Map 119

Introduction Study Area This Historical Context Study evaluates the area of Fort Snelling west of Bloomington Road. It focuses on a portion of Fort Snelling that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also designated as a State Historic District.

For the purposes of this study, the area is being referred to as the West District, which is not an historic name from its use by the Army. The West District was historically the support area of the fort and currently houses a mix of historic and non-historic buildings, open space, and parking lots.

This study also supplements a Johanna Favrot Grant-funded study of the adjacent National Historic Landmark Upper Post completed in 2008 and entitled, “Fort Snelling Upper Post Open Space & Landscape Development Guidelines.”

The development guideline graphics from that study have been updated to coordinate with this report and are included, where appropriate, herein.

Property Ownership & Historic District Boundaries

Like the adjacent Fort Snelling Upper Post and nearby Historic Fort Snelling, the Period of Signifi cance for the study area extends from 1819, when the Historic Fort was fi rst built on the bluff overlooking the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, to 1946, when the property ceased being an active Army post. Some of the sites in the West District have remained in Federal ownership since then and some have been transferred to others.

The property owners in the West District study area are the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Minneapolis Medical Center, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB), the Northern Star Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), and the US Navy Reserve. Two historic buildings (#237 and #239) that are included in this study are located outside the West District and the National Register and State Historic District boundaries. Both are on land owned by the VA that is leased by the Metropolitan Council. The GSA, MNDOT and Metro Transit also own or lease land west of the historic districts and are not included in this historical context study. See the map Fort Snelling Area Property Ownership for more information on property ownership.

The exact boundaries for both the National Register Historic District and the State Historic District are unclear and, as previously indicated, Buildings 237 and 239 are outside of them. In addition, both the Upper and Lower Posts are National Historic Landmarks; but the West District, which provided support to those areas, does not have landmark status. As development planning continues for the Fort Snelling area, the historic district boundaries should be re-studied to be clearly and legally defi ned, to include Buildings 237 and 239 and possibly exclude areas that have been greatly altered and don’t maintain their historic integrity, and to incorporate the West District, if appropriate, within the Landmark Historic District.

Study Purpose This study is intended to add to past studies of Fort Snelling and contribute to a Hiawatha LRT Fort Snelling Station Area Plan being prepared simultaneously for Hennepin County by a consulting team led by Dan Cornejo and including LHB Architects and Planners and Kimley-Horn Associates. That report is studying the development potential for the larger Fort Snelling area. It is assumed that the Station Area Plan will encourage that the historic buildings at Fort Snelling be reused so that they can be saved for future generations and that appropriate new development also be encouraged to take place within the Fort Snelling area so that it once again becomes active and viable. This study strongly supports that.

Fort Snelling is an unincorporated area of Hennepin County and, as such, has no underlying governmental zoning controls. This report, like the Favrot Grant-funded report noted earlier, is therefore intended to be a substitute for a zoning ordinance, planning guidelines, or similar documents. Its purpose is to provide historical preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, and development guidelines and information for the West District so that developers interested in buildings or sites there understand the opportunities that exist as well as the parameters that will govern the work. This study, like a zoning or planning document, is a framework for development that doesn’t specify exactly what use should go where or what specifi c buildings should look like. It is designed to provide fl exibility in its interpretation.

This report also identifi es the contributing West District historic buildings, open spaces, and landscapes that should be retained, as well as potential areas for new development. It specifi cally addresses where new development could take place and the siting, massing, density, and other characteristics of such new development. It is important to note that this report is not meant to be an in-depth scholarly study. Rather, it is intended to provide an overview of the importance of the historic West District of Fort Snelling. As redevelopment ideas are brought forward, additional research will likely be needed by proposers to supplement, support, and otherwise inform their specifi c proposals.

Regulatory & Code Reviews

Ultimately, any new development or rehabilitation in the West District will be judged and interpreted against the National Park Service (NPS) Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, the overarching document upon which the guidelines in this study were developed. The procedure under which development proposals will be reviewed will be an NPS Federal Section 106 review process and, depending on the proposed development, a Historic Tax Credit review.

The guidelines contained in this study will be applied within that review structure, which will be led by the State Historic Preservation Offi ce (SHPO) of the Minnesota Historical Society. NPS representatives may also take part if circumstances arise that warrant their involvement. Because of that, the study team included current SHPO and NPS representatives who have participated throughout the process. It is therefore assumed that, because of their involvement, the guidelines are a reasonable interpretation of the Standards at the time they were written. Also, while the guidelines are designed to address many questions that may arise, this report also provides direction for securing more detailed information from the Technical Preservation Services Division of the U.S. Department of the Interior and valuable reference information through SHPO.

VHAMINHeimaM Highlight

VHAMINHeimaM Highlight

As stated before, Fort Snelling has no underlying governmental zoning controls and, likewise, there is no Building Code or Permit Review authority specifi c to the area. Construction work at the Upper Post is reviewed by State of Minnesota Code Offi cials because it is State property. Recent construction at the Boy Scout’s Building 201 was also reviewed by State Code Offi cials because of the lack of other authority. It should therefore be assumed that, unless a new governmental structure is created at Fort Snelling that also designates Building Code and Permit Review to another entity, such reviews will be done by the State of Minnesota Building Code Offi cials.

No matter who does the Code and Permit Reviews, the Minnesota State Building Code will apply to construction work at the West District. Under the Code, historic buildings have some latitude when conforming to some Building Code requirements, such as accessibility. The Code Offi cials identifi ed to review a specifi c project should be consulted early to determine to what extent this may apply.

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation

The guidelines and information in this report have been prepared to be in accordance to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation as interpreted by the study team. The Standards are ten basic principles created to help preserve the distinctive character of a historic building and its site, while allowing for reasonable changes to meet new needs. The Standards apply to historic buildings of all periods, styles, types, materials, and sizes. They apply to both the exterior and the interior of historic buildings, and also encompass related landscape features and the building’s site and environment and attached, adjacent, or related new construction. They are intended to be applied to projects in a reasonable manner, taking into consideration economic and technical feasibility. For information, they are listed in Appendix V.

The Standards will be subject to interpretation by reviewers on a case-by-case basis as appropriate to specifi c development proposals in the West District. Developers are strongly encouraged to meet early in the planning process with SHPO staff to discuss their ideas and see how the Standards are being interpreted at that time and how they may apply to the specifi c proposal.

Historical Context Study

Introduction Fort Snelling is often called the “Birthplace of Minnesota”, but also encompasses an area sacred to the Mdewakanton (Dakota) tribes. The fort, built between 1820 and the 1940s, served at various times as an Army outpost during settlement of the frontier; a Civil War era fort; headquarters for the Department of the Dakota; and as training and induction facilities during the Spanish-American War, Mexican Expedition, and World Wars I and II. Between the world wars, its amenities earned it the sobriquet “Country Club of the Army.” In 1946, the fort was decommissioned and turned over to the VA, and in the 1970s it was transferred to the State of Minnesota. The restored 1820s fort, sometimes referred to as the Lower Post, has been a living history museum operated by the MN Historical Society for 30 years. The Upper Post area is currently under utilized, but its 26 buildings have been mothballed awaiting future reuse.

The Historical Context Study summarizes the history of the site, the historic character of the West District, as well as providing specifi c information about each building. Historic zones are established based on the historic use of the site, their coherence of scale, period of construction, and circulation. The Historic Context Study is divided into the following fi ve sections:

Historical Context – Upper Post of Fort Snelling Historic Zones Historic Materials and Massing Fort Snelling Upper Post: Properties West of Bloomington Fort Snelling West District Interior Conditions

Much of the information in the “Historic Materials and Massing” section was based on “Design Guidelines For Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Development at Fort Snelling Including Parade Ground, Quartermaster Area, Artillery Complex, and Cavalry Drill Hall,” April 20, 1999; Prepared for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board by Charlene K. Roise; Hess, Roise and Company.

Construction of Fort Snelling, originally known as Fort Saint Anthony, was begun in 1819. The fort’s fi rst buildings were situated on a bluff overlooking the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. This area would later be known as Old Fort Snelling or the Lower Post. The fort’s original purpose was “to control the principle avenues of communication, provide support for the Indian agency,” quell confl icts among local Indian tribes, and deter white settlement in Indian territories. When the original fort was completed, it was surrounded by four stone walls.1

By the mid-nineteenth century, the American frontier had moved well beyond the Mississippi River and Fort Snelling became a garrison where troops gathered to embark to other locations. “As the population of Saint Paul and Minneapolis grew and settlers fl ocked to the western prairies, the fort’s role continued to diminish. In 1856, Secretary of War Jefferson Davis withdrew the garrison.” The following year, Fort Snelling, estimated at roughly 8,000 acres, was sold to entrepreneur Franklin Steele and a group of investors for $90,000. Steele hoped to turn the fort into a town site.

Steele surveyed the land and platted the City of Fort Snelling, which had it been built, would have obliterated the sites of both the Upper and Lower Posts of the fort. Although Steele failed to make the scheduled payments, he managed to retain possession of the property for some time.2

Once the Civil War began in 1861, the fort was commandeered by the military. When the war ended four years later, Steele’s hopes for a town at the fort had vanished, but he demanded either the return of his investment or legal title to the land. In 1868, Steele fi led a claim of $162,000 against the government for its use of the fort during the Civil War, hoping that this “back rent” would offset the unpaid balance still owed from the 1857 sale. This process dragged on for several years. Finally in 1873, the government reached a compromise with Steele and he was given a deed to 6,395 acres of land that were formerly part of the Fort Snelling Military Reserve.3

The 1860s witnessed the fi rst major expansion of facilities beyond the walls of the original fort to house troops for the Indian confl icts in Minnesota and the nation’s Civil War. Barracks, stables, and other buildings were erected west of the fort along the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi. Following the Civil War, the United States spent relatively little on the military, as it repaid the heavy debts incurred by that confl ict. Still, “Army leaders began planning a reorganization to consolidate an ineffi cient collection of forts, cobbled together overtime, into a rational system of high-quality

1 Robert Alan Clouse and Elizabeth Knudson Steiner, “All that Remains: A Study of Historic Structures at Fort Snelling, Minnesota,” prepared for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, 1998, vi.

2 Charlene Roise, “Fort Snelling Buildings 17, 18, 22, and 30: Their Evolution and Context,” prepared for the Minnesota Historical Society, February 2008, 4; “Fort Snelling To Be Sold,” Saint Paul Daily Minnesotian, April 3, 1857; “The Fort Snelling Reserve and the Secretary of War,” New York Times, August 25, 1857; Thomas Moncure, “Map of the City of Fort Snelling, Minnesota,” 1857, MHS Collections. The Minnesotian estimated that the fort encompassed about 8,000 acres, worth fi fty dollars per acre.

3 William Watts Folwell, A History of Minnesota, rev. ed. (Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1961), 1:514-515. See also Catalogue of 6,300 Acres of Land to be Sold at Public Auction, at Minne-ha-ha Falls. 1st and 2nd Days of July, printed list, available at MHS.

Upper Post of Fort Snelling

Historical Context - Upper Post of Fort Snelling garrisons.”4

Beginning in the late 1870s, Fort Snelling’s Upper Post was developed to the south of the original fort along the Minnesota River bluffs. The impetus for this expansion was the move of the headquarters for the Department of the Dakota from Saint Paul to the fort. The department, which had been established in 1866, oversaw all military activities and forts within Minnesota and the territories of Dakota and Montana. In June 1878, one newspaper noted, “The west walls of Fort Snelling are being pulled down, it is said with a view to the enlargement of the fort to an eight company post. But the changes that are being made may probably be attributed to an order which locates the headquarters of the Department of the Dakota at Fort Snelling instead of St. Paul.” The reporter speculated that government hoped to save money housing its staff at the fort instead of paying expensive city rents. During 1878, a Minneapolis newspaper periodically noted the building progress: “Nine new buildings are to be constructed at Fort Snelling, to be partially occupied by offi cers and partially by troops”; and “The Seventh cavalry is to arrive at Fort Snelling some time during the month, and fi fty carpenters and ten stone masons are wanted to push the work on the buildings in course of erection.”5

Although many buildings erected during this period have been demolished, a number survive. Building 22, originally known as the Ordinance Storehouse, was erected west of the original fort. If quartermaster records provide a correct construction date of 1878, this is the only building at the Lower Post that represents this period of growth. Ashlar blocks for this building and others in the newly established Upper Post were presumably mined from the walls of the old fort, which disappeared around this time.6

The most signifi cant development of this era, however, is the Upper Post. Funding for the headquarters for the Department of the Dakota was appropriated in 1880. The “clock tower” building represents a clear transition to the Upper Post. Construction of the Second Empire style brick building (Building 67; C-1), a landmark on Taylor Avenue, was begun sometime in 1880 and largely completed the following year. During this same period, a new Offi cers’ Row, consisting of single-family brick residences, was erected along Taylor Avenue.7

By 1885, the walls surrounding the old fort had been demolished and only two towers remained in place. “All in all, the Lower Post had become a backwater. The army considered it a separate administrative unit —and of a distinctly lower rank than the Department of the Dakota.” The location of the quartermaster’s facilities illustrates the move from the old fort to the Upper Post. An 1878 map locates one quartermaster facility near the fort’s guardhouse along with another quartermaster storehouse to the west, well beyond the fort walls, adjacent to the civilian employees quarters.

4 Roise, “Fort Snelling Buildings 17, 18, 22, and 30,” 4, 6.

5 “The Department of Dakota—Arrival of Gen. Terry at St. Paul,” New York Times, November 12, 1866; “An Unreasonable Order,” Minneapolis Tribune, June 28, 1878; “Military Headquarters,” Minneapolis Tribune, July 29, 1878; Minneapolis Tribune, June 25, 1878; “Gossip About Town,” Minneapolis Tribune, September 12, 1878; “Gossip About Town,” Minneapolis Tribune, September 23, 1878.

6 Roise, “Fort Snelling’s Buildings 17, 18, 22, and 30,” 6-7.

7 Clouse, “All that Remains,” 89, 91, 93, 95, 97.

Five years later, a map shows these quartermaster buildings are gone and a new quartermaster’s complex is further west, beyond an old cemetery. (The Minnesota Historical Society’s Visitor Center is in the general vicinity of the cemetery; the bodies that had been interred there were moved to another location in the early twentieth century.)

Other quartermaster buildings are along Bloomington Road at the intersection of Minnehaha Avenue. Quartermaster records indicate that a wood-frame storehouse, Building 217 (F-7), was erected at the corner of Minnehaha and Bloomington Road in 1879-1880. It seems unlikely that existing the building is from that date; if it is, it has been altered over time. In any event, the quartermaster defi nitely had facilities in that vicinity by the early 1880s. Other early structures include a forage house (Building 218/F-11), sawmill (Building 219/F-10), and mineral oil house (Building 239/F-15), all of stone.8

See the maps, Military Reservation Fort Snelling Minnesota, 1889, and Map of Military Reservation Fort Snelling Minn., 1893, for development of the new Quartermaster area west of the Lower Fort near the intersection of Bloomington Road and Minnehaha Avenue.

The Upper Post saw another expansion at the beginning of the twentieth century. During this period, the entire army was reorganized under the leadership of Secretary of War Elihu Root, who adopted a corporate model. His emphasis on effi ciency resulted in the standardization of building plans, which had been introduced in the army in the 1860s but not used universally. The number and location of military posts was also under scrutiny, and Fort Snelling’s future was in doubt. Saved by politics, the fort was ultimately expanded rather than closed.9

8 Roise, “Fort Snelling’s Buildings 17, 18, 22, and 30,” 7; “1878 Survey of Fort Snelling, drawn by Julius J. Durage, topographical assistant, Department of Dakota;” E. B. Summers, “Map of Fort Snelling Reserva-tion, 1882;” “Map #1882-4,” Plan View of Fort, E. B. Summers (Revised).

9 H. C. Steward, ed., American Military History, The United States Army and the Forging of a Nation, 1775- 1917 (Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 2005), 369-370; “Exceeds A Million,” Minneapolis Tribune, August 16, 1903.

Start of Quartermaster along Bloomington Road

This brought cavalry and artillery units to the fort, which had been primarily an infantry post. New barracks, stables, and other buildings were erected north and west of the parade grounds to house these units. The upgrading of Highway 55 in the mid-twentieth century destroyed some of these buildings and severed most connections between the rest; subsequent demolition has removed more of these facilities. The most prominent survivor on the south side of the highway is Building 201 (F-42), the cavalry drill hall. Artillery stables, shops, and storehouses occupied the vacant land between the drill hall and Building 210.

More remains from another major component of the early twentieth-century expansion, the quartermaster’s area. A larger fort needed more provisions, so improvements to the quartermaster’s area were essential. Surviving examples from this era include a shops building (Building 210/F-43), two stables (Buildings 211/F-49 and 214/F-56), and storehouses (Building 222/F-14 and the original F-18), as well as two residences (Building 227/F-30 and F-31 and Building 229/F-38 through F-41). It was also during this period that a railroad spur was extended into the quartermaster area.

See the undated map, Fort Snelling Minn. for the arrival of the cavalry and infantry areas of the West District, as well as further development of the Quartermaster Area. This map shows Fort Snelling around 1917.

Yet another building campaign came in the late 1920s and the 1930s, in part because motorized vehicles usurped the role of horses for combat and transportation. An example of the impact of this change is illustrated in Building 211, which was erected as a stable for the quartermaster in 1909 and converted into a “tank and motor shed” housing forty-two vehicles in 1932. Some new buildings like the gas station (Building 215/F-57) and the Post Exchange oil and gas house (Building 220/F-58), both dating from 1932, also refl ect the rise of motorized transportation. A deteriorating garage (Building T-228/F-45), which once had bays for ten cars, was moved here in 1920 from the cantonment that had been developed for World War I.

Work programs developed during the economic depression of the 1930s also shaped the quartermaster’s area. A large WPA warehouse complex (Building 230; demolished) was west of Bloomington Road near where the light-rail tracks now run. The CCC commissary warehouse (Building 223/F-61), constructed in 1935, was cobbled together with an interesting collection of salvaged materials. WPA laborers replaced wood

Quartermaster area at intersection of

Minnehaha Avenue and Bloomington Road.

porches on the two residences on Bloomington Road with brick porches on concrete foundations. A powder magazine was moved in behind Building 222 from an unknown location in 1931.10

World War II brought much activity to the fort, but no new construction in the quartermaster’s area. The fort was decommissioned by the army in 1946, and the buildings have served a number of government and civilian uses since that time.

See the map, Fort Snelling and Environs, 1939, for a view of West District at the time that Fort Snelling was decommissioned.

See the 1939 map overlaying a current aerial for a reference for existing historic, demolished, and non-historic buildings in the West District.

See the chronological timeline, Fort Snelling West of Bloomington Road: A Timeline, in Appendix I for additional detailed information about the history of the West District.

10 Roise, “Fort Snelling’s Buildings 17, 18, 22, and 30,” 36.

1939 Fort Snelling Upper Post and West District Map

West District Area

Upper Post Area

1939 Fort Snelling Upper Post Map

The study area includes several zones that were historically distinguished by use and building type: quartermaster, artillery, and cavalry. The topography throughout the area is fl at and devoid of water features, so these factors did not infl uence development patterns.

Instead, those patterns generally responded to roads—Bloomington Road and Minnehaha Avenue—that were in place prior to building construction.

Extant buildings are generally of masonry construction—locally quarried limestone for the earlier structures and brick for those dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with concrete block appearing in the 1930s. The few wood-frame structures are of varying vintages, and at least one was moved in from another location.

A large group of wood-frame structures associated with artillery units has been demolished; two small brick structures from that complex have been relocated to the edge of the Polo Grounds. A powder magazine sheathed in corrugated metal was also originally elsewhere.

The buildings are small in scale, most rising only one or two stories.

The exception is a 1935 addition to Building 222, which replaced an earlier structure destroyed by fi re. Rising three stories on a high basement, this building is also distinguished by its fl at roof, which deviates from the gable roofs that appear on most other buildings.

In addition to the buildings, a few small objects are scattered around the area. Several concrete light standards survive, some with their original faceted lamps. The exposed aggregate of the concrete is typical of the 1920s. The function of a couple of posts is less obvious.

One on the west side of Bloomington Road seems aligned with the former route of Leavenworth Avenue to the east. Perhaps the post was associated with a traffi c control function. Some of the concrete sidewalks edging the road were likely products of federal relief projects in the 1930s.

Historic Zones

Quartermaster Zone

The quartermaster was the fi rst to establish a beachhead west of Bloomington Road, stimulated by the arrival of the Department of Dakota in the late 1870s. Quartermaster facilities soon fl anked Minnehaha Avenue. Stables and a corral were on the north side of Minnehaha, and storehouses and other facilities, such as a sawmill, were to the south. The fort’s early twentieth-century expansion upgraded and expanded the Quartermaster Zone. The stables were replaced by more modern facilities, but the same use continued. A limited amount of housing—two multifamily structures—was added, presumably for the convenience of those overseeing the quartermaster’s operations. During the economic depression, this zone continued to supply activities at the fort and added federal relief programs, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, to its scope. By this time, motorized transport had displaced horses, and buildings were adapted to serve this new function. Such changing needs, along with fi res, tornadoes, routine maintenance, and other factors, resulted in some changes to buildings in this zone, but it still retains a sense of its early twentieth-century prime—far more than any other zone in this study.

Historic Zones: Buildings and Landscapes Description

Buildings: Most of the buildings changed names and uses and experienced some physical modification over time. For specific details, see the table, Fort Snelling Upper Post: Properties West of Bloomington Road, in the next section of this report.

The buildings included in the Quartermaster Zone are:

Building 210/F-43 (1907): Ordnance and Civil Works Service Offi ce and Warehouse, Shops Building 211/F-49 (1909): Quartermaster Stable; Tank Park Building 214/F-56 (1910): Quartermaster Stable; Veterinary Hospital; Motor Repair Garage Building 215/F-57 (1932): Quartermaster Gas Station Building 217/F-7 (ca. 1915): Quartermaster Storehouse; Plumbing Shop Building 218/F-11 (1894): Forage House Building 219/F-10 (1895): Sawmill; Wheelwright and Other Shops Building 220/F-58 (1932): Post Exchange; Oil and Gas House; Auto Repair Shop Building 222/F-14, F-18, F-19 (1904/1914/1935): Subsistence/Quartermaster Storehouse Building 223/F-61 (1935): CCC Commissary Warehouse Building 224/F-16 (1902): Forage House; Shops and Warehouse Building 225/F-60 (1917): Storehouse Building 227/F-30, F-31 (1904): NCSO Quarters Building 228/T-228/F-45 (1917): Garage Building 229/F-38–F-41 (1907): NCO Quarters Building 237/F-2 (1904, 1931): Powder Magazine.

Building 239/F-15 (1892): Mineral Oil House

Landscape: Before this area was occupied by the quartermaster, it held fields of crops tended by soldiers from the fort.

A small remnant of that agricultural use was echoed in the 1930s by a “nursery plat” just south of Building 229. When the Quartermaster Zone was laid out, the arrangement was pragmatic, based on use. The buildings were aligned on a rectilinear grid, with the primary axes being Bloomington Road and Minnehaha Avenue. Other minor roads and paths generally paralleled these corridors. There were two main deviations from this pattern. Minnehaha was responsible for one, as it angled to the northwest at the west edge of the Quartermaster Zone. By the early twentieth century, it was lined by small wood-framed houses for civilian employees. These are no longer extant, and the road’s path has been obliterated by a parking lot. The other deviation resulted from diagonal railroad spurs on the zone’s southern edge.

When the WPA established a warehouse complex along the spur line, paths fanned to it from the north. Today, a light-rail line follows close to the former alignment of the spur lines, the WPA warehouse complex has been demolished, and there is no trace of the radiating paths. A grove of pine trees in the vicinity appears to have been planted in the 1940s.

The area was undeveloped and trees are not visible in a 1940 aerial, but by 1945 three distinct groves can be seen. The groves have thickened by 1953. By 1960, the grove closest to Bloomington Road appears to have thinned out, but the cluster nearest Building 229 is very dense. A 1969 aerial shows a building on part of the former Nursery Plat, but the grove nearest Building 229 remains. A small picnic area and sports field to the west of the grove appear to date from

VHAMINHeimaM Highlight after World War II.1

Artillery Zone

The area north of the Quartermaster Zone once held stables, gun sheds, and other utilitarian buildings erected for the artillery units that arrived at Fort Snelling in the early twentieth century.

Buildings: Two brick workshops (Buildings 205 and 206) were moved across Bloomington Road to the north end of the Polo Grounds. The other buildings were razed in the 1990s. A tennis center has been developed in this area in the past decade.

Landscape: The landscape today is not historic. It comprises vacant land, parking lots, and a relocated road.

Cavalry Zone

Like the Artillery Zone, the Cavalry Zone was created for new units that were assigned to Fort Snelling in the early twentieth century. The cavalry area was bifurcated by the expansion of Highway 55. Two barracks and one of four original stables survive on the north side, which is not part of this study.

Building: Only one structure remains on the south side of the highway:

Building 201/F-42 (1907): Cavalry Drill Hall

Landscape: While the integrity of the drill hall is good, its setting has been compromised by the construction of roads and other modern developments. The relationship between the drill hall and the Polo Grounds is at least somewhat maintained.

1 Aerial photographs from Borchert Map Library, University of Minnesota.

Materials and Massing:

Introduction

Extant and demolished buildings in the West District fall into four basic types: one- to two-story brick structures (1894- 1910), single-story stone structures (1890s), one- to two-story clapboard-sided wood-frame structures (ca. 1879-1917), and single-story concrete and concrete-block structures (1930s). Building types refl ect a hierarchy of function. Brick is used for the buildings housing the most important activities: the main storehouse (222), drill hall (201), non-commis-sioned offi cers’ quarters (227, 229), stables (211, 214), and shops (205, 206, 210, 218). Wood-frame buildings typically play a secondary and often more temporary role. Stone was a special-purpose material, used when a building’s function had a high potential to cause fi res. Finally, concrete was the material of choice in the 1930s, the area’s last phase of con-struction.

In terms of both function and visual character, the early twentieth-century red-brick buildings dominate the area. Their understated Colonial Revival style should serve as the inspiration for the architectural form of major new construction northwest of Bloomington Road. The design of new ancillary structures could also be based on the red-brick buildings or could be infl uenced by the more modest wood-frame structures. Both structural types share a number of design ele-ments—gable roofs, multiple-light double-hung sash windows, simple trim, rectangular forms— that should be consid-ered for any new construction. Although slate or wood shingles may be prohibitively expensive or impractical, the color of modern roof materials should be related to slate (for brick buildings) or wood shingles (for wood-frame buildings).

One- to Two-Story Brick Buildings (1894 - 1910)

Walls of the early twentieth-century structures are red face brick. Brick walls of the 1894 forage house (218) are buff colored. Limestone ashlar foundations edge low to relatively high basements. Most of these buildings have gable roofs;

in some cases, the original slate sheathing has been replaced by asphalt shingles. Building 201 had a tile roof, and Build-ing 218 wood shingles. The gable roofs of the former barns (211, 214) are topped by monitors; the monitors originally held pairs of louvered shutters alternating with pairs of windows, perhaps casements. Parapet walls with a semicircular apex trim the gable ends of the drill hall (201).

The designs of these buildings are utilitarian, and presumably follow standard army plans. A few details hint at the infl u-ence of a popular early twentieth-century style, the Colonial Revival: the buildings fronting on Bloomington Road (205, 206, 222, 227, 229) have boxed eaves above a plain fascia, with returns on the gable ends. A fanlight pierces each gable end of the two-family non-commissioned offi cers’ quarters (227). The Colonial Revival style was further expressed by the original colonnaded open porches of the quarters (212 [demolished], 227, 229), which were replaced by the current enclosed porches during the 1930s. A large addition to Building 222 also dates to the 1930s; while built of brick, its fl at roof and streamlined design departs from the Colonial Revival spirit of the earlier structures.

Windows are mostly 6/6 or 8/8 wood sash. Sills are stone. Window and door lintels are segmental-arched or fl at.

Historic Materials and Massing

VHAMINHeimaM Highlight

Stone, a durable but cumbersome building material, was used for two structures where the threat of fi re was a major consideration. Building 239, dating from 1892, held the highly fl ammable oil that powered the post’s lanterns, the major source of light before electricity was introduced. Building 219 was erected in 1895 as a sawmill and was later used as a wheelwright shop. The stone walls were not enough to prevent a fi re in 1913, which partially demolished the structure; it was subsequently repaired.

The gable roof of Building 239 continues to be sheathed with corrugated metal as it has been since at least 1905. One window has been cut into each of the side walls, which were originally unbroken.

The metal roof of Building 219 has been replaced by modern asphalt shingles; the roof ’s hipped confi guration has been retained. Windows were originally 4/4 wood sash. The doorway in the southwest end was once wider and held double doors.

Single-Story Stone Buildings (1890’s)

Wood was used to construct a complex of stables and gun sheds for the artillery in 1903. Another construction cam-paign in 1916-1917 produced several one- and two-story utilitarian service buildings in the quartermaster area, including two garages (216, T-228), an offi ce building (221), and a paint shop (225). Of this cohort, only the paint shop, now a storehouse, and one of the garages (T-228) survive. These buildings look very similar to a wood-frame storehouse (217), which property records claim was built in 1879. The powder magazine (237), with walls and a roof of corrugated metal, matches the scale and form of the other wood-frame buildings but is otherwise an anomaly.

The wood-frame structures northwest of Bloomington Road, regardless of their function, share similar attributes. All except the shed-roofed garage have gable roofs. The roofs, originally covered with slate, tile, or wood shingles, are now protected by asphalt shingles. Exterior walls are sheathed in clapboard; windows are typically multiple-light double-hung sash. Ornamentation is virtually nonexistent.

Wood-Framed Buildings (1879 - 1917)

Concrete and Concrete- Block Structures (1930’s)

Fort Snelling was the focus of a number of federal relief projects during the Depression, and several buildings were produced as a result. The quartermaster oil station (215) is a small cast-concrete structure. The post exchange oil and gas house (220) is of rusticated concrete-block construction, while the CCC commissary warehouse (223) features smooth-faced concrete block. The latter building has a hipped roof; both oil stations have gable roofs. Concrete was also used for the stadium (demolished) on the parade grounds, a massive monolith with some Streamline Moderne detailing.

The design of these structures, particularly the CCC commissary warehouse and the stadium, is not sympathetic to the relatively homogeneous character of the other buildings developed in this area over a number of decades. Therefore, while the buildings produced during the Depression represent an important phase in Fort Snelling’s history, these struc-tures are less appropriate as models for new construction.

VHAMINHeimaM Highlight

# Other # Use Built Comments Photograph 217 F-7 Quartermaster

Storehouse; Plumbing Shop

The building is owned by the VA. The building is vacant.

1879- 1880, or ca.

1930s?

Original: 26’ x 100’; stone foundation, wood walls, shingle roof.

After WWI: dock along entire length of the front removed.

Some researchers claim this is the oldest surviving wood structure at the fort, but photographic evidence suggests that this might not be true. While there was a building on this site by the 1880s, an early photograph appears to depict a shorter building with a window under a gable that is now gone. In various images, the number of chimneys varies from one to two. On the east facade, the number of doorways varies from three to one, and the number of windows from fi ve to seven. The foundation now appears to be concrete. At the very least, this building was heavily modifi ed at some point, perhaps in the 1930s.

218 F-11 Forage House

The building is owned by the VA. The building is vacant, but used for storage of miscellaneous items.

1894 Original: 22’-2” x 77’; stone foundation, brick walls, slate roof.

Note: Quartermaster records list the original roof material as “shingle,” but the existing slate may be original.

Twentieth century: one window on the end of the building was enlarged.

EXTANT BUILDINGS (Continued)

219 F-10 Sawmill;

Wheelwright and Other Shops

The building is owned by the VA. The building is vacant, but used for storage of miscellaneous items.

1895 Original: 19’ x 40’-6”; stone foundation, stone walls, shingle roof.

Before 1913: converted to a wheelwright shop.

1913: partially destroyed by fi re.

1914: damaged by tornado.

1922: boiler removed and part of building converted to blacksmith shop.

1936: shops installed here, equipped with motors removed from Bldg. 210.

220 F-58 Post Exchange; Oil and Gas House; Auto Repair Shop

The building is owned by the VA.

The building is still operating as an auto repair shop.

1932 Original: 22’-6” x 60’; concrete foundation, concrete-block walls, shingle roof. (Replaced a very small gas station built in 1928.)

Late 1930s: re-roofed by WPA.

Rehab potential: The building is well suited to its current use.

222 F-14, F-18, F-19

Subsistence/ Quartermaster Storehouse

The building is owned by the VA. The build-ing is currently in use as a warehouse as well as for storage of mis-cellaneous items.

1904 Original: two parallel buildings (F-18 north, F-19 south), each approx. 32’ x 178’; stone/concrete foundation, brick walls, slate/tar-and-gravel roof. (Built on location of old post gardens.)

1905: Root House Building (32’ x 97’) is built on east wall of F-18.

1914: annex added connecting east (Bloomington Road) ends of F-18 and F-19.

1929: F-19 burns down.

1935: 4-story building with concrete foundation, red-brown brick walls and fl at tar roof built on site of F-19.

EXTANT BUILDINGS (Continued)

VHAMINHeimaM Highlight

223 F-61 CCC Commissary

Warehouse

The building is owned by the VA. This building is currently used to store large equipment and vehicles.

1935 Original: 130’ x 135’; concrete foundation, concrete-block walls, asphalt shingles and built-up tar and gravel roof.

(The fi rst building labeled F-61, the Quartermaster Store House, was built in 1917 and salvaged in 1934.)

224 F-16 Forage House;

Shops and Warehouse

The building is owned by the VA. The build-ing is currently used for storage of medical equipment.

1902 Original: 35’-4” x 184’-11”; stone foundation, brick walls, slate roof.

Between 1933-1936: the CCC converted the building to Utility Shops and the full-length loading platform on the south side was removed and replaced by four smaller platforms; apparently parts of the limestone foundation were replaced.

225 F-60 Storehouse

The building is owned by the VA. The build-ing is currently used for storage of fi les.

1917 Original: 20’-6” x 77’-4”; concrete and concrete block foundation, wood walls, shingle roof.

EXTANT BUILDINGS (Continued)

Minnehaha Avenue

A road following the alignment of Minnehaha Avenue is apparent on maps by the 1880s. It is important to maintain the section that survives and, if possible, restore the alignment to the west that is now a parking lot.

Bloomington Road

A road following the alignment of Bloomington Road is apparent on maps by the 1880s. It is important to maintain.

Rail Corridors Ca. 1902 1882-1885: map shows a railroad edging the Mississippi River bluff, but there is no apparent spur line.

1902: map shows a “proposed spur track”.

Ca. 1910: an updated 1890 base map shows rail spur lines to Quartermaster area.

1945: the spur lines are very clear in an aerial photograph.

Note: the existing light-rail line (pictured) is near the alignment of the rail spur that was furthest to the south and served the WPA warehouse complex.

LANDSCAPE FEATURES AND OBJECTS (Continued)

Light Standards Concrete light standards with original faceted lamps are typical of the 1910s-1920s.

Post The function of this post/marker is not known.

LANDSCAPE FEATURES AND OBJECTS (Continued)

This brought cavalry and artillery units to the fort, which had been primarily an infantry post. New barracks, stables, and other buildings were erected north and west of the parade grounds to house these units. The upgrading of Highway 55 in the mid-twentieth century destroyed some of these buildings and severed most connections between the rest; subsequent demolition has removed more of these facilities. The most prominent survivor on the south side of the highway is Building 201 (F-42), the cavalry drill hall. Artillery stables, shops, and storehouses occupied the vacant land between the drill hall and Building 210.

More remains from another major component of the early twentieth-century expansion, the quartermaster’s area. A larger fort needed more provisions, so improvements to the quartermaster’s area were essential. Surviving examples from this era include a shops building (Building 210/F-43), two stables (Buildings 211/F-49 and 214/F-56), and storehouses (Building 222/F-14 and the original F-18), as well as two residences (Building 227/F-30 and F-31 and Building 229/F-38 through F-41). It was also during this period that a railroad spur was extended into the quartermaster area.

See the undated map, Fort Snelling Minn. for the arrival of the cavalry and infantry areas of the West District, as well as further development of the Quartermaster Area. This map shows Fort Snelling around 1917.

Yet another building campaign came in the late 1920s and the 1930s, in part because motorized vehicles usurped the role of horses for combat and transportation. An example of the impact of this change is illustrated in Building 211, which was erected as a stable for the quartermaster in 1909 and converted into a “tank and motor shed” housing forty-two vehicles in 1932. Some new buildings like the gas station (Building 215/F-57) and the Post Exchange oil and gas house (Building 220/F-58), both dating from 1932, also refl ect the rise of motorized transportation. A deteriorating garage (Building T-228/F-45), which once had bays for ten cars, was moved here in 1920 from the cantonment that had been developed for World War I.

Work programs developed during the economic depression of the 1930s also shaped the quartermaster’s area. A large WPA warehouse complex (Building 230; demolished) was west of Bloomington Road near where the light-rail tracks now run. The CCC commissary warehouse (Building 223/F-61), constructed in 1935, was cobbled together with an interesting collection of salvaged materials. WPA laborers replaced wood

Quartermaster area at intersection of

Minnehaha Avenue and Bloomington Road.

Building 218 exterior, south and east elevations

Building 218 exterior, east elevation

218 – Forage House

Current Use:

The building is owned by the VA.

The building is vacant, but used for storage of miscellaneous items.

Structure:

Building is small – one room. Brick load-bearing walls, wood roof truss, stone foundation. No basement or usable attic.

Condition of Interior:

Part of the room has a dark brown wood beadboard ceiling, the other part is exposed structure.

Exterior brick walls are painted white.

At some point a large opening was fi lled in with clay tiles, painted white.

Appears to be structurally sound, but cosmetic repairs are necessary.

No visible evidence of water damage.

Interior Historic/Character Defi ning Elements:

Defi ning construction elements include the exposed wood roof struc-ture,…