PRESERVATION - RACINE, INC. NEWSLETTER

SPRING 1986

Where Have All the Quonsets Gone?

Newsweek called it "The Ubiquitous Quonset" in 1946, and in the years just after World War II, it did seem to be everywhere. Great Lakes Steel Corporation in Detroit, which continued to build the wartime Quonset, claimed 257 adaptations of the hut to peacetime use; and many former Seabees who had put up Quonsets in the Pacific, Newsweek reported, were "now acting as dealers" for them. The Quonset hut had been designed for the Navy; and its history began—as related in the "Talk of the Town" column of The New Yorker—"on what we like to think of as a dark and stormy night in 1941, when the Navy undertook to investigate prefabricated housing for the Navy men then being sent to overseas stations." According to The New Yorker: "What the Navy wanted was a shelter that could be mass-produced, that could be used in tropical and arctic climates and the climates in between, that would require a minimum of shipping space, and that could be set up and taken down by the men who lived in it, and that would be rotproof, verminproof, and any other proof that the circumstances called for." In March of 1941, the Navy turned over this design problem to the George A. Fuller Con­ struction Company who, in turn, gave it to their own team of architects: Otto Brandenber- ger, Tomasino Secondino, Dominic Urgo, and Robert McDonnell. Their solution was manufac­ tured, to begin with, at Quonset Point, Rhode Island—thus the name—and by June, the first of the huts were ready to be shipped. There are at least two historical antecedents to the Quonset hut. The first was native to America—the longhouse built by the Iroquois in New York State during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It was constructed of wooden poles, stripped of their bark and tied together in a basketlike frame. Overlapping slabs of Elm bark were sewn onto this frame to cover the vertical walls and the high, barrel roof. The longhouse, like the Quonset, could be added to, front and rear, to form an extensive hump-roofed, tunnel-like shelter for a commune of related Indian families.

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Iroquois Longhouse British Nissen Hut 2 QUONSET HUTS continued The second precedent was a prefabricated structure with a steel frame covered by bolted sections of corrugated iron. It had been patented by Lieutenant Colonel Peter N. Nissen in 1916 and it was used extensively by the British during the First World War and after. The problem with the Nissen hut, according to Robert McDonnell—the only member of the Fuller design team who is alive today—was that it was held together at the bottom by cables and turnbuckles. "One severed turnbuckle," McDonnell explained, "and the whole thing flaps open!" McDonnell is now over seventy and retired, but he' still lives only a few miles from Quon­ set Point. He was interviewed for a recent article on the Quonset hut in Yankee magazine (November 1985). The Fuller team had designed a structure shaped like a tin can that had been cut in half lengthwise. The frame was semicircular beams with curved sheet steel attached to them for the outer walls and Masonite for the inner walls, with insulation sandwiched between. Their biggest problem, according to McDonnell, was finding a way "to bend the steel without deforming it. It's not easy," he explained, "to bend a corru­ gated steel sheet—the ridges begin to flatten out and kink." Eventually, "one of the subcontractors, Anderson Sheet Metal of Providence, solved the problem of bending the steel by using big rollers. The noise it made! All kinds of tortured squealing! You'd go bananas if you didn't keep your ears plugged." McDonnell insists that "anything bigger than 16 by 36 is not a true Quonset hut, and I refuse to let anyone call it that." He points out that the curve of the roof of a true Quonset hut goes all the way to the ground. "There are no vertical sides. The idea was that you could pile dirt up around these to protect them from shelling, and they wouldn't collapse under the weight. One of the companies trying to get the contract to build them designed one with vertical sides and put it next to one of ours. Then dirt was piled on both of them. They completely buried ours, with no problem," he remembers with a smile. "Theirs collapsed before the dirt was halfway up the walls." The design proved equal to its promise: "During the first winter of their use, a gale of hurricane proportions smashed into an Allied base in Iceland, sinking ships at anchor, tossing airplanes around like toys, and ripping the coverings completely off the Nissen huts there. The Quonset huts alongside them were undamaged." The huts were used as barracks, as chapels, as hospitals, and as needed. More than 32,000 of them were built at Quonset Point, but the two factories there could not keep up with the demand. Their production was handed over to the Strand Steel Division of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation. It was Strand who developed the Quonset "20" (20 feet wide and 48 feet long) and the "40" (40 feet wide and 100 feet long). "The Seabees had a field day with this type," accord­ ing to The New Yorker, "joining one to another and creating great agglomerations of huts. The greatest' single parlay of '40s' was a warehouse on Guam. It covered fifty-four thousand square feet and was nicknamed the Multiple Mae West." According to McDonnell, "Those were utility huts;" but they were Quonsets to GIs from Guam to Greenland and,; eventually, to Americans from sea to shining sea. Great Lakes Steel produced more than 150,000 Quonsets by the end of the war. Some never got overseas. They proved to be as versatile in peace as they had been in war. Quonsets could at one time be found behind almost every city school in America, housing classrooms for the bulging enrollments of the postwar baby boom. Quonsets of one size or another served as a drug store in Sayre, Pennsylvania; as a supermarket in Greenville, Michigan; as an office building in Oklahoma City; as a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado; as a factory in Chula Vista, California. But most of all they served to ease the housing shortage created by the thousands of returning veterans and their new families. On the campuses of colleges throughout the country Quonset villages were set up to house married veterans taking advantage of the GI Bill to further their education. Two thou­ sand of them were built in New York City parks to help ease the local housing shortage. When one former lieutenant who had been in Greenland was told that Quonset huts were being constructed in Canarsie Beach Park to house returning GIs and their families, he continued on page ten State Street In 1839 Nelson A. Walker became the first owner of 160 acres within which the schoolhouse property was located. Part Two Various changes of ownership and parti­ tions followed until 1862 when Hannah and Robert Tapling sold one half acre That part of State Street from the to the Mt. Pleasant School District angle at Memorial Drive to where it No. 21. It seems safe to assume that becomes Northwestern Avenue at Albert after that date the school building Street has a number of buildings of his­ torical or architectural interest: two would have been built on its hill schoolhouses, a church with a railroad sloping down to State Street. Accord­ station for a Sunday School room, a ing to a newspaper article written many factory building and at least three years later it was called Lincoln houses. School, a predecessor to the large, city-owned, boarded-up Lincoln School This was an important early road as it built in 1890 across the street. The led through Sagetown to the first saw­ first Lincoln School probably served mill in the area at the dam, which was until the larger one was built, established by William See in 1835. although in 1887 when the area was The name of this section of the street annexed to the city a transfer of has been changeS four times, from the ownership from the City of Racine to Raymond Plank Road to Rapids Road to William Smeiding was recorded. A new Northwestern Avenue and now to State Mt. Pleasant District No. 21 school was Street. built in 1887 just outside the city It apparently developed as a mixed limits. residential and commercial street as it Although the school was outside the remains today. The 1897 City Directory, zone of greatest damage of the 1883 tor­ the first that lists addresses by nado, an undated newspaper clipping, streets, shows a variety of businesses apparently written in the 1940s, tells including a number of grocery stores that the south end of the building was and meat markets, as well as residences, "twisted off" but there is no evidence and many Danish names are listed for of this. Part of the hill between the residents and business people. building and the commercial buildings on State Street has been excavated leaving the old foundation exposed to some height, with its unused doors and windows. 7 ,n It was originally remodelled in 1892 for a residence and at one time had two apartments, although now it houses only the Rollin Schultz family. It is difficult to visualize this cheerful and comfortable home as a school house. It would seem that there must have been at least two rooms, but exactly where the entrances might have been has been Old Schoolhouse hidden by the remodeling and additions. Evidence of the pot-bellied stoves that The oldest building of those listed must have been used is shown by several above is a schoolhouse converted to a painted over flue stoppers. Square residence. The long brick building is nails can be seen in the floor, part of inconspicuous behind the Haas Drug which is hard wood and other parts are Store, and it is owned by Mr. James soft wood, much worn and splintery. Haas. A study of the abstract loaned This is surely an example of the preser­ to us by Mr. and Mrs. Haas would indi­ vationists' delight, the adaptive use of cate that the date of construction of a sound building for almost a hundred the building was sometime after 1862. years . STATE STREET continued The Badger Manufacturing Company is of interest because its operations manager Another old survivor is St. Stephen's was Flora Ellinger, who, according to a church at 1769 State Street. A very Journal Times headline "changed factory early picture shows a carpenter gothic life in Racine." Her husband, Albert, building with what appears to be wide had expanded his ready-to-wear manufac­ board and batten vertical siding. It is turing business from Chicago to Racine, surrounded by a picket fence (to keep and the operations manager whom he out cows and horses) and the fields ; appointed could not manage the so- around it show no buildings in sight. called "Buffalo Bill girls," a rough The cost of the church, built in 1874, lot of women who could not be depended was $2300. on. Flora asked her husband for the job and got it. She not only managed the "Buffalo Bill girls," but made a number of inventions of varying impor­ tance. One was a method of starching the manufactured clothes successfully and cheaply, but she also invented a primitive zipper, a rectangular roast­ ing pan, an arm rest for telephones, a chair for beauty parlors, and a hand held dishwasher. One unsuccessful invention which cost the company dearly was a rainproofing method which didn't work after many orders had been filled for Marshall Field's and other stores. Old Northwestern Depot Mrs. Ellinger, who rented the home now in serious disrepair at State and Union The mission from which the church Streets, was civic minded and interested developed was begun by students at in the welfare of her employees. She Racine College. Professor Robert Hind- installed a baseball diamond and a ley, a chemist at the Horlick Malted bicycle track at the plant and planted Milk Factory was a lay reader for the a floral map of the United States. She parish from 1893 to 1926. At the turn arranged a yearly company picnic, pre­ of the century he noticed that the 1888 paring the food herself with the help frame Stick Style Northwestern Railroad of her friend Jennie Wustum, and hired station, which was being replaced by the Schulte Band for the festivities. the present unused structure, had been She didn't go to the picnic herself as moved to the side of the road. He per­ she feared her presence might inhibit suaded the president of the company to the fun, but afterwards the band always donate the building to the parish and came to her home with some of the moved it to the rear of the church to employees to serenade her. serve as a parish hall and Sunday School room. The move and the remodel­ Mrs. Ellinger, after her husband died, ing cost about $1000. Neither the moved to Milwaukee to manage one of his addition nor the church itself has had enterprises there and never could get basic changes in structure, although out of the managing business. Even in the board and batten siding has been her 90s she was managing a small firm replaced by clapboard. and wrote an autobiography in her man­ sion on the lake shore in Milwaukee, assisted by the late Nelson Peter Ross, The factory building at the corner of an early active and contributing member State and Prospect Streets housed the of Preservation-Racine. Badger Manufacturing Company from about Three residences, 1601 State Street and 1906 to 19 18, the Davies Shoe Company the two just west of it, are a good from about 19 18 to 1929 and was one of grouping of late nineteenth century the early sites of the Racine Hydrau­ residential architectural styles. (See lics Company. cover article.) continued on page six The

Walker

House

In several recent issues of this news­ Gordon Walker, in Grassroots, says that letter mention has been made of the Wal­ William A. acquired the property at Ninth ker homes which were built on the north­ and Lake at the turn of the century but east corner of Lake Avenue and Ninth city directories show that he had been Street. It is surely time to give you living at 845 Lake prior to that time. more information about these buildings The property then extended east to the and the Walker family who built and lived lake bank and had two houses on it, one in them. It would be a very long story at 845 Lake, and the other at 40 Ninth if all the details learned from a study Street, neither of which exists today. of Sanborn maps, city directories, and In 1906 Willard Walker, son of William, an article in the Grassroots History of built a house at 42 Ninth Street. Racine County were set down here, but an outline follows. The 1908 Sanborn map shows outlines of The house at 845 Lake Avenue that three houses on the property, none of Preservation-Racine expects to move is which we know today. architecturally significant as a Prairie Style building, a style created by Frank With a few exceptions, everyone living Lloyd Wright. The characteristics of at 845 Lake, and 40 or 42 Ninth Street that style which this house exhibits are from 188 1 to 1952 was named Walker. the combination of brick and stucco About 1923, 40 and 42 Ninth street were walls, the rectilinear details of wood either moved or torn down. Willard Wal­ trim, and the prominent piers on.the ker and his family moved to 931 Lake first floor facade. Avenue while a new house was being built This house was built in 1909 by William for them at 42 Ninth Street. It was A. Walker, who lived there until he died; this house that was moved to the corner his wife Margaret remained there until of Wisconsin Avenue and Sixteenth Street 1935. Gordon Walker, William's grandson, by George and Debbie Blaustein. and his wife Suzanne lived there from 1939 to 1952. ; , The three generations of the Walker fam­ William A. Walker and his wife, Margaret ily who lived on this property have con­ Goff Walker, came to Racine in the 1870s tributed much to the prosperity of Racine at the urging of her brother. After and have been involved in numerous com­ engaging in a number of business enter­ munity concerns, fulfilling the family prises, in 1908 William established the credo mentioned by Gordon Walker in Walker Manufacturing Company which has Grassroots: "Life is not a Spectator become one of Racine's leading industries Sport." Local Landmark STATE STREET continued Through the efforts of the business men located there, the eastern section of State Street has been studied for possible nomination to the National Register as a Historic District. This western section, with its history going back to the days of plank roads, may also be worthy of study for that purpose, Dorothy Osborne ********* This story and the one in the December This house at 324 DeKoven Avenue is issue of the newsletter were written Racine's most recently designated local in the hope that interest in the his­ landmark. Mayor Olson presented a Racine tory and architecture of the north side Landmark plaque to Mr. and Mrs. James will be increased. The editors would Haas during a ceremony before the regular like more ideas for articles and we city council meeting on February 4, 1986. would appreciate any research you may have done about the north side. Please Susan Carr describes the house as call us and let us know what you are probably the finest house in the Arts and working on. Crafts Style in Racine. Its stucco surfaces, the cutout detailing of its The Editors shutters, and the rectilinear design of the light fixtures flanking its main entry are typical of this style. Donations The house was designed by Racine archi­ In February Preservation-Racine gave tects Albert Arthur Guilbert and Edmund one hundred dollars each to the Public B. Funston and built in 1909 for Mr. War­ Library for books on preservation and to ren Davis. It was purchased by Mr. and the Historical Museum Library for book Mrs. Haas in 1956. binding to preserve local history materials

Please Pay Your Dues Dues are due! Please fill out this form and mail it with your check now to keep your membership current.

SUPPORT PRESERVATION-RACINE BY YOUR MEMBERSHIP Mail to: Preservation-Racine, Inc., P. 0. Box 383, Racine, WI 5340 1 Name Telephone Address City_ Zip_ Type of Membership: Student $2 Individual $5 Family $7.50 Contributing $25 (or more) Corporate $100 Life $150 Check enclosed Please bill me - .j ' _ . -.;•• I will participate I can't participate, but I want to support Preservation-Racine with a financial contribution. '•' From the President Kreuser. Any of us will find out what your interests are—talents are nice, Even while the hand of winter holds too, but they can be developed—and we'll Wisconsin lifeless in its steely grip, find the right place for you. vigorous activity keeps warmth in Preservat ion-Racine. What do we need? Fresh ideas about Racine's buildings and places. Fresh Committees are working on the programs ideas for projects. People who enjoy for National Preservation Week in May talking to other people about Racine. and on the Tour of Historic Places in People who want to get to know Racine September. In conjunction with these better. People who want to learn more events sub-committees are making plans about architecture and history. People to present plaques to mark buildings in who like to write. People who like to Racine County that are on the National organize. People who like to phone. Register of Historic Places and to organize a raffle for a quilt made by Call us. We want to hear from you! hand by members of Preservation-Racine. You 11 soon find yourself on a congenial committee or even on the board! The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has set up a tour of Racine, which will Rod Botts be planned and led by our organization. Plans are also being made with the Racine Public Library to produce a video­ tape of Racine's architectural and his­ Where Is It? torical gems for deposit in the library's archives. When the ground thaws for good in the spring, the house moving project should enter its final phase—the actual moving of the Prairie Style house from Ninth and Lake to 16th and College. The editors of this newsletter ar§ busy working on future issues, and every week a request comes in for a presentation of our slide show or some other presentation about Racine's history and architecture. By now I hope you readers are saying, "Wow! Preservation-Racine really does a lot! I'd sure like to get active in this group and do some of those things, too, besides paying my dues and supporting the This cupola and dormer grace a building tour. I wonder how I could go about it?" not far from Racine. I hope you're thinking something like this, because the plain fact is that See page eight for answer. Preservation-Racine needs more help. As creative and energetic as the members are who do all these things now for our organization, they run out of ideas and Officers energy from time to time. Besides, President Rod Botts they're friendly people who would like to Vice President Carol Kreuser have some new workers to get acquainted Secretary Mary Whitman with. .^ Treasurer Jean Singer

All it takes to get more involved is Preservation-Racine, Inc. Newsletter picking up the telephone and calling me. Rod Botts, or Kathy Rouse, chairman of Editors Dorothy Osborne this year's nominating committee, or ' '< . : •;;, ,} Don Rintz Carolyn Chaplin or Sandra Shove or Carol Roberta Fiene Regional Meetings Answer:

The Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee will be the site, April 12th, for one of five regional meetings sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preserva­ tion, the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Association of Preservation Commissions, and the Wis­ consin Coalition for the Preservation of Historic Buildings and Properties. The purposes of the meetings are: to build awareness of historic preserva­ tion at the local, state, and national level; to create a forum for discussing issues that affect local and statewide preservation activity; to develop an action plan for addressing these issues; and to help define the role and struc­ ture of a statewide organization to implement the action plan. This beautiful barn at 47 17 Lathrop Those who wish to attend should mail Avenue has two cupolas and four dormers; their check for $10.00 payable to the the sides have a herringbone pattern of National Trust with the following infor­ shingling and the front has artificial mation: name, address, telephone number, timbering. It was built by Ernest and should state that they will attend Klinkert, a Racine brewer and an enthu­ the Milwaukee session on April 12th. siastic harness racer, as a stable for This should be mailed to the National his horses. Trust for Historic Preservation, 407 South Dearborn Street, Suite 7 10, Chicago, Illinois, 60605. Cost of the New Members luncheon is included in the registra­ tion fee. JoAnn Franzke Further information will be available 5000 Graceland Blvd. #2 12 06 at our next meeting, or you may call Eleanor Franzke Dorothy Osborne, 634-5352. 5000 Graceland Blvd. #2 12 06 Mark Ladwig 1656 Cleveland Ave. 05 Coming Up *' Lee and Margy Sommerfeld 3040 N. Main St. 02 Racine Expo '86 ^ ,. ,,. April 1 1-13 Mr. & Mrs. Jay 0. Suchland 205 Lombard Ave. 02 Racine County Historical Society and Museum Patron Party April 27 Thank You Celebrate Racine Festival '•• , ! May 2-4 Our new life member, Elsie Stropes, has National Preservation Week graciously offered to stock our Preser­ May 11-17 vation-Racine mugs, notepaper, and post­ card books in her shop, the Studio, Wright Plus Tour 1213 College Avenue. Preservation-Racine May 17 has a large amount of money invested in Preservation-Racine Tour of Historic these items and we greatly appreciate Places this member's volunteer effort to sell September 28 them. Patron Party Details Exposed

A gala Dinner Dance is being planned in Several months ago city inspectors order to raise funds for the Racine declared wiring in the natural history County Historical Society and Museum. tunnel at the Racine County Historical Museum to be unsafe, and the exhibit was Northern Yankees will confront Southern closed. To utilize part of this area Confederates at Meadowbrook (Country the large plaster tree opposite the Club) Plantation at 5:00 p.m. Sunday, front entrance was removed, exhibit walls April 27, 1986. Invited guests of the were taken down, and a portion of the Racine County Historical Society and false ceiling was opened up. This Museum will take a horse and buggy ride exposed two of the eight handsome Ionic past the majestic double lines of oak, columns on the first floor of the Museum, past the fields where "Cotton is King" an attractive egg and dart plaster cor­ before entering a spectacular Time Cap­ nice, and a skylight that once provided sule for a sojourn back to the Civil War natural light above the library's front Era. "Time Men" will open the doors to u desk. (The building was erected in 1904 the romantic splendor of the "Old South" solely for use as a public library.) as coquettish Southern Belles and chiv­ An expanded gift shop will be moving alrous charming Aristocrats offer mint , -. into this area. juleps underneath moonlight and magno­ * , r- Other remodeling and redecorating lias. Scrumptious seafood delicacies, ;• : •. include an enlarged history library traditional fried chicken legs, and ,,: ; which now occupies two rooms, one j delectable ham bits will tempt tastebuds serving as an archive and the other as a while fortunes are read, races are run, research room. The business office has kisses are bought! Guests will savour a been moved to the northeast corner of delicious gourmet meal featuring a filet the first floor. done to perfection and key lime pie. While dining, they will enjoy the beau­ Those members of Preservation-Racine who tiful music of strolling violins. The attended our January meeting at the fabulous music of David Kennedy's ten , •'; Museum had an opportunity to see this v piece orchestra will provide the back­ remodeling in progress. For those who ground for a fantastic floor show fea­ weren't able to be there we show the turing the Virginia Reel, "Porgy and accompanying photograph of a column. Bess" and the "Laugh-In Gang." Hank Stoddard, famous television celebrity (Sports Director, WTMJ-TV Channel 4) will emcee the festivities. Next will be the exciting drama of the Battle of Gettysburg as the awesome Army of the South challenges the Mighty Men of the North. The stirring words of Abe "Ziolkowski" Lincoln will top off an unforgettable evening!

Many people in the community are helping to make this a memorable event. Please come and help us attain our goal of raising $30,000.00 so that we can create a museum that will not only benefit The editors are pleased that these archi­ Racine, but will also attract state and tectural details are once again visible national visitors. If you would like to parts of this building in the Renaissance attend the Patron Party and did not Revival Style and look forward to the receive an invitation, please call the exposure of the remaining columns and Museum, 637-8585. decorative plaster molding and the floor Joyce Leffler to ceiling fireplace in the north General Chairman gallery. :) 10 QUONSET HUTS continued '/ ' recalled: "We were like bugs in a rug in our little Quonset. Sometimes the temperature would go down to 20 degrees below zero, but we wouldn't know it inside." His only com­ plaint was that whenever he wanted to use the bathroom, he had to walk a city block through the cold to the latrine. When he was told that each of the Quonsets being set up in New York would have its own bathroom, he whistled in surprise and said, "That makes it practically a palace." The September issue of House Beautiful in 1946 contained an article on how to convert a - Quonset to an emergency home. The following December Woman's Home Companion carried a picture story entitled "Home Is a Quonset." It showed ex-signalman George Downs and his family living in "half a hut." Their Quonset community in Jamaica Bay was an encampment of hundreds of huts, each divided into two apartments. The rent was $36.00 a month, . including gas and electricity. Every apartment had a gas range, an electric refrigerator, and a bathroom with a stall shower—no tub and no place to hang a picture. Not all postwar Quonsets were so rudimentary. The American abstract artist, Robert Mother­ well, had a house and studio built for him by the French designer, Pierre Chardeau, at East Hampton, Long Island. The steel and glass design was adapted from the Quonset hut and The New York Times cited it as one of the finest examples of modern architecture. House Beaut iful presented a plan for a war surplus. Army pre-fab made of wood but similar in design to a metal Quonset. It had an attached three-car garage, a 20 by 30 foot covered patio, and a brick wall in the living room with a fireplace. On the other side of the brick wall, facing the patio, was a built-in barbecue grill. •'- In 1947 Architectural Record lukewarmly called the Quonset "an interesting architectural form." Today, one architectural historian claims it is "among our most unappreciated historic buildings." A Rhode Island preservationist maintains: "You can talk all you want about Greek Revival and such, but to people my age, who were of draft age during World War II, the Quonset hut is as familiar as a hot dog." Another architectural historian, David Chase, insists: "The Quonset hut is a characteristically American enterprise, a need defined quickly and fulfilled with ingenuity, borrowing and improving upon previous ,^ solutions. It's like the jeep." The history which may have been made within the Quonset has only begun to be recorded. In a hut at Oregon State, Bernard Malamud wrote some of the short stories that brought him literary fame. In another, Gerald Ford conducted his first campaign for Congress. Count­ less numbers of Yuppies were born in Quonset huts while their fathers were going to college under the GI Bill. The Quonset hut may become, late in this century, the symbol of humble but honest origin that the log cabin was in the last. Like the log cabin, a few Quonsets ought to be preserved. To that end David Chase prepared the papers for nominating 17 of them at Quonset Point to the National Register of Historic Places. The nomination had to overcome a few objections, but it was successful. Like the log cabin, the Quonset hut has all but vanished from the American landscape, and we know already that the jeep is next. Don Rintz

QUONSET HUTS?

IN

STURTEVANT QUONSET HUTS continued 11

We have been unable to find anyone presently living in a Quonset hut in the City of Racine. In fact, despite the severe housing shortage here as everywhere else after World War II, there may never have been any Quonsets used for housing within the city limits. If you remember any we would very much like to know about them. There are six houses in Sturtevant along 97th Street and Corliss Avenue which look like Quonsets covered with siding and roofing materials. Could they be an adaptation of the wooden Quonsets built for the Army? We don't know. At least one World War II veteran insists they were there before the war. If so, they are not Quonsets at all. A few Quonsets are still used by businesses in Racine. One can be found among the build­ ings of Racine Steel Castings (1442 North Memorial Drive); another is used by Southeastern Janitorial Services (1617 Yout Street).

Double Quonset at Quonset Used by Racine Steel Castings Southeastern Janitorial Services

The Army's current version of the Quon­ set can be seen on the grounds of the Army Reserve Center (2310 Center Street) It is standard issue, has a steel frame and a canvas cover. It is used for field maintenance.

If you have any additional information about Quonsets in Racine, at present or in the past, or if you have any pic­ tures of any, please let us know. Canvas Quonset at the Army Reserve Center The Editors

The illustration of the Iroquois longhouse is from Lester Walker's American Shelter (The Overlook Press, 1981). The illustration of the Nissen hut is from the Encyclopedia of Architectural Technology edited by Pedro Guedes (McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1979). Particular thanks to Fred Gunther and Bob Johnson for information on local Quonset huts. 2: H- (U cr H « rt) 00 CO > 03 CO H- z ta rt CO c P3 3 0) 03 c 3 rt cn 03 03 0 M H- X a. cr 3 3 I-t) 1-1 rt rs rt I-' m< I—" cr rt) H- rt) rt M- H- rt) a" rt i-( cr cn m c 3 rt) 3" O 3 ^ (U fi) O 1-1 CO i-( D. rt) rt H- 3 rt) ># •" 1-1 H- I-' lU •^ CO rt) cn 03 (-• to 3 (-' n 0) ft cn rt) O I—- cn 0 ^ rt) (n ?r 3 oo H- X $J XI (U »^ n> D. rt) 03 oo 03 P H- ?o 9 3 H l-l oo tn rt o 3 3 9 fB n rt) o (B en 00 C CO a. s Q. V •o CL rt 00 CO CO ^^ VOOQ ft rt) h-' c H- rt H- « . OQ o n rt Ml a fD cr 1-1 cn 2: a (U rt) 3 o i-t 03 rt) ^ rt) rt 1-1 rt) < cn 1-1 (-•• 3 rt O cn rt) rt) »: 3 rt) M rt rt 03 O ^^ 03 Ml M ja i-t n <—t- rt D rt 3* rt cn H- 9 c n CO rt n> H- cr 3* 1—' < H- n O 3 3* H> 3" 0) rt) rt) rt) Ml ft 0 • O cn V T) rt)< 1-1 h-' D. 1-1 rt)^- ' 3" c rt o oo 1—' 3 O a: rt) D en n »-( cn rt) € 03 P3 e M- 3 m o rt o 0) 3 H- n • cn cn rt a: 3" 3" S cr o rt c rt) rt ti , 0) § n . 3 o ft 3" h-' S O >^ i-h o 0) H- 03 03 03 1-1 rt 3 3- t, 1-1 1-h (X 1-1 rt rt t-" O rt) I-' O O o. cn rt) 3- n 3 PO i-t ^ c O CO o XD H- »^ Cfl a H- o c cn ON iTd rt O) rt 5C rt) < 03 3 1-t rt) . o t—' 3" K 3 o rt 03 rt) 03 rt) OQ o O € 1-1 rt rt 3 ^^o JJ D) !«r rt 3" H- M C/3 rt) ^—* • p CO 3* fD rt rt cn on o at e i-h n rt)< CO

Preservation-Racine, Inc. I ? P. 0. Box 383 Racine, Wisconsin 53401 Non-Profit Org. U. S. POSTAGE PAID Racine, Wisconsin Permit No. 242

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