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FORT BENNING, INFANTRY HALL HABS GA-2392-F (Building No. 4) HABS GA-2392-F (Academic Building) (School Building) North side of Karker Street between Chesney and Holtz Streets Fort Benning Military Reservation Chattahoochee County Georgia PHOTOGRAPHS WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY SOUTHEAST REGIONAL OFFICE National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior 100 Alabama St. NW Atlanta, GA 30303 HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY Fort Benning, Infantry Hall (Building No. 4, Academic Building, School Building) HABS No. GA-2392-F Location: Infantry Hall, Building No. 4, is located on the north side of Karker Street, north west of the intersection of Edwards Street and Eckle Street within the Fort Benning Military Reservation, Chattahoochee County, Georgia. 1955 (revised 1993) USGS 7.5’ Fort Benning Georgia- Alabama topographic quadrangle Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates: (NAD83) E691119 N3581307 Present Owner: Fort Benning Military Reservation, U.S. Army. Present Occupant: The United States Army Infantry School, Garrison Commander Fort Benning, Donovan Technical Library, and associated support commands and functions. Present Use: The United States Army Infantry School, Garrison Commander Fort Benning, Donovan Technical Library, and associated support commands and functions. Significance: Infantry Hall, Building No. 4; the entry landscape that includes the 100’ flagpole, Facility No. M9799; the statue The Infantryman/Follow Me; the semicircle of flagpoles used to display state flags; as well as York Field are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under Criterion Consideration G and Criteria A and C. PART 1. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History: FORT BENNING, Infantry Hall (Building No. 4, Academic Building, School Building) HABS No. GA-2392-F (page 2) 1. Date of erection: 1964. Fort Benning Real Property Records (Directorate of Public Works nd1) indicate this date as well as the installation newspaper, The Bayonet, the local Columbus, Georgia, newspaper, The Columbus Enquirer, and numerous military publications such as Infantry Magazine (September-October 1964:33- 35) which covered the story of the building’s opening. Construction was begun in 1962 and the building, then simply called the Academic or School Building, was accepted in April 1964 (The Bayonet May 1, 1964:1). 2. Architect: Abreu [Francis Louis Abreu 1896-1969] & Robeson [James Lee Robeson 1905-1991], Architects and Engineers Brunswick and Atlanta, Georgia. Francis Louis Abreu, the son of Diego and Marie Jova Abreu, was born December 3, 1896, at Dannskammer his maternal grandparents’ estate on the Hudson River near Newburgh, New York. His grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Juan Jacinto Jova, were wealthy Spanish nationals who owned Jova Brickworks in Newburgh. His father, a Cuban educated in Spain, owned a Cuban sugar plantation as well as property in Newburgh. Francis divided his childhood between Dannskammer and his father’s plantation in Cuba (Rathbun 1982; Piland et al. 1997). Abreu attended the Newburg Free Academy and in 1916 enrolled in Cornell. He interrupted his education to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War I returning to Cornell in 1919 and graduating in 1921 (American Institute of Architects [AIA] January 7, 1942A; Piland et al. 1997). During his youth, Abreu traveled extensively to such places as Cuba, South America, England, and several other European countries (AIA January 7, 1942A). Immediately upon graduation and until 1923, Abreu began working for Arnold W. Brunner, Quartermaster Corps, United States Military Academy, West Point, which is located immediately south of Newburgh on the Hudson River. The 1920s was a period of expansion for FORT BENNING, Infantry Hall (Building No. 4, Academic Building, School Building) HABS No. GA-2392-F (page 3) West Point, and Brunner was involved in the creation of Washington Hall (HABS No. NY-5780-44) and probably Michie Stadium, both signature buildings at the school (Nolte and Cinquino 1999). After this initial work, Abreu began a successful career creating Mediterranean and Spanish Colonial Revival style residences and buildings in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where his parents and grandparents had recently moved. Because of Abreu’s early, expansive, and extensive work in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, there has been much speculation as to his earliest work experience in that state. Family tradition holds that initially he worked for the legendary Florida real estate developer Joseph Young at Hollywood-by-the-Sea, a residential community developed by Young’s company Hollywood Land and Water Company that employed its own engineers, architects, and other technicians (Piland et al. 1997). It has also been theorized that Abreu worked with another Florida legend, Addison Mizner, south Florida’s most famous boom time architect (Rathbun 1982). While many are quick to associate Abreu with Young and Mizner, he did work with two less well known but very influential architectural groups. Abreu’s American Institute of Architects (AIA) records indicate that he was a Draftsman in the office of Harvey & Clarke, West Palm Beach, in 1923 and in the office of William Manley King, West Palm Beach, in 1924. Then in 1924, he began his own practice without a partner (AIA January 7, 1942A; AIA May 7, 1946). Henry Stephen Harvey and L. Phillip Clarke of West Palm Beach are considered the most sought after Florida commercial architects of the 1920s. They designed 35 depots for the Seaboard Air Line railroad company in Florida (Palm Beach Preservation Foundation 2008; State of Florida 2008). William Manley King worked in Palm Beach from 1920 to 1962 originally designing high-end residences primarily in Mediterranean, Moorish, and Spanish Colonial Revival styles (Florida Historic Homes 2008). Abreu worked with these individuals gaining experience in the FORT BENNING, Infantry Hall (Building No. 4, Academic Building, School Building) HABS No. GA-2392-F (page 4) Florida market and in 1924 received a commission from his grandfather, Juan Jacinto Jova, to design a beach house at Alhambra Street, now Highway A1A (Rathbun 1982). This house in the Spanish Colonial Revival style was the first of many residences he would design in the area. He next began designing residences for his mother’s friends who needed winter homes and as his reputation grew he no longer needed his family connections. Abreu also began to expand into commercial and public buildings such as cafes, hotels, schools, pools, post offices, and office buildings (The Abreu Charitable Trust 2007; Genealogy Society of Broward County [GSBC] Florida 2007). Unfortunately, as Abreu’s star began to rise, the Florida building boom began to burst as a result of a series of hurricanes and bad economic decisions. He would have to expand his practice out of the state. Far less information is known about James Lee Robeson. Robeson was born January 9, 1905, in Willington, North Carolina where he attended New Hanover High School. He attended the Georgia School of Technology (Georgia Tech) and graduated in 1926. From 1921-1924 he was a Draftsman with Lynch & Ford, Wilmington, North Carolina, presumably during the summer months; from 1924-1926 he was a Draftsman for L. McD. Hicks, Florence South Carolina, and from 1926-1929 he was a Draftsman for Edwards and Sayward, Atlanta, Georgia (AIA January 7, 1942B; AIA May 7, 1946). William A. Edwards and William J. Sayward, the partners of Edwards and Sayward, formed one of the leading Atlanta architectural firms between 1912 and 1932. The firm specialized in educational buildings although it undertook a wide variety of projects including “University Homes” Atlanta’s second great slum clearing project in the 1920s. Edwards and Sayward also designed a number of commercial buildings, especially banks (Atlanta.Org 2008). Robeson was with this firm when he met Abreu. FORT BENNING, Infantry Hall (Building No. 4, Academic Building, School Building) HABS No. GA-2392-F (page 5) In 1928, Abreu was hired to design parts of the famous Cloister Hotel on Sea Island, Georgia, where he had also designed numerous houses including that of playwright Eugene O’Neil. While on Sea Island, he met James Robeson who was still a Draftsman with the influential firm of Edwards and Sayward, and they formed the partnership of Abreu & Robeson in 1929 working out of Atlanta and Brunswick, Georgia (The Abreu Charitable Trust 2007). Once again, Abreu, now with a partner, was faced with another economic down- turn, the great Depression. However, the two weathered the storm, and stayed in the partnership until their deaths. In 1946, Abreu & Robeson completed a questionnaire for the architect’s roster of firms and individuals qualified for Federal Public Works that provides a small glimpse into the type of public work the partners had been doing (AIA May 7, 1946). When asked to list their single largest job competed between the years 1930 -1940, they listed, “low cost housing - USHA [United States Housing Authority] – Brunswick, Ga. -$678,000.” All jobs completed during that ten year period were valued at $9,150,000 with an annual average of $915,000. The partners were doing quite well in spite of the Depression. Between the years 1941-1946, during World War II, the single largest job they completed was, “War Housing – Brunswick- $3,167,000.” All jobs completed during that period were valued at $20,500,000 and the annual average was $4,100,000. When asked for current jobs under construction in 1946 or in authorized working drawings, the largest single job was listed as, “St. Joseph’s Infirmary, Atlanta, Ga. - $1, 500, 000,” and total jobs were valued at $3,000,000 (AIA May 7, 1946). The partners were also asked to break projects into designated cost categories and list the owners. Abreu and Robeson’s owner list was composed primarily of public agencies, as befitted the questionnaire that included: the Federal Public Housing Authority (FPHA), the Public Buildings Administration (PBA), FORT BENNING, Infantry Hall (Building No.