National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Historic Architecture Program Northeast Region U.S. COAST GUARD NAUSET STATION DWELLING AND BOATHOUSE Cape Cod National Seashore Eastham, Massachusetts Historic Structure Report U.S. COAST GUARD NAUSET STATION DWELLING AND BOATHOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT Cape Cod National Seashore Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts By Lance Kasparian Historical Architect Historic Architecture Program Northeast Region, National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior January 2008 CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES AND CREDITS...................................................................................................vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................................................................................................xix INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................................................... 3 TASK DIRECTIVE....................................................................................................................... 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY................................................................................................ 3 MAJOR RESEARCH FINDINGS .............................................................................................. 4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TREATMENT AND USE .................................................... 5 ADMINISTRATIVE DATA....................................................................................................10 NAMES, NUMBERS, AND LOCATIONAL DATA.............................................................10 CULTURAL RESOURCE DATA ............................................................................................10 RELATED STUDIES .................................................................................................................11 AUTHORIZED TREATMENT ...............................................................................................11 DISPOSITION AND HANDLING OF RESEARCH MATERIALS...................................12 iii DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY....................................................................13 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT................................................15 OVERVIEW.................................................................................................................................15 EARLY MARITIME LIFESAVING ........................................................................................15 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE U.S. LIFESAVING SERVICE (1878)...................................17 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE U.S. COAST GUARD (1915) ................................................19 COAST GUARD REORGANIZATION .................................................................................23 WORLD WAR II.........................................................................................................................27 POST- WORLD WAR II ERA...................................................................................................28 CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE ...............................................43 OVERVIEW.................................................................................................................................43 INITIAL DEVELOPMENT, 1933- 1936.................................................................................43 HISTORIC OCCUPANCY AND USE, 1937- 1941...............................................................47 HISTORIC OCCUPANCY AND USE, 1941- 1945 (WORLD WAR II).............................49 HISTORIC OCCUPANCY AND USE, 1945- 1958...............................................................49 POST- HISTORIC OCCUPANCY AND USE, 1958- 1966 ..................................................50 POST- HISTORIC OCCUPANCY AND USE, 1966- PRESENT........................................52 COASTAL SITE CHARACTERISTICS .........................................................................91 WESTWARD RETREAT OF GLACIAL CLIFFS..................................................................91 VULNERABILITY OF COASTAL MARSH AND BARRIER BEACH..............................92 iv CURRENT PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION ......................................................................99 EXTERIOR ELEMENTS.........................................................................................................99 Building Configuration..............................................................................................................99 Construction Classification.....................................................................................................100 Typical Exterior Building Elements .......................................................................................100 Building Elevations...................................................................................................................103 INTERIOR ELEMENTS: BASEMENT ..............................................................................123 Typical Interior Elements ........................................................................................................123 Basement Rooms.......................................................................................................................124 INTERIOR ELEMENTS: FIRST THROUGH THIRD STORIES ................................144 Typical Interior Elements ........................................................................................................144 First- Story Rooms....................................................................................................................146 Second- Story Rooms...............................................................................................................173 Third- Story Rooms..................................................................................................................188 Fourth- Story Room .................................................................................................................198 CHARACTER- DEFINING FEATURES AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................203 CHARACTER- DEFINING FEATURES ....................................................................205 HISTORIC AND ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER.......................................................205 VISUAL ANALYSIS OF EXTERIOR CHARACTER- DEFINING FEATURES ...........206 VISUAL ANALYSIS OF INTERIOR CHARACTER- DEFINING FEATURES............209 RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................................211 AUTHORIZED TREATMENT .............................................................................................211 APPLICABLE STANDARDS..................................................................................................211 RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO USE ....................................................................212 ACCESSIBILITY.......................................................................................................................212 v EXTERIOR RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................213 INTERIOR RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................................................216 FUTURE RESEARCH AND PHYSICAL INVESTIGATION ..........................................216 Bibliography....................................................................................................................................219 Appendices .......................................................................................................................................227 APPENDIX A. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Restoration ..............................................................229 APPENDIX B. List of Architectural Drawings ...............................................................233 APPENDIX C. List of New Deal Era- Type Coast Guard Stations (Mid 1930s- Mid 1940s) ..........................................................................253 APPENDIX D. List of Paint Samples................................................................................275 vi LIST OF FIGURES AND CREDITS Front Cover. Nauset Coast Guard Station, view from southeast, circa 1940. Courtesy of the Eastham Historical Society. Historical Context Views and Maps Figure 1.01. Map of Cape Cod Showing Location of U.S.L.S. Stations. J.W. Dalton, The Life Savers of Cape Cod (Boston: The Barta Press, 1902), p. 7 ........................................................................................................................30 Figure 1.02. Red House- type Lifesaving Station at Nauset, view from the south, circa 1873- 1875. Cape Cod National Seashore........................................................31 Figure 1.03. Expanded Red House- type Lifesaving Station at Nauset, view from the northwest, circa 1887- 1907. Cape Cod National Seashore....................31 Figure 1.04. Expanded Red House- type Lifesaving Station at Nauset, view from the southeast, circa 1887- 1907. Courtesy of the Eastham Historical Society.............32 Figure 1.05. Beach drill at Nauset Lifesaving Station, with view of expanded Red House- type station from the south, circa 1887- 1907. Cape Cod National Seashore .......................................................................................32