Old Headquarters Area Historic District

Old Headquarters Area Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Old Administration Building
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Location	Devils Tower National Monument, Devils Tower, Wyoming
Coordinates	44°35′26″N 104°43′13″W
Built	1931
Architect	Edward A. Nickel
MPS	Devils Tower National Monument MPS
NRHP reference No.	00000852
Added to NRHP	July 20, 2000[1]

The Old Headquarters Area at Devils Tower National Monument includes three structures and their surroundings, including the old headquarters building, the custodian's house, and the fire hose house. The buildings are all designed in the National Park Service Rustic style.[2]

Funded as an Emergency Conservation Works project and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935, the old administration building was used as the monument's headquarters and museum until 1959. At that time, headquarters was relocated while the building continued its function as the park's primary visitor center. Today the main level of the building serves as the visitor center; the basement level has public restrooms, museum storage, interpreter's office, library, storage for search and rescue and first aid equipment and supplies, and a fuel oil furnace. The upper level, originally designed for use as a bedroom, is now used for storage and houses an evaporative cooler.[3][4]

Custodian's Residence

The custodian's residence was designed by the NPS Landscape Division under the direction of Chief Landscape Architect Thomas Chalmers Vint and constructed in 1931 by a private contractor, a Mr. Cummings of Deadwood, South Dakota. The building first served as the residence of the monument's second custodian, George C. Crowe. The original structure had five rooms: living room, bedroom, breakfast nook kitchen, and bathroom.[5]

Designed by the Architect Edward A. Nickel, NPS Branch of Plans and Design, and executed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (Camp NM-1, 6th Period), the fire hose house was constructed as ECW Project #17. Work was completed by August 10, 1937, "except for shelves," according to the hand-written note on the architectural plans. The fire hose house was designed and used to house the fire hydrant and to store the monument's hose and fire fighting equipment. It has been used for that purpose since 1937.[6]

See also

• Entrance Station-Devils Tower National Monument
• Entrance Road-Devils Tower National Monument
• Tower Ladder-Devils Tower National Monument

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
2. "Old Headquarters Area Historic District". National Register of Historic Places. Wyoming State Preservation Office. November 8, 2008.
3. "Old Administration Building". List of Classified Structures. National Park Service. November 8, 2008.
4. Kathy McKoy (April 20, 2000). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Old Headquarters Area Historic District (pdf). National Park Service.
5. "Custodian's Residence". List of Classified Structures. National Park Service. November 8, 2008.
6. "Fire Hose House". List of Classified Structures. National Park Service. November 8, 2008.

External links

• National Park Service Devils Tower First Fifty Years - The Early Years
• National Park Service Devils Tower First Fifty Years - The 1930s
• Devils Tower Old Headquarters Area Historic District at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office