Property Record
VOLK FIELD CRTC
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Former Buildings 316 and 317 |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | Building 316 |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 141982 |
| Location (Address): | VOLK FIELD CRTC |
|---|---|
| County: | Juneau |
| City: | Camp Douglas |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 17 |
| Range: | 2 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 21 |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1941 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2006 |
| Historic Use: | dining hall |
| Architectural Style: | Front Gabled |
| Structural System: | Masonry |
| Wall Material: | Tile |
| Architect: | Hengels, Henry C. |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | This building originally was two separate enlisted men's mess halls constructed in the 135th Medical Regiment area. It was one of three additional mess halls reported as being under construction in the June 1941 issue of the Wisconsin National Guard Review. The mess hall was designed by Lt. Colonel Henry C. Hengels, State of Wisconsin Military Architect and Engineer. The permanent mess hall was divided into two spaces: a kitchen and a dining area. The building could accommodate 100 persons and was oriented so that the dining area faced the troop encampment. Troops accessed the building through double doors that occupied the front gable end. The kitchen at the rear of the building had a separate single door. The 1940 design of the permanent mess halls had an interior brick chimney and an exterior icebox door located near a corner of the kitchen. The exterior icebox door was omitted during the construction of this mess hall, but the building had an interior chimney (now removed). Each original mess hall wing measures 25 x 65 feet and rests on a stuccoed concrete wall foundation. The exterior walls are constructed of tan clay tile with red brick corner quoins. The gable roof is sheathed with composition shingles. Exposed purlin ends project from the end walls; the current eave is sheathed in metal. Each upper gable end wall is finished with a band of red brick and has a rectangular wood louvered vent with canted corners. The windows are metal-frame, one-over-one-light, double-hung sash units that replaced the original wood-frame, six-over-six-light, double-hung sash units. The windows have wood lintels and concrete sills. The original doorway was located in the north elevation and contained paired wood doors. One door opening with its lintel and lintel surround was retained in the north end of former Building 316. The north end of former Building 317 contains paired modern metal doors; the wood lintel has been removed. Modern doors have been installed on the south elevations of the former mess halls. After the property was leased for use by the Air National Guard in 1954, the building was converted to other uses. During the 1960s, former Building 316 served as a dispensary. By 1970, former Buildings 316 and 317 were connected by a narrow hyphen addition. Renovations undertaken in 1994 included the addition of the projecting vestibule with paired glass doors in metal frames on the west elevation, installation of new vinyl-clad windows, alteration of door openings, insulation of east wing perimeter walls and existing foundation, and the widening of the hyphen addition by the construction of a new loading dock with a new overhead door in the north elevation of the hyphen. The building currently serves as the gymnasium. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | Volk Field CRTC, real property records, drawings files. Wisconsin National Guard Review, December 1940:12; June 1941. Wisconsin Veterans Museum Archives, Madison, blueprint drawings, Camp Williams. Wisconsin National Guard Museum, Volk Field CRTC, 1955 Conditions Survey. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |