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Those Building Numbers - And Some Fictions and Facts |
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| Because Fort Stanton
in the Marine Hospital and Public Health Service days was a
quasi-military installation, it followed the military tradition of
numbering its buildings. This served the purpose of assisting
in firefighting; the steam whistle on the powerplant blew to call
fire-fighters, using one long tone for 10 and short tones for 1.
Thus a long and three shorts would be Bldg. 13. This practice probably also gave rise to the myth that the building we knew as the Old Nurses Home burned down. The buildings were numbered from 1 to 14 around the Parade Grounds. The Commanding Officer's house naturally was No. 1, so the Old Nurses Home to its west had to make do with No. 2. All the other buildings on the Fort were numbered as well, and Bldg. 15 was a residence, long gone, west of the Parade that was home to Chief Engineer Ed White. In the early 1930s there was a fire in Bldg. 15 that was quickly put out. Willett White theorized that a latter-day researcher, reading about that fire, decided that the empty space between Bldg. 1 and Bldg. 14 must have been Bldg. 15 when in fact it was Bldg. 2 that stood there. That space today is occupied by the cafeteria building. Also dating back to the military days are Bldgs. 17,18,19,20, known as Laundry Row. Bldgs. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 13 date back to the military era, and Bldg. 6 most nearly resembles the military barracks that it was in the beginning. Laundry Row also dates to the military days. Our homes were known as "quarters" and were assigned according to job status, with people often receiving new quarters as jobs changed. Bldgs. 13 and 4 contained what today would be called apartments and were the most desirable dwellings. There were additional quarters on Laundry Row, "under the hill," and "on the hill." For additional historic photos, contact the Webmaster to order a CD of some 1,000 photos for $10 |
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| Bldg. 1, Commanding Officer's house | Bldg. 1 before porch was glassed in | Bldg. 2, Old Nurses Home | Bldg. 2, side view |
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| Bldg. 2 with nurses | Bldg. 2, Bldg. 14 at far left | Bldg. 3, a duplex residence for doctors | Bldg. 3 before 1920, C.O. house at left |
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| Bldg. 4, old power plant (Bldg.5), dining hall (Bldg 6) | Bldg. 4, pre-1920 | Bldg. 4 rear, 1953 | Bldg. 5, new hospital, with Bldg. 4 |
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| Bldg. 5, new hospital, opened in May 1936 | Bldg. 6, Dining Hall, pre-1920 | Bldg. 6, one of Fort's oldest buildings | Dining hall interior at Christmas |
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| Bldg. 7, Administration Building, pre-1920 | Bldg. 7 with patients called for medications, 1920s | Bldg. 7, early 1950s | Pharmacy in rear wing of Bldg. 7 |
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| Bldg.8, Dental Clinic and Library, 1930s | Bldg. 8, 1950s | Bldg. 9, Amusement Hall, pre-1920 | Bldg. 9 with Bldg. 10, old hospital |
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| Bldg. 9 theater curtain with artist, Dan Kusianovich | Bldg. 9 movie projection booth | Bldg. 9, late 1950s | The store in Bldg. 9 |
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| Bldg. 9 with 10, 11--the old hospital | Bldg. 10 (right) with Bldgs. 7, 8 and 9 | Bldg. 10, porch now opened up | Bldg. 11's new ward, early 1930s |
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| Interior of new Bldg. 11 ward | An older ward, Bldg. 10 or 11 | Bldg. 11, the end, 1937, Bldg. 13 in background | New Bldg. 11 under construction, 1940 |
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| New Bldg. 11, 1953 | Bldg. 12, materiel office, attached to Bldg. 13 | New Bldg. 12, 1934 | New Bldg. 12, rear |
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| Bldg. 13 in 1920s | Bldg. 13 in 1940 | Bldg. 13 back steps to upper quarters | Bldg. 13 living room, upstairs quarters |
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| Bldg. 14, circa 1930 | Bldg. 14, 1940s | Bldg. 14 today | Bldg. 15, engineer's house, demolished in 1930s |
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| Bldg. 16 at right, engineer's house at left | Bldgs. 17-20, Laundry Row, in 1934 | "Under the Hill" houses, late 1930s | New houses "on the hill," 1940 |
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| Bldg. 37, Danna's last house, 1950 | Bldg. 37, Mike Bilbo's house, 2009 | Tennis courts in 1920s | New tennis courts in 1940s |
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