[MassHistPres] pre-history of the Quonset hut

[Dennis De Witt]

For what it's worth, corrugated iron was invented in England ca. 1829 (Sara correct me if I get any of this wrong.)  Roofs incorporating curved corrugated iron which gave it great rigidity and worked well with arched cast iron structures were on offer there in the 1830s.   corrugated iron rapidly became widely used there for the roofing and siding of all sorts of utilitarian structures in Britain -- and especially pre-fab buildings, including churches, which were shipped out to the empire and particularly Australia by the tens of thousands.  Hundreds were shipped to California during the Gold Rush both by several British firms and by a "roofer" in NYC, suggesting that corrugated iron was already being used in NYC for that purpose as well, although the first recorded US use was at about that time.  A British firm sent curved roofed two story iron houses (with porches)  to San Francisco.  Note the multi-story arched-roof white building near the waterfront in the PIC which most likely is roofed with corrugated iron.  Other PICs of 1849 San Francisco show some one and two story arched roofed buildings that look like the known British designs.  The WWII Quonset hut was originally copied from the British WWI Nissen hut, of which about 100,000 were made beginning in 1916.

Dennis De Witt

  


On Feb 24, 2010, at 11:17 AM, Steinitz, Michael @ SEC wrote:

> We have and continue to encourage local historical commissions to identify and document this category of historic resource on inventory forms in their comprehensive communitywide surveys of historic resources.  A search on MHC’s MACRIS database on our website on “All Towns” and the word “Quonset” in Historic Name gives the following 17 on file with us.  Can’t confirm that these are all still extant.
>  
> GAY.25
> Broken Arrow
>  
> 1 Locust Ln
> Aquinnah
> 1945
> GAY.26
> Vanderhoop, William A. House
> 5 Locust Ln
> Aquinnah
> 1945
> GAY.38
>  
>  
>  
> 23-25 South Rd
> Aquinnah
> 1945
> BLC.192
> Belchertown State School - Piggery - Quonset Hut
> 30 State St
> Belchertown
> 1951
> CRT.165
> Charlton Town Barn - Quonsett Hut
> 54 North Main St
> Charlton
> 1946
> COH.1045
> Mill River Marine Boatyard Boat Quonset Hut
> 82 Border St
> Cohasset
> 1940
> DUD.279
> Packard Woolen Mills Quonset Huts
>  Schofield Ave
> Dudley
>  
> DUX.525
> Duffy, Arthur J. Quonset Hut
> 22 White St
> Duxbury
> 1941
> DUX.526
> Duffy, Arthur J. Quonset Hut
> 24 White St
> Duxbury
> 1941
> FLR.1985
> U. S. Navy Quonset Hut #1935
> 5 Water St
> Fall River
> 1944
> GRF.1083
> Grafton State Hospital - Quonset Hut
>  Westborough Rd
> Grafton
> 1945
> HLB.292
> Weymouth Street Quonset Hut
> 61 Weymouth St
> Holbrook
> 1941
> NBR.98
> Barre Hiller Airport Quonset Hangar
> 295 McEvoy Rd
> New Braintree
> 1947
> NRT.241
> Fort Miles Standish Training Camp Quonset Hut
> 16 Wampum Rd
> Norton
> 1946
> STE.294
> Rota-Spring Farm Quonset Hut Barn
> 117 Chase Hill Rd
> Sterling
> 1987
> TYN.123
> Saint Joseph's Marist Novitiate Quonset Hut
> 72 Tyng Rd
> Tyngsborough
> 1934
> WBO.912
> Westborough State Hospital - Quonset Hut
>  Lyman St
> Westborough
> 1967
>  
>  
> Michael Steinitz
> Director
> Preservation Planning Division
> Massachusetts Historical Commission
> 220 Morrissey Blvd
> Boston MA 02125
> 617-727-8470
> 617-727-5128 (fax)
> michael.steinitz at state.ma.us
>  
> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Sara Wermiel
> Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 10:13 AM
> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> Subject: [MassHistPres] Quonset huts
>  
> That’s 5 existing huts so far, plus one possible (the Worcester/Auburn one).
> Are the more?
>  
> --Sara Wermiel
> Historian of technology/historic preservation consulting
> Jamaica Plain, MA
>  
> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Sullivan, Charles M.
> Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 7:37 PM
> To: Marcia Starkey; hlacortiglia at comcast.net; spbrauner at comcast.net; cvwtc at aol.com; jdianeol at aol.com
> Cc: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Quonset Razed AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
>  
> We’ve got one in Cambridge at 27 Cottage Park Ave (1946); see http://www.cambridgema.gov/fiscalaffairs/PropertyDetail.cfm?PropertyId=15491
>  
> ________________________________ 
> Charles M. Sullivan, Executive Director 
> Cambridge Historical Commission 
> 831 Massachusetts Avenue 
> Cambridge, Mass.  02139 
> 617 349-4684 voice, 349-3116 fax
>  
>  
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