[MassHistPres] Civilian Quonset Hut

[Julie Weisgerber]

Hove you looked at Julie Decker and Chris Chiei's 2005 book, _Quonset 
Hut: Metal Living for a Modern Age_? It's a great story not only of the 
history, but also the folks who still live in them today. I might 
convince an investor to take it on and buy it to rehab it for rental 
housing.

Good luck!

Julie M. Weisgerber
Federal Tax Credit Reviewer
Kansas State Historical Society
6425 SW 6th Avenue
Topeka, KS  66615-1099
785-272-8681, ext. 226

Join the discussion! Preserving Kansas is our new Statewide preservation forum! Go to: http://kshs.org/resource/preserving_kansas.htm



cvwtc at aol.com wrote:
> Due to the severe housing shortage right after World War II, veterans 
> and their families were often placed in make-shift veteran villages 
> that were constructed out of nothing but Quonset huts.  Beverly, MA 
> had three of these temporary veteran villages.
>
> All of the civilian Quonset huts were thought to have been lost but in 
> 2009, local historian Richard Symmes, found a well-preserved former 
> Beverly Quonset hut that had been moved to the nearby town of Hamilton 
> in the 1950s.  The story was featured on the front page of the Nov. 
> 10th edition of /The Salem News/.
>
> http://salemnews.com/punews/local_story_313204809.html/resources_etp_mobile_story
>
> As stated in the article, this structure is probably the finest and 
> the last example of a civilian Quonset hut since this "temporary" 
> structure continued to be lived in for over 50 years.  The Seabee 
> Museum in Davisville, RI would like to add it to their collection of 
> military huts but they do not have the funds (about $15,000 by one 
> estimate) to move the structure.  Sadly, the land the hut is sitting 
> on has be sold for redevelopment and if swift action isn't taken, this 
> very historic structure will be demolished and thrown in a dumpster 
> like yesterday's trash.
>
> The building tells the story of not just our local World War II 
> veterans but the country's veterans in general since these Quonset hut 
> villages were once part of our country's post-war landscape.  While 
> efforts to raise awareness were very successful, it did not translate 
> into the necessary financial support to save this building.  The 
> rescue of such a rare and historic structure would be a highly visible 
> endeavor and the PR value alone would be huge but more than a few 
> potential local corporate sponsors have stated they did not see the 
> value of donating money just to have the hut moved out of state.  This 
> attitude is very short-sighted because the Seabee Museum is probably 
> the best place this Quonset hut could go since these structures were 
> designed and built at Quonset Point.
>
> Assistance or advice regarding this preservation dilemma is both 
> urgently needed and greatly appreciated.
>
> Matt Pujo  978-927-3017
>
> Richard Symmes  978-927-2701
>
> cvwtc at aol.com <mailto:cvwtc at aol.com>
>
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