Architecture and Building Types
Jails | Outdoor Ampitheaters | Trailers/Mobile Home Parks | Wood Grain Elevators
West Virginia: In Charles Town, West Virginia, the Jefferson County Jail was rededicated on September 20, 2008 after a multi-year effort to save the building. Designed by A.B. Mullett, the jail is most noted for its role in the coal mine wars. After the Battle of Blair Mountain in southern West Virginia, miners arrested for treason were held in the jail during their 1922 trial.
The County Commission had decided upon demolition of the jail. The building was considered structurally unsound and inappropriate for reuse. Local citizens opposed this decision and the WV SHPO commented according to a state review process. The matter ended up at the WV Supreme Court. County Commission membership changed; the public continued to support reuse of the building. A second structural opinion was more positive than the first. The WV SHPO provided a state development matching grant ($42,000) to replace the roof. The County invested considerable funding and decided to adaptively reuse the building. Having toured the building both before and after, it is a beautiful project. The portion of the building once used as the jailer’s residence is now office space. The majority of the cells were removed. There is a courtroom and record storage space also.
For more information, check out http://www.savethejail.org/index.html and the following local news article, http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/510499.html?nav=5006. Frances Morgan is the current President of the Commission. Their contact information is found at http://www.jeffersoncountywv.org/jcc.html
Massachusetts: Boston's Charles Street Jail, is now the Liberty Hotel, a luxury hotel. The article indicates it received state and federal tax credits. In a nod to the building's past, jail cells were preserved within areas now housing the hotel's restaurants/bars, named "Clink", "Alibi" and "Scampo" (Italian for "escape"). http://libertyhotel1-px.rtrk.com/
Arkansas:
Iowa:The Grandview Park facility is in process of being nomnated. A somewhat smaller facility he designed in Fort Dodge called the Karl King Bandshell is listed on the NRHP at national level of significance. It is being renovated with Save America's Treasures (SAT) funds.
California: It’s the Monterey Trailer Park and is a Los Angeles landmark. Here is a link to an LA Times article about it. http://articles.latimes.com/2002/nov/06/entertainment/et-quick6.5
Iowa: I have done some surveys of vintage mobile homes around Arkansas, and our office has determined one eligible. We haven’t nominated any yet, but give me time… Most of the ones we have surveyed have been from the mid- to late-1950s, although we have documented one that may date from the late 1940s. One great website that I use is below. It has great vintage ads for mobile homes and travel trailers starting in the early 1930s.
Vermont: Check out http://www.uvm.edu/histpres/HPJ/phinney/index.html for a research project on a mobile home park in Burlington, Vermont. It contains good information about the history and development of mobile homes, trailer parks, and how they have evolved throughout the years.
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For corrections or comments on the website please contact Kristen Harbeson at harbeson@sso.org
