Bandelier Historic Structure Report: CCC Buildings

THE BUILDINGS (continued)

B-16, Employee Dormitory

This dormitory housed employees for Frijoles Canyon Lodge. The structure was built in 1938 directly behind the dining room, stepped up from the dining terrace and banked into the hillside (figures 97-99). The building had five dormitory rooms, each equipped with a sink with hot and cold water. [134] Men's and women's rest rooms with toilets, showers, and sinks were on opposite ends of the building. The rooms were placed around an exterior terrace with a retaining wall against the hillside. Rooms had wall finishes of hard plaster painted with "Spanish White Texolite." [135] Windows facing the adjacent structure — B-15 — had metal sash with clear wire glass instead of the usual wooden sash, as a fire precaution (either Truscon or Fenestra standard casement sash with 1/4-inch clear wire glass). [136] The rooms were heated with oil-burning stoves. [137]

Little change was made to the structure other than maintenance until NPS took it over and converted it into offices in 1968. At that time, natural gas heaters and gas lines were installed in the building. The terrace at the back of the building was enclosed at a later date and made into additional office space (figure 100). More recent changes include a new foam roof (1981), new sewer and water lines (1983), and new wiring and natural gas lines (1984).

Figure 97. Plans for the employee dormitory (B-16), 1937 (drawing 315/2031, sheet 1).

Figure 98. Plans for the employee dormitory (B-16), 1937 (drawing 315/2031, sheet 2).

Figure 99. The employee dormitory (B-16), shown here in 1937, housed workers for Frijoles Canyon Lodge. The dormitory sat on the talus slope directly above the dining room (B-15). (Photo: Bandelier)

Figure 100. This photograph of the rear elevation of B-16, taken in 1984, shows how the former terrace was enclosed to create additional interior space. (Photo: Copeland for NPS)