Cultural Landscape Report for Fort Hancock, Treatment Plan, Gateway National Recreation Area

Nowak, Lisa; Foulds, H

The purpose of this cultural landscape treatment plan is to provide the National Park Service with guidelines for rehabilitating the cultural landscape of Fort Hancock based on the future use of the site, while preserving historic character. This report is an implementation tool that synthesizes documentary research from the 1997 “Historic Landscape Assessment for Fort Hancock” and the 1999 “Cultural Landscape Report for the Proving Ground and Wartime Expansion Areas” along with numerous prior planning documents. For the past twenty-five years, the buildings and landscape features at Fort Hancock have deteriorated. Providing economically self-sustaining new uses for this extraordinary ensemble of resources has been determined by a lengthy and comprehensive planning process as the best way to ensure long-term preservation. However, with the opportunity for reuse, comes the need to articulate what are appropriate and inappropriate treatment choices. The objective of this cultural landscape treatment plan is to provide treatment recommendations for this historic place that will preserve the integrity and character of the cultural landscape. To achieve this goal, this report is organized into three main chapters: 1) an examination of the principles of the rehabilitation treatment approach and how they relate to site specific issues, 2) discussion of existing conditions and feature level recommendations that address rehabilitation actions, organized according to broad characteristics and specific landscape features of the site, 3) descriptions of key landscape rehabilitation projects. The preparation of this landscape treatment plan has drawn upon the park's extensive archives, local historical organizations, the NPS Denver Service Center Technical Information Center, and the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Two previous cultural landscape research documents, the 1994 “Historic Landscape Assessment for Fort Hancock” that was revised in 1997 and the 1999 “Cultural Landscape Report for Proving Ground and Wartime Expansion Areas at Sandy Hook,” also provided historical information that enriched the treatment plan. The level of investigation is considered "thorough" as defined by A Guide to Cultural Landscape Reports: Contents, Processes and Techniques. Documentation and evaluation of existing landscape conditions has been accomplished using narrative text, photographs, and graphic plans. Plan documentation is based on existing topographic surveys and base maps supplied by the park. Fort Hancock's structures are referenced to the park's building numbering system and the List of Classified Structures (LCS). However, documentation focuses primarily on existing conditions to the extent that they influence landscape treatment recommendations. Contemporary site functions, visitor services, interpretation, park operations, and maintenance issues are described as appropriate in the context of proposed landscape treatment.

Cultural Landscape Report for Fort Hancock, Treatment Plan, Gateway National Recreation Area

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