White Sands NM Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, White Sands National Monument, National Park Service
Froeschauer-Nelson P, Foster L, Kowalski J. 2010. White Sands NM Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, White Sands National Monument, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 850106. NPS Intermountain Regional Office. Intermountain Regional Office/CLI Database
The White Sands National Monument (NM) Historic District is located at the east end of the White Sands National Monument in south-central New Mexico. The Historic District landscape was designed and constructed in the late 1930s as a center for park visitors, administration, residence for park staff, and park maintenance. The design was developed by National Park Service (NPS) architects, and constructed by Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers. The Historic District can be considered in terms of three use areas and the associated building clusters: the visitor use/administration area contains a concession area and comfort station; the residential area consists of four residences (three WPA and one Mission 66); and a maintenance area includes a warehouse/laundry, utility/powerhouse, gas and oil building, paint/flammable storage building, new administration building, and assorted sheds, dives, parking areas, gates, and walls. The landscape period of significance is 1933 to 1940, indicating the years between which the site was planned and built. The district contains examples of architecture and landscape architecture constructed during the Depression era through cooperative efforts between the National Park Service and the Civil Works Administration public works program, preserving both the design and the craftsmanship of the period. The structures exemplify the adaptation of Spanish Colonial adobe building styles and materials to this New Mexican region, and they are notable for their design, relationship to the environment, use of natural materials, and detail.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Froeschauer-Nelson, Peggy; Foster, Lance; Kowalski, Judy
- Date of Issue
- 2010-09-23
- Publisher
- NPS Intermountain Regional Office
- Units
- IMR , WHSA
- Keywords
- Administration Building, Adobe, Architecture, Branch of Plans and Design, Charles Richey, Civil Works Administration, Conservation of Natural resources, CWA, Designed Landscape, Dunes, Gas and Oil Building, Great Depression, Holloman Air Force Base, Landscape architecture, Lyle Bennett, Maintenance Area, Mission 66, Museum, New Mexico, Origin and Development of the National Park Service, Otero County, Powerhouse, Rehabilitation, residential area, rustic architecture, Spanish Colonial Architecture, The 1930s: Era of Public Works, Use of Natural Materials, view, White Sands Missile Range, Works Progress Administration, WPA