Infantry Barrack
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Building 213
1885, U.S. Army Office of the Quartermaster General; c. 1895 wings added; 1932 hip-roofed section added; 1985 renovation. Fort Warren Ave.
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(Photograph by Richard Collier, Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources)
This one-story brick building is typical of the first barracks for enlisted men built after Fort D.A. Russell was designated a permanent post in 1882, and is one of the oldest brick buildings at F.E. Warren Air Force Base today. The barrack originally housed sixty-five infantrymen in one main room with beds, built-in closets, tables and chairs, and gun racks to hold Army-issued rifles. Additions c. 1895 and in 1932 increased the capacity of the building. As originally built, the barrack had neither electricity nor indoor plumbing. These were added around 1905, resulting in the installation of water closets, urinals, wash basins, and tubs.
The original unit of brick on a stone foundation is a one-story, eight-bay, side-gabled rectangular block with a full-length, shed-roofed front porch supported by chamfered posts. Two gable-roofed rear wings were added c. 1895 to create a V-shaped plan, and in 1932 a section between the wings was in-filled with a hip-roofed component. Openings are topped with segmental arches and most windows are fitted with six-over-six wood sash above stone sills. Most of the doors have been replaced.
The building was repurposed as the Chapel Annex c. 1985, with partitions added to the large barrack room to accommodate classrooms, a large meeting room, and a kitchen area for church functions. As of 2015, Building 213 is used for administrative offices.
References
Installation Planning and Design Guide. F E Warren Air Force Base. April 1984.
Hoagland, Alison K. Army Architecture in the West: Forts Laramie, Bridger and D. A. Russell, 1849–1912. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2014.
Writing Credits
Coordinator:
Mary M. Humstone
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