Building 98 of Fort D. A. Russell, which is not part of the Chinati Foundation, contains two rooms of murals painted by German prisoners of war (POWs) during World War II and are unlike any found elsewhere in Texas. Building 98 was the Officers’ Club and Bachelor Officers’ Quarters. The narrow wings of the one-story, adobe-and-concrete building, capped by a hipped shingled roof, enclose two patios. The former mess hall has a portrait of camp namesake David Allen Russell over the door, along with scenes of windmills, barns, deer, farmhouses, and ranches, each scene separated by painted stone columns and arches. Another room has murals depicting a desert landscape, mountains, and ranch life. German POWs Hans Jürgen Press and R. Hampel signed the paintings. Since 2003 the building has housed the International Woman’s Foundation headquarters, which uses it for educational, artistic, and spiritual events.
The nearby El Cósmico (2009, Jack Sanders Design-Build Adventure and Lake|Flato) at 802 S. Highland Avenue is hotelier Liz Lambert’s high-concept boutique hotel camp-trailer park, where guests may choose from ten different trailer models, a yurt, several teepees, or tents.