Building 55- Fort Douglas' oldest building

Fort Douglas's Oldest- Building 55

Building 55
at Fort Douglas Heritage Commons
"Headquarters, 3rd California Volunteers"
(A youth oriented group focusing on military history and musical skills.)

To learn more about the 3rd California Volunteers and their work involving young people in historic preservation and living history activities, click here

Building 55 is the oldest surviving building on Fort Douglas, built in 1863, among the first permanent structures erected.

Built of adobe bricks with walls 18 inches thick, this was at various times the quaarters of the post commander, the post Surgeon or Quartermaster, various other officers, and then non-commissioned officers. Several additions over the years added kitchens, indoor plumbing facilities, and modified the porch and windows. Electricity was provided in 1910.

In 1987 the building was transferred to the Fort Douglas Museum and it was opened to the public.

Today, it is being returned to a more nearly original configuration through the efforts of the 3rd California Volunteers, who have enlisted help from a number of other groups including Scouts, shown working here to restore the porch to the original configuration..

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Bottle on the right was recovered from the backyard of Bldg 55 about an hour before the phot was taken.
Note the similarity to the reproduction on the left included as part of the restoration.

The earliest description is found in an 1864 report:
[NCO Quarters 1863, Building No. 55]

Camp Douglas, U. Ty.
October 10th, 1864
Quarters of Comdg Officer of Post, No. 7. Built in the fall of 1863
--One Story-- Walls 18 inches thick--Shingle roof--Lathed and plastered--Conditon good--Requires painting.
Report of Ist Lt Thomas B. Gately
Quarter Master 3rd Infty, Cal. Vol. to
Brig. Gen. M. C. Meigs
Quarter Master General USA
Washington D.C.

In 1873, the building was described (as one of two similar buildings, the other now demolished)

Special Report, History of Post, 31 December 1873.
On each side of the hospital, leaving a good space between for a garden,...stand two other officer's quarters, built of adobes, and each containing six rooms of fair size, the two largest rooms being 18 ft. long X 12 ft. wide X 9 ft. high; the smaller rooms, containing a good amount of closet room, are of no uniform dimensions. One of these quarters is occupied by the medical officer, and the other is usually assigned to the Post Quartermaster. At the rear of all the Officers' quarters are good sized yards divided off by lumber fences, all the buildings at the post are whitewashed.
By Edward Perry Vollum
Surgeon U.S.A., Post Surgeon

Building 55 circa 1930? Note street light post at right (electric or gas?) and board sidewalk.

Building 55 in 1941 report. Note the improved condition, and screened porch.

Interior of Bldg 55 circa 1987.
Furnished with old style furniture, and serving as headquarters of the Fort Douglas Museum at the time.

The Post Quartermaster was repsonsible for keeping records on all buildings, showing size, use and cost of maintenance. From these records it is possible to track the history of many buildings. This record covers the cost from 1930 to 1938, and included the circa 1930 photograph shown above.

Floor Plan of Building 55 showing changes over the years

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