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Building made of corrugated
metal and having a semicircular cross section
First family moved in 11 17 1946 (known as Garden Homes addition)
Closed 12 31 1951 and later becomes Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park
1945
In 1945, WW II came to an end and Watertown celebrated
in high fashion. The men soon began
returning and with their return a new problem presented itself, a shortage of
housing. In order to compensate for
this, the city took over the old city circus grounds in the Fifth Ward and
turned it into a Quonset hut village.
The idea was that these simple structures would allow soldiers and their
families to live on their own while they save up for new homes or until new
homes were built. In 1951 the huts were
torn down and the land reverted to a playground and public park today known as
Lincoln Park. Several Quonset huts still
exist in the city and surrounding countryside.
Watertown: A History (WI) (Making of America), by William F. Jannke III
1946
March PRE-FABRICATED HOMES REACH WATERTOWN
The first pre-fabricated
home to be placed on sale in Watertown is pictured here. The home, or Quonset hut, 20 by 24 feet,
placed on South Seventh Street, near Main, for display purposes by the Gamble Stores.
The home, which provides four rooms, is being shown by the Gamble Stores
by appointment. Due to the housing
shortage the homes are in wide demand in many parts of the country. The University of Minnesota has purchased 48
of the homes in the 20 by 36 size. These
units were divided into two parts, each half accommodating two couples. At Rochester, Minn., 100 units have been
acquired to house the families of doctors and interns. The homes are set up unfinished on the inside
in order to make it possible for purchasers to finish the homes they like. Also, the homes may be ordered with as many
windows and doors as desired. The homes
had formerly been manufactured for the army.
The contract was cancelled at the end of the war, and the Gamble
organization took it over. The homes are
made by a manufacturing concern near Minneapolis. A home can be delivered in two and a half
weeks after the order is placed.
11 17 WATERTOWN'S QUONSET UNITS
Raymond Sterwald family moving into: Raymond Sterwald, Mrs. Sterwald, two Sterwald children
1947
05 05 QUONSET HUT TYPE BUILDING CONSTRUCTED BY
SHERMAN PRODUCTS
Sherman Products, located in the Richards hill section of the city, occupies a steel quonset hut type building, 216 by 40 feet. Construction of the building began in September of 1946. The building was sufficiently completed by January of 1947 to permit operations on a small scale. The company manufactures steel stampings and assemblies
1950
05 05 WATERTOWN'S QUONSET UNITS
Margaret and Warren streets
Click on map to navigate
Watertown's Quonset dwelling units, the city's war-time emergency housing project, part of which is shown here, is to be closed Dec. 31, 1951, according to action approved by the city council. Many of the units now need or will soon need repairs and it is felt that since they were to be only a war-time and immediate post-war program to meet the critical housing shortage, it will be better to close them at the end of next year.
This, the council feels, will give the tenants ample time to provide for other living quarters. The recent rate of increase in new homes here, which is expected to continue this year and also into next year, is further proof that the time has come to close down the emergency project, the council reasoned.
The 13 dwellings have provided 26 apartments. As of May 1 of this year 24 were occupied, two being empty. Two of the quonsets are not included in the picture.
Tenants who will be affected by the council's action include the following families:
Marvin A. Reichert, Charles Koshelnick, Robert Dehnert, Donald Schnitger, Harry McKee, Clifford Steinbrink, Norden Krueger, all residing at addresses fronting on North Warren Street;
Lester Kuerschner, William Kehl, George Erdmann, Cyril Klecker, Alburn Blasing, Frank Fries, George Foskett, James Tester, Lawrence Schultz, Earl Kreitzmann, Roy Cutsforth, Leonard Kube, Mrs. Lorraine Kuehl, Kenneth Stephenson, Herman Parpart, H. R. Rowe, Jr., and Elmer Selves, Jr., all living in units fronting on Margaret Street.
Under the council's plan, the dwellings are to be removed as soon as possible after the Dec. 31, 1951 deadline. The site then will revert to park purposes, it having been a Fifth ward playground and future park site at the time it was decided, to locate the Quonset units there as a temporary housing solution.
1950
08 15 QUONSET CLOSINGS UNCERTAIN
Although the city’s 26 dwelling units in the Quonset homes are
to be closed at the end of 1951, under terms of a city council resolution, it
was indicated today by city officials that, should the housing situation in
Watertown warrant, as a result of the current war crisis, keeping the dwellings
open longer the council undoubtedly would reconsider its action and adopt a new
policy. At present all
of the dwelling units except one are occupied and there are applications
pending for the occupancy of the one unoccupied dwelling. The council in its vote some time ago fixed
Dec. 31, 1951 as the date on which the units are to be closed.
1953
08 15 QUONSET DWELLINGS, DISTANT VIEW
1955
-- -- QUONSET LOCATED AT 1033 N. FOURTH ST.
1956
-- -- LINCOLN PARK
Cross References:
Three Quonset homes still standing: E Spaulding St., Center St., Hwy A.
History of Watertown, Wisconsin