good standards of morals and health. The wishes of the housewife, and her national or local peculiarities must be carefully considered, for her contentment is of prime importance to the home. It is interesting to note how in various developments conditions which at the start were considered obstacles have by study often enhanced the artistic and practical solution. The success of the housing projects of the Corporation is directly traceable to the fact that they were built to suit the needs of the American workingman, and at the same time to educate him by their modern refinements to appreciate bettered home conditions.
An illustration of these points and of the successful solution of the lodger problem is shown in the development built for the United States Naval Ordnance Plant at South Charleston, West Virginia. This project was in charge of a committee of design of which Godley, Haskell & Sedgwick, architects, acting as chairmen, were associated with James L. Greenleaf as town planner and designing engineer, and Burgess and Long in charge of engineering work in the field.
The development was originally intended to consist of a twenty-five-acre allotment by the Government, to include a community center, but when this was reduced to fifteen acres the recreation features were the first to be eliminated from the plans. Situated on the south bank of the Kanawha River, forty-three feet above the water level, about a quarter of a mile from the main entrance of the Naval Ordnance Plant, and four and one-half miles from the city of Charleston, the site is an admirable one for a well-developed housing scheme. The natural features of the topography blend harmoniously with the treatment given them. Gullies and woods and other details of the land have been utilized most advantageously. The woods, for instance, suggested the laying out of two curved streets which have added to the informal appearance of the village’s thoroughfares.
The eighty-five houses are of five types, each of
individual interest though harmonizing in design.
VIEW SHOWING SOUTH CHARLESTON, THE ORDNANCE PLANT AND
STREET NO. 2, LOOKING WEST
An illustration of these points and of the successful solution of the lodger problem is shown in the development built for the United States Naval Ordnance Plant at South Charleston, West Virginia. This project was in charge of a committee of design of which Godley, Haskell & Sedgwick, architects, acting as chairmen, were associated with James L. Greenleaf as town planner and designing engineer, and Burgess and Long in charge of engineering work in the field.
The development was originally intended to consist of a twenty-five-acre allotment by the Government, to include a community center, but when this was reduced to fifteen acres the recreation features were the first to be eliminated from the plans. Situated on the south bank of the Kanawha River, forty-three feet above the water level, about a quarter of a mile from the main entrance of the Naval Ordnance Plant, and four and one-half miles from the city of Charleston, the site is an admirable one for a well-developed housing scheme. The natural features of the topography blend harmoniously with the treatment given them. Gullies and woods and other details of the land have been utilized most advantageously. The woods, for instance, suggested the laying out of two curved streets which have added to the informal appearance of the village’s thoroughfares.
The eighty-five houses are of five types, each of
individual interest though harmonizing in design.
VIEW SHOWING SOUTH CHARLESTON, THE ORDNANCE PLANT AND
STREET NO. 2, LOOKING WEST