Wetzel County Garage – New Martinsburg WV

Description

Also known as State Road Commission District 6 garage, the structure was built by the Works Progress Administration and sponsored by the Department of Highways.

Across West Virginia, the Department of Highways sponsored district headquarters and garages constructed by the Works Progress Administration. All utilized a similar airfoil design, a variation on the Quonset hut design. The structures were built of stone.

Although the Wetzel County Garage is not marked with a metal plaque, and there is a gable date is covered by the DOH signing, it is believed this is part of the same design used at other locations ca. 1939-1941.

Other garage examples listed on Living New Deal are in Red House, WV and Buckhannon, WV although more are believed to exist.

The design of the building is distinctive, giving it the appearance of an airplane wing profile on the street façade. It appears this is a barrel roof with a saltbox feature added to the side to give it an asymmetric look. The higher portion of the profile is above a garage door and the lower portions is over an office entrance.

The street façade has double windows on each side of a garage. Although one is covered/infilled, they remain mostly intact around the building visible from the public right of way. The openings on the office portion of the façade alternate between windows and doors. All 12 windows are metal frame on the garage portion and designed to open in the center. The office windows are 6 panes wide and 3 elongated panes tall of metal, and do not appear to open. The windows and garage have a smooth, reddish color sandstone lintel and the windows have a rough cut stone still of the same color, which sets them apart from the lighter tan and light brown stone of the walls. The office door appears to be a replacement with a window and two panels. The garage door appears to have been replaced at an unknown time. There is no evidence of the original garage door as being wood or metal.