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The 2012 California Governor’s Historic Preservation Awards were presented on November
29th at Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park in Sacramento. There were a total of
11 projects or individuals that received awards. What follows is the presentation made at the
awards ceremony about one of the 2012 award winners. Smith River National Recreation Area
Fire Warehouse Restoration The Fire Warehouse in the Smith River National Recreation Area
of the Six Rivers National Forest was built in 1936 by the Gasquet Camp of the Civilian
Conservation Corps. From 1933 to 1942, the CCC put young men to work on conservation
and preservation projects in the nation’s forests, rangelands, and historic sites. The
Fire Warehouse started as two single-story, side-gabled equipment and storage sheds, and
in 1936, the buildings were united with the construction of a three-story, front-gabled
barn. Over the years, the warehouse’s condition deteriorated and a project to restore the
building was initiated in June 2010 and completed the following July. The project adhered to
the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and
entailed exterior restoration, interior retrofit, new mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems,
new wood windows, new interior walls and finishes, new roofing and ramp, interior and exterior
painting, and some site work. The restored Fire Warehouse once again serves its original
purpose as a multi-purpose facility: It has garage bays for fire engines. The east side
has a conference room, the west an exercise room and laundry facilities. The third floor
loft provides storage. Restoration of this utilitarian building came with its challenges,
but great care was taken to maintain the historical integrity of the structure and mimic craftsmanship
used in the original building. This project is award-worthy for its success in preserving
a key structure of one of the few remaining CCC compounds in northern California. Congratulations
to all the winners of the 2012 California Governor’s Historic Preservation Awards.
Please view the additional videos available on this site for information about the other
2012 awards. For more information about this awards program, visit www.ohp.parks.ca.gov/governorsawards.