White Sands

National Monument

The Visitor Center Architecture

Photo Copyright © 1995 Bill Walker

The visitor center building complex at White Sands National Monument is an excellent example of Spanish pueblo-adobe ("Pueblo- Revival") architecture constructed during the years of the Great Depression. Construction was begun in 1936 and completed in 1938 by various government agencies including the Works Progress Administration (WPA) at a cost of $31,600.

Wall construction of the visitor center is of adobe mud bricks throughout. Adobe bricks are usually sixteen inches long, ten inches wide and four inches thick. Ordinarily, two people can mix and mold over one hundred bricks in a day, sufficient to build about one foot of wall. There are various "recipes" for making adobe and most include straw to prevent the adobes from cracking as they dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are not particularly durable unless regularly maintained. If the stucco facing covering the adobe bricks is damaged, the erosive forces of wind and rain quickly destroy the exposed mud bricks. Also, annual rainfall in excess of twenty inches (White Sands averages about eight inches) will endanger the adobe structure since dampness tends to permeate and weaken the base of the walls. Are adobe buildings cooler than other types of buildings? Research indicates that adobe is inferior to modern insulation materials, yet adobe structures seem cooler than other buildings.

The interior of the visitor center presents various examples of artistry in construction and furnishings. The ceiling in the main room is of viga and savina construction. The vigas are the large pine logs that form the basis for support of the roof. The decorative carved scrolls on which the vigas rest are called corbels, which serve to distribute the weight of the roof to the walls and to provide decoration.

Running at right angles on top of the vigas are groups of three juniper poles called savinas. On top of the savinas is a split wood covering. If the roof replicated Pueblo Indian architecture in all ways, the roof would be topped with brush and several feet of compacted dirt. The visitor center roof is of modern tar and gravel.

Benches and chairs are typical Indian-Spanish design. They are heavily constructed to resist splitting and loosening due to humidity or dryness. Decorative carving on the furniture is modest but typical.

The lighting fixtures are made of tinware. Tin was a poor man's substitute for silver on the Spanish-Mexican frontier. Each village had at least one tinsmith and often individuals crafted their own tinware since all that was needed was a nail to punch holes and something to cut the sheet of tin. Designs on the tinware in New Mexico show a strong New England influence, probably due to the trade with the United States over the Santa Fe Trail. One of the most prized articles of trade to reach frontier New Mexico was glass, which was so valuable that it was seldom used for windows. It was used instead for covering pictures of saints or was decorated with painted designs and framed with tin. One of the most common methods of decorating glass was to paint one side of the glass and draw a common hair comb over the painted surface before it dried, thus creating "combed glass". Examples of combed glass can be seen in the lighting fixtures near the front entrance.

In 1990, the visitor center and adjacent seven buildings, also built between 1936 and 1940, were officially designated as the White Sands National Monument Historic District. Set in a landscaping of native plants, the historic district preserves this handsome architectural style and is a tribute to the plans of the architects and the fine craftsmanship of the WPA workers.

Last Updated:Wednesday, 22-Dec-2004 10:08:23 Eastern Standard Time
http://www.nps.gov/archive/whsa/vcenter.htm