Historic building receives facelift
Open house set for Thursday

Once the home of the Window Rock Recreation Hall, the historic building has been renovated and turned into office space for the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation/UMTRA Department. The year-long project carried a $1.2 million budget, and the finished product will open to the public with an open house Thursday at 9 a.m. (Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent)

By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

After a year of work, the former Recreation Hall in Window Rock, Ariz. is completed and ready for use by the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation /UMTRA Deaprtment. The building is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. (Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent)

FORT DEFIANCE — An open house is set for 9 a.m. Thursday to unveil the $1.3 million restoration of one of the most recognized historical landmarks on the Navajo Nation, the Recreation Hall in Window Rock. The newly renovated building will house the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation/UMTRA Department.

According to Harlan Charley, public information officer for Navajo Abandoned Mine Land (AML), the building was built in the late 1930s under the direction of John Collier, U.S. Indian Superintendent, as part of the establishment of a Central Navajo Agency Headquarters.

The two-story rectangular sandstone building, which once was used as a community center for social events, consists of 4,500 square feet. Government employees hosted potlucks and gatherings for visitors to the Navajo Nation at the site.

On the main floor of the building was a theater and in the basement were two large bowling lanes where government employees were allowed to bowl once a week and on weekends. Or employees could take in a movie for the 5-cent price of admission. The building also was used to entertain congressional dignitaries from Washington, D.C.

The building officially was transferred to the Navajo Nation during the administration of former Navajo Nation President Peterson Zah, and the bowling lanes removed to make space for a public library to house after-school reading programs. The building previously had been used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to store archives of tribal records.

As funding dwindled, the building fell into disrepair. An unstable roof system and environmental hazards eventually led to the building's closure, and so it stood for more than 10 years. Climate conditions slowly weathered and caused severe damage to interior wooden beams and floors.

In March 2002, the building was assessed by the Historic Preservation Department after Navajo AML/UMTRA expressed interest in remodeling the building for its administrative office.

Charley said that according to Historic Preservation, the building was designed and built in a unique architecture that reflects the style of the Pueblo Revival in Sanata Fe. The building is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

Extensive efforts were made to maintain the building's original decor. The exterior/interior red sandstone masonry walls have been salvaged and resealed, according to Charley. All of the roof had deteriorated and had to be replaced with new material, as did the first floor.

Extensive ventilation and lighting were added to provide natural light and aeration to the building. One modern convenience is an elevator, which was installed in the basement where a conference room can accommodate about 25 people.

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. will present the keynote address during Thursday's dedication. The open house begins at 9 a.m. and continues until 3 p.m. A ribbon-cutting is set for 10 a.m. followed by tours of the building.