Wallace E. Pratt House | |
Location | Pratt Dr. at McKittrick Rd., Guadalupe Mountains National Park |
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Nearest city | Salt Flat, Texas |
Coordinates | 31°57′29.2″N104°45′32.4″W / 31.958111°N 104.759000°W |
Area | 20 acres (8.1 ha) |
Built | 1941 | –1943
Built by | Edward Birdsall |
Architect | Elizabeth Hopkins Bevin and Newton P. Bevin, Milliken & Bevin |
Architectural style | International Style |
NRHP reference No. | 11000927 [1] [2] |
Added to NRHP | December 15, 2011 |
The Wallace E. Pratt House, also known as Ship on the Desert (sometimes hyphenated), was the residence of Wallace Pratt in what is now Guadalupe Mountains National Park in far western Texas. Pratt, a petroleum geologist for the Humble Oil & Refining Company, had previously built the Wallace Pratt Lodge in McKittrick Canyon a couple of miles to the north in the Guadalupe Mountains. Finding the cabin site to be remote and prone to being cut off by flooding, Pratt started construction of a new, modern residence on the east slope of the mountains. Work on the residence started in 1941. The house was designed by Long Island architect Newton Bevin, who lived for a time at the site with his wife, and built by contractor Ed Birdsall. Work was stopped by World War II, but resumed in 1945 and was completed the same year. In contrast to Pratt's rustic canyon cabin, the house, which Pratt named the Ship On The Desert, is an International Style house with horizontal lines and extensive glazing. [3] Only 16 feet (4.9 m) wide and 110 feet (34 m) long, the house provides broad views to the east over the plains and the west to the mountains. The majority of the house is on a single level, with a "captain's bridge" over the dining room giving access to a rooftop terrace. A detached garage contained a guest bedroom. Apart from glass, the predominant material was local limestone in several shades. [4]
Pratt and his wife, Iris, lived at the Ship On The Desert until 1963, when Pratt's health dictated a move to Tucson, Arizona. [4] The house was donated to the new park along with 5,632 acres (2,279 ha) of lands in the northern part of the proposed park by the Pratts between 1959 and 1961. It was used as a residence for National Park Service employees. [3] The house is occasionally open for tours sponsored by the National Park Service.
The house was featured on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2018 list of most-endangered historic locations. [5] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 15, 2011. [1] [2]
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support the preservation of America’s diverse historic buildings, neighborhoods, and heritage through its programs, resources, and advocacy.
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Wallace Everette Pratt (1885–1981) was a pioneer American petroleum geologist. He is also notable for helping establish Guadalupe Mountains National Park of West Texas and Eddy County, New Mexicothrough his donation of McKittrick Canyon in Salt Flat, Texas. He is also notable for his marriage to suffragist Iris Calderhead.
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The Wallace Pratt Lodge was the summer residence of Wallace Pratt, the principal donor of the lands that would become Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Pratt was a petroleum geologist employed by the Humble Oil Company, scouting for oilfield leases in west Texas. Pratt visited the Guadalupe Mountains in 1921, and taking a liking to the place, he bought a quarter share of the McCombs Ranch. In 1929 Pratt bought out his partners, ending up owning a large portion of the canyon, which featured waterfalls flowing over travertine dams, a lush, quiet place in the high desert.
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