QUARTERS SIX: THE CHAIRMAN'S RESIDENCE Q uarters Six, the Fort Myer, Virginia, residence of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was constructed in 1908, the same year that Orville Wright made the world's first military test flight at Fort Myer. It was built from standard plan 120-H, designed by the Office of the Army's Quartermaster General in Washington, DC. The 120 plan series, issued in 1898, was based on standard plans designed in the 1870s under Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs. A distinguished engineer officer and an able administrator, Meigs designed many of the public structures in the Washington, DC area. His efforts to improve the efficiency of his department included the introduction of standardized plans for the various types of buildings built for the Army. The 120 series of plans for family housing was widely used during the major building boom that started at Fort Myer after it became a permanent post in 1896. At that time Fort Myer was not only a bustling Signal Corps center but also a cavalry station. The spurt in construction gathered even more momentum after Secretary of War Elihu Root's reorganization of the expanded Army at the beginning of the twentieth century. The plan variation known as 120-H was issued in 1907 toward the end of this period of expansion. The dwellings built to this plan rose at the heart of Fort Myer. Their brick facades stand on granite block foundations and are representative of officers' quarters built on numerous military posts during this period. Quarters Six, consisting of three stories and a basement, was originally built as a duplex. It was the largest building among the stately homes of |