The Decatur Venetian Blind Co.

The Decatur Ventian Blind Co. was located on E. Ponce de Leon Ave.
these type building were used as Army Bakkacks during World War II.
Here is a little history on them:

A little history on this design … As part of the World War II war effort, In 1941 the United States government commissioned George A. Fuller Construction Company to design and engineer a cheap, portable shelter intended for housing troops, MASH units, storing large machinery, aircraft hangars and warehousing supplies. The government had instructed them to comply with only two conditions: the new huts had to be arch shaped, for strength and deflection of shell fragments, and able to be quickly and simply assembled by unskilled labor. Over 170,000 were produced during WWII. After the war ended these buildings proved too good a resource to simply discard, The military sold them to civilians who turned them into serviceable single-family homes. Even Churches and small businesses took up residence in them. The rest … is history. Today, that wonderful structure is even better and stronger and has proven to withstand the harshest weather conditions on earth including heavy snow, hurricanes, tornadoes and even earthquakes. The best news is ….. this building is remarkably affordable and delivered ready to assemble.



● The arch design was developed by the US Military during World War II. It was used as barracks for housing troops, medical facilities, motor pools for vehicle repairs, and warehousing of vehicles and supplies.

● This design provides superior strength to withstand harshest weather conditions on earth, including heavy snow, hurricanes, tornadoes even earthquakes.

● The most versatile building design. Ideal for a numerous applications, such grain and commodity storage, hay shelters, livestock shelters, industrial shops, warehousing, aircraft hangars, skating rinks, workshops, boat, automobile and truck storage, retail outlets, distribution centers, indoor riding arenas, indoor softball stadiums and even alternative housing!

Now let's see how good you are, can anyone tell me where the above photo of this type of building is located in The Decatur Area.

comments are welcome .



jolomo said:
Isn't that across from Mellow Mushroom on LaVista? BTW, I love your blog!

Joe

Atlanta History

September 9, 2008 5:07 PM

whitefield said:
Yes, you are correct.
Good Job.

Phil Whitefield said :
Dennis,
I used to sleep in these while in school at Redstone Arsenal.
These are widely known as "Quonset Huts". See below link.
The name of our sleeping quarters was "Tin City" ( We had at least 25-30 of these for all the Army Troops in Missile Training School.
They were very warm in the Cold Winter at Huntsville, Al

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quonset_hut