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Form No. 10-300 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM RATA RECEIVED DATE ENTERED DSeDnVy' m 1376 m 12 1976 SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOWTO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS TYPE ALL ENTRIES - COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS NAME HISTORIC Tutu Plantation House AND/OR COMMON LOCATION STREETS NUMBER / r ' /■ —NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY, TOWN Charlotte Amalie CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT _X VICINITY OF STATE U.S. Virgin Islands CODE 78 COUNTY Thomas CODE 0900 CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY —DISTRICT ^UILDING(S) —STRUCTURE —SITE —OBJECT OWNERSHIP XPUBLIC —PRIVATE —BOTH PUBLIC ACQUISITION —IN PROCESS —BEING CONSIDERED STATUS -OCCUPIED i?UNOCCUPIED —WORK IN PROGRESS ACCESSIBLE XYES: RESTRICTED —YES; UNRESTRICTED —NO PRESENT USE __AGRICULTURE —MUSEUM —COMMERCIAL —PARK —EDUCATIONAL —PRIVATE RESIDENCE —ENTERTAINMENT —RELIGIOUS —GOVERNMENT —SCIENTIFIC —INDUSTRIAL —TRANSPORTATION —MILITARY —OTHER: [OWNER OF PROPERTY NAME Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands STREET & NUMBER CITY, TOWN Charlotte Amalie VICINITY OF STATE St. Thomas. U.S. Virain Islands LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS,ETC. Recorder of Deeds STREETS NUMBER No. 18 Kongens Gade CITY, TOWN STATE Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands □ REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE U.S. Virgin Islands Inventory of Historic Places DATE May 1976 —FEDERAL X-STATE —COUNTY —LOCAL DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS Virgin Islands Planning Office CITY, TOWN Charlotte Amalie, U.S.V.I. STATE DESCRIPTION CONDITION -EXCELLENT lk)ETERIORATED -GOOD _RUINS -FAIR _UNEXPOSED CHECK ONE —UNALTERED Xaltered CHECK ONE ^originalsite —MOVED DATE- DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE Tutu Plantation House lies three miles northeast of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, on a 3.5 acre hilltop site. It is signifi­ cant as one of the few plantation greathouses remaining on the island. While the house is said to have been built around 1803, much of the interior trim is Greek Revival, probably dating from 20 to 30 years later. The symmetrical facade and interior plan of the house represent a revival of classical European trends, with the shuttered windows, hipped roof, east- west orientation for cross-ventilation and the originally separ­ ate kitchen as colonial variation on the classical theme. The house faces west, with the grade of the land sloping from west to east and from south to north. It is located at the end of a cul-de-sac formed by a driveway off the main road leading up to the site. The house is two stories, and is a rectangular block, measuring 40’ by 32'. Central porches front and rear were probably added in the Victorian period after 1850, and the front porch replaced around 1890. The kitchen (over a cistern), originally a separate outbuilding, was joined to the main house along the south facade. Servants' quarters are located in the lower level of the north elevation. The foundations are made of coursed, pressed limestone, set in a lime mortar and stuccoed. The exterior of the foundation is currently painted red. The main floor is constructed- of red ballast brick with stucco, and the upper floor, a probable re­ placement of an earlier clapboard construction, is wood frame, sheathed and faced with shingles. The main and upper floors are painted white. The roof is hipped, and covered with corrugated metal, painted red. It is not immediately clear whether the roof has been replaced. The house has five bays on each of its four sides. The upper story of the main facade has five, and the lower story four windows due to the interruption created by the central entrance porch. The porch roof is a wooden gable of plank construction, and is supported in the front corners by slender iron poles. A decorative Victorian bargeboard in a solid trefoil pattern lies behind the eaves of the porch. The present gable-roof porch is replacing an earlier flat-roof porch, as ghostingsin the stucco behind the present roof line make evident. Form No. 10-300a (Rev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY RECEIVED jy,. , DATE ENTERED CONTI NU ATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER PAGE one The windows are six by six (double hung), and have two, three- panelled shutters, painted green and white. The brightly- painted shutters together with the red foundation level, the white main and upper floor, and the red corrugated metal roof create a strong, polychrome effect. The interior of the windows are fitted with louvered jalousie panels. The double entrance doors to the front and rear are secured with heavy storm shutters. The inner front and rear doors have recessed wood panels at the base with three glass lights (five on the front door). The rear door has a two-light transom, backed by a wooden grille with delicate turned colonnettes. Both porches are approached by stairs, which are imported marble in the rear, and later concrete in the front. The porches are partially enclosed on the sides by marble benches faced with stucco, bearing a decorative railing of pointed-ellipse design. There is a small concrete patio to the right of the front porch which was added in the 1940's. The interior of the house follows the central-hall plan, with a main salon running straight through from front to rear on the east-west axis, providing for cross-ventilation. The first floor has a large living room extending the length of the house, with smaller rooms to either side of the hall. On the second floor, there are four bedrooms, and two later bathrooms. The staircase to the right of the main hall on the first floor provides access to the second floor. The staircase was originally free-standing, but the area below the first flight has been walled in to create a storage closet. The stairs, which are closed string and with­ out bracket ornamentation, have turned balusters of medium thick­ ness. The handrail is mahogany, and curves into a shell at the newel post. The transom of the rear door abuts the landing , allowing for additonal ventilation of the upper story. Most of the original trim is Greek Revival. The doors to the rooms on the main floor have six recessed panels, and are trimmed with fluted casings with medallion corner blocks. The medallion motif is echoed in a chandelier base in the ceiling of GPO 892 455 Form No. 10-300a (Rev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS use ONLY RECEIVED JUN t] 1976 DATE ENTERED jyi IB 1976 CONTI NU ATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER PAGE "hLiTO the living room , with a guilloche and Greek fret pattern. There are also recessed panels under the windows. The rest of the trim —ceiling and baseboard molding— is of a later date. In the main floor rooms, a h inch torus molding applied to the wall surface to create a panelled effect dates from 1927. These rooms are currently painted in light blue and grey (highlighting the illu­ sion of panels) with white trim. The upper story rooms are treated more plainly, without the applied torus molding or recessed panels under the windows. The machine- made molding of these rooms is of a later date than the Greek Revival details of the main floor. It is probable that the entire frame upper story was re-trimmed at some point after the house was built. At this time, the exterior of the upper story may also have been re-faced with shingles. The upper bedrooms currently have added closets which project out into the rooms. In addition to the main house, structures on the site include an old manager's house and stables on the road leading to the house, and a wooden garage probably dating from the 1920's to the southwest side of the house off the cul-de-sac. An old "copper"used to cook the sugar cane juice, lies alongside the entrance porch on the northwest corner. Dozens of old conch shells (so-called "tutu's", because they were used to call the slaves to their labor) were found in a storage area in the ser­ vants' quarters in the lower level on the north, but their in­ tended use is not clear. The garden in front of the house is overgrown, but is planted with many mature specimens of native West Indian flowers and trees. 6P0 892 455 SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE - CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW —PREHISTORIC —1400-1499 —1500-1599 — 1600-1699 —1700-1799 -^800-1899 JS900- " —ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC —ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC —AGRICULTURE XjVRCHITECTURE —ART —COMMERCE —COMMUNICATIONS —COMMUNITY PLANNING —CONSERVATION —ECONOMICS —LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE —LAW —RELIGION —SCIENCE -LITERATURE -SCULPTURE —EDUCATION —ENGINEERING —EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT —INDUSTRY —INVENTION —MILITARY —MUSIC —PHILOSOPHY —POLITICS/GOVERNMENT -S0CIA17HUMANITARIAN —THEATER —TRANSPORTATION —OTHER (SPECIFY) SPECIFIC DATES BUILDER/ARCHITECT STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The Tutu Plantation House was built during the early 1800's, and is one of the few surviving examples of plantation great houses in St. Thomas. The house was part of a cattle and dairy plantation which flourished during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The secondary structures on the premises are typical of the buildings found on plantations They include the manager's house and stables. The first record of ownership is dated 1813, when the three plantations of Tutu, Tabor and Harmoni under the name Anna's Retreat, were deeded from Octavius Pogy to Erasmus Frederick Schifter. The name of the house was derived from the Danish word "tutu", which refers to a large "trumpet-like" conch shell used to call the slaves to labor. Tutu Plantation House, with its almost square shape and wood frame second story, is significant for its variation from the rectangular one or two-story great house type often found on the.other islands. Its symmetrical facade and central hall plan reflect the strong influence of Classical Revivalism on early 19th century Danish West Indian architecture. J -i' * ^--------- 1.“ [major bibliographical references • Letter: Enid Baa to Senator Virdin Brown, February 1971. Interview: Mrs. Doreen C. Cole, May 7, 1976, by Margaret Proskauer and Annie Hillary. Dookhan, Isaac. A History of the Virgin Islands of the United States. Epping, Essex: Booker Publishing Co. 1974. EDgeographical data 1 acre ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY. UTM REFERENCES A| , I I I , I , , I I . t > I . . I ZONE EASTING NORTHING cLl 18^ 20' 30" north latitude 64® 53' 10" west longitude bI . I > ■ ■ 1 I IK I ZONE EASTIN oLxJ LLlJ U-.1... I . L J NORTHING iJ I . 1 . I . . t VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION 1V.'«lo fii ecc:. o:i LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE CODE COUNTY CODE STATE CODE COUNTY CODE EQform prepared by NAME/TITLE Samuel N. Stokes Russell Wright, Margaret Proskauer, Annie Hillary, V.I. Historic Survey ORGANIZATION Virgin Islands Planning Office DATE May 17, 1976 STREET & NUMBER P.O.Box 2606 TELEPHONE (809) 774-1730 CITY OR TOWN STATE Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands EHstatc historic preservation officer certification THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS: NATIONAL___ STATE X LOCAL As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. , STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE ^ DATE TITLE Director of Planning May 25, 1976 FDR NPS USE ONLY j I H EREBY CERDRJ^HAT THIS P^^ KEEPER OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER ARCHEOLl ISTORIC PRESERVATION CLUDEO INTHE NATIONAL REGISTER DATE ■^^DATE GPO 892-453 Property (f%L State Ki, working Number T-(oOO|‘^b> TECHNICAL Photos___L Maps ___ L tfm ^ C^chiL CONTTOL Gt tV 7^ HISTORIAN /, , ,0 n . ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN OK C=HS:r^G>ct^ (jS^a-Ca^—lAAAAAiil>CA(:7^ r ^ ^ ^ ^ 'SrAU^ilAAJL^ XjSjeJlxj^AlU * ^ ARCHEDLOmST ii':. S- i>b OTHER HAER Inventory Review REVIEW UNIT CHIEF (Xc^T do\i^ BRANCH CHIEF KEEPER 6-z-n-'? t National Register Write-up - Send-back Federal Register Entry ^ ^*^4 Re-submit Entered JULT3l37b IN T :2 1 06- 74 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service WASO No. 7 / GOVERNMENT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS OF THE UNITED STATES OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR VIRGIN ISLANDS PLANNING OFFICE DIVISION FOR ARCHAEOLOGY & HISTORIC PRESERVATION P.O. Box 2606 Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, V.l. 00801 April 21, 1986 PRESERVATION National Register of Historic Places Interagency Resources Division National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 20240 Dear Sir: We are writing in reference to one of our National Register properties in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, the Tutu Plantation House. The property was entered on the National Register on July 12, 1976 under the classification of building. Since the property was listed on the National Register, it has suffered two severe fires which destroyed the upper wooden story of the building and all of the interior. A substantial portion of the building is masonry and remains in good condition. The question of the building's status on the National Register has arisen because of proposed development on the site. The building is currently owned by the Virgin Islands Government, and the development would come under F.H.A. rules and regulations, making it subject to Section 106 Compliance. There are several questions which we feel should be resolved: 1. 2. 3. Is the property still eligible to be listed as a building? The National Register highlights the building's architectural feature, but ignores the site and its archaeological components. We feel that the archaeological significance still needs to be addressed. If the building were to be restored to its original configuration with the aid of old photographs and documents, would this effect the building's National Register status? We are enclosing recent photgraphs of the property. We would appreciate any insight you might be able to give us on this threatened historic resource. Your earliest response will be most appreciated. Please feel free to contact our office if you need any additional information. , MAY 5 Sincerely, DHH/CCL/j^- Claudette ^cf.^lfewis Assistant Director, DAHP U S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HERITAGE CONSERVATION AND RECREATION SERVICE DATE 7 TIME OF CALL X 1. CALL 0 TO: [n FROM (Itmmm) II >1)0^** 2. ADDRESS (T0I. No. U tMmdmd) It SSfo 3. SUBJECT. PROJECT NO,. ETC. U ^ahi Ht>U4-t 4. DETAILS OF mSCUVStON ^ piiS^ $Mtly ' So ksL iA^i sW hmXK ■.. aiJlh r (T^ hh ^ {AArJj^ OlZt^ j ^ ^ ^ fJU>^ UW^ T) ^ • ,^ry^ '-^aJJ-u^ -ru^ NAME OF PERSON PLACINO/PECEI VINO CALL ’L FHR-8-227 June 1978 ■ jy ■ ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER ■ •: STATE VIRGIN ISLANDS Date Entered JUL 12 1976 ■:v Name Location Prosperity Archeological Site Prederiheted vicinity St. Croix county Great Pond Archeological Site Christiansted vicinity St. Croix county j Tutu Plantation Bouse Charlotte Aiaalia vicinity St. Xhonas county La Grande Prlncessa School Chrlstlansted vicinity St. Croix coimty ■ • . . . • X- ■ •r \ •j Also Notified J 1I State Historic Preservation Officer Mr. Thoma Blake Planning Director, Virgin Islands Planning Board Regional Director, Southeast Region charlotte Amalie Mott 7/14/76 St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00801 INT:2®50-75 iis ’ ifV.trs on federal resfister: tryru Pum^^on Hoa^e- lONAL REGISTER DATA SHEET n;Ey.^Cl^^i^rre AmA.ue-. NTH i; ■ ■ j/L , ; LjMULiiFL city / town ^OTHER NAMES’ of CH^p-uorns^A»AArue> 3 lav\^ ^iT'. THoKA^ 'A ei e n t r 7 • 7^ I county code Ot^CtO -6>ourH6AST" FL£ DfEDERAUagency name)_ @fc- iTiM, ^WltBIK MTinXi. Ons, KAME____ (^CONDITIOW □ excellent □ good □ fair )< icteriorated ruins □ unexposed □ unexcavated >C3 ■■ d )rUNDED? Dyes GNO @C0NGRESS DISTR I^T" ' .0 >< IIAMNAt 8l$rODtC lANDA - Dni ijAiiif, (ir features i^)AIT^ESS I'KS-Rest r icied Q YES-Unrestricted ^y^REPLS OF SIGNIFICANCE GARCHEOLOGy-prehistoric-2 GCOHMERCE-6 tt M i Original site □ unaltered □ moved □ reconstructed Gunknown □ excavated □ No Access □ Unknown @)ADAPTIVE USE DUS 1 □ local „ JRGAilZATION ^X.J- mn;u ■ “GrtOI IKIACf-O “□UlfKHOWN-4 ?□ NOT APPLICABLE-7 i -'S'ANT!ALLY iNTACT-2 .X. ' r SI A NTI Al LY INTACT ■ 3 £□ NOT INIACT-O OGhOT INTACT -O "□UNKNOWN-5 3DUNKN0WN-6 | SGNOT APPLICABtE-8 f □ NOT APPLICABIE - 0 ' SAVED' DYES IS PROPERTY A HISTORIC DISTRICT? □ y. □ ENGINEERING-n □ LANDSCAPE ARCH-15 □ POLITICS/GOVT .• 21 □ RECREATION-28 □ ENTERTAINMENT-28 □ LAW-18 GRELIGION-22 □ SETTLEMENI-29 □ ARCHEOLOGV-Aistoric-I ^ AGRICUlTURE-3 5^ARCHITECTURE-4 □ ART-5 □ COMMUNICATIONS-] □ EXPLORATION -12 □ CONSERVATION-8 □HEALTH-27 □ ECONOMICS-9 □ INOUSTRY-13 □ EOUCATinN-in □ invENT!0N-14 □ LITERATURE-17 □ MILITARY- 18 □ MUSIC- 19 □ PHILOSOPHY-20 □ SCIENCE- 23 □ URBAN PLANNING-31 □ SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN-24 □ OTHER (SPECIFY) □ SOCIAL/CULTURAL-30__________ ___ □ TRANSPORTATION-25 ^CLAIMS: explain ^first’D ‘ oldest’ □ ‘only’ □ (^functions WHEN HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT: PLAKlfATlOKl Ho 0^^ currently: V-ftCAWr* ^architectural style(s) tz^evAVAU eueiAenT^. ^laiiuscape areniteot/ garden desiy;uer; ^dates ol initial construct major alUratinns: historic events; jETHNIC GROUP ' ASSOCIATION ^interior decorator: ^architect: onwovsin ^master builder: artist: partisan; ^engineer: ^builder/contractor: ^NAMES give role A date '^personal: events: INSTITUTIONAL: ^NATIONAL REGISTER WRITE &IUCK , MtAsPV-e, C.UAl*bOAlLom<& j '2.6r©fcieSj , hhl»P^ lUOf , HM>M- cunaAnce w/m swt/rre^, i-“sro»>r e/^u&o eyvrMncs Porch rowAreD ALTBitATlopY^ E)OA<M>^, CUUf/boAa-Oilijne i iVUS^BlOlt- TF-'H r ftitL&eK- pei\J 6\;»Ly\v)iv\fl— ey<At4PL&b o^- Af DG^;eu?P&t) A&. t*APr* (ip- C/>r-piB(^ ^ t\\o ~\^tu C.^^auf‘Zo m <3. reviewers initial ■ IF ADDITIONAL SPACE NEEDED. NUMBER i PUT ON REVERSEI