Rocky Flats Plant, Bus Stop Shelter
HAER No. CO-83-F (Rocky Flats Plant, Building 114)

Location:
Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, Highway 93, Golden, Jefferson County, Colorado. Building 114 is located on the west side of Fourth Street, south of Central Avenue.

Significance:
This building is a primary contributor of the Rocky Flats Plant historic district, and is associated with the U.S. strategy of nuclear military deterrence during the Cold War, a strategy considered of major importance in preventing Soviet nuclear attack. During the first years of operation, personal automobiles were not permitted on plant grounds. Personnel were bused to entry points and around the plant. Building 114 was built to shield workers from inclement weather while awaiting transportation.

Description:
Building 114 is a small rectangular concrete block building with a flat metal roof. The building is approximately 8 by 9 feet (72 square feet). The building has windows on all sides. The east and west elevation windows are fixed, multi-paned, with metal sashes. The north and south elevations have double hung, metal sash windows, and wooden doors with windows.

History:
During the 1950s, as part of early security efforts, the only point of entry to the site was from the west off Highway 93, and the only vehicles allowed on site were construction and government vehicles. Due to the elevation, exposed nature, and close proximity to the Rocky Mountain foothills, winds at the Rocky Flats Plant periodically approach destructive levels of 80 miles per hour or greater, particularly in the winter. Vehicles were parked along on-site roadways to create windbreaks and employees often had to hold hands to be able to navigate in the strong winds (Cunningham). Building 114 was built in 1959 to shield workers from the weather while waiting for the shuttle bus to transport them to their respective work sites.

Workers parked along Highway 93 and were bused on a dirt road to the administration area of the site (Building 111) to check in and have timecards punched (Weaver), or employees could park in one of two lots outside the fenced plant site. One parking lot was west of Building 111, the other was west of Building 881. Building 864, a guard post near Building 881, was a second location where employees could have their timecards punched. Once on site, employees were bused or walked to their respective work locations. Buses transported employees to the security posts at the production buildings.

In 1957, a design change was made in the triggers manufactured at the Rocky Flats Plant. This design required more machining, which, in part, led to a dramatic growth in employment. By 1958, employees were allowed to drive their personal cars on the site.

Sources:
Cunningham, Steve, employed at the pPlant since 1977 by the site contractor. Personal communication, August 1997.

United States Department of Energy. Site Safety Analysis Report, Notebook 13-Security (1995), by EG&G Rocky Flats, Inc. Rocky Flats Repository. Golden, Colorado, 1995.

United States Department of Energy. Final Cultural Resources Survey Report (1995), by Science Applications International Corporation. Rocky Flats Repository. Golden, Colorado, 1995.

Weaver, Jack, employed at the plant since September of 1961 by the site contractor. Personal communication, August 1997.

Historians:
D. Jayne Aaron, Environmental Designer, engineering-environmental Management, Inc. (e²M), 1997. Judith Berryman, Ph.D., Archaeologist, e²M, 1997.

Index to Photographs

Located on the west side of Fourth Street, south of Central Avenue, Golden Vicinity, Jefferson County, Colorado.

Photograph by Timothy McGrath and Katherine T. Abeyta, Source One, site photography contractor, summer 1997.

CO-83-F-1 – View looking south at the north elevation of Building 114. Building 114 served as the bus stop shelter when personal vehicles were banned on the site property.