Fort Christiansvaern
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Begun in 1738 and largely completed by 1749, Fort Christiansvaern was built for the Danish West India and Guinea Company on the shoreline of Christiansted community, commanding the harbor entrance. The brick, rubble masonry, and half-timber structure is roughly square, measuring 132 feet by 144 feet around a central courtyard, with corner bastions at the salient angles and a ravelin on the landward side. With a stable and walled prison yard added in the 1830s, the fort was in continuous use as a military installation until 1878, when it became a police station and courthouse. Today, the fort is the main historic exhibit for Christiansted National Historic Site.
JKOA is preparing an Historic Structure Report (HSR) to document the chronology of the development of the fort and stable building, coordinating physical investigations with research in early drawings, plans, photographs, and documents. A condition assessment and prioritized recommendations for repairs and preservation will include consideration of potential climate change impacts.
The team’s structural engineer is evaluating areas of concern and will provide detailed recommendations for a future geotechnical investigation and structural investigation program.
Paint/stucco analysis and materials analyses of stone, brick, and metal will be conducted to better understand coatings and treatments in use at the time of the fort’s 18th-century construction to the mid-20th century. Laboratory analyses and photomicrographs will guide recommendations for appropriate restoration finishes.
Project services
Architecture
Historic preservation
Documentation drawings
Historical research
Conditions assessment
Building archaeology and forensics
Materials testing and conservation
Structural engineering