The Plumbing and Carpenter Shop Building is the more westerly of two nearly identical buildings lining the north edge of the utility area. The long, low, dark brown painted building front has four overhead doors across the front and an entry door toward each end. Similar to the Fire Cache building to the east, this building once had eight overhead doors. Three have been removed and covered with wood siding matching the rest of the building. On the west end are offices. In the centre is now a utilities shop and on the east end is a carpentry shop, as it's been since the building was remodeled in 1961.
This is one of the many buildings in the utility area which was constructed by the CCC.
CCC crews constructed buildings #428 and #444 at an estimated cost of $5,500 per building. The buildings were remodeled in 1942 and again in 1961 to increase office space. The original garage doors, double side-hinged vertical plank with cross-bracing, were likely replaced with the current overhead doors during the 1961 remodel.
From the NRHP Registration Form
Building #444
Buildings #428 and #444 contribute to the St. Mary Utility Area Historic District. These one-story long rectangular buildings form the north wing of the building complex and are thus critical to the historic site plan.
Building #444 is a one-story wood-frame building sided with 12" lapped horizontal wood siding. The building rests on a concrete foundation. Green modern metal panels cover the shallow shed roof. There are no eaves. Three of the original eight garage doors were blocked off and enclosed with lapped horizontal wood in association with the 1961 conversion of the garage to a carpentry shop.
The interior is divided into four general components (listed from north to south): the mail room; two supply rooms; a plumbing shop; a carpenter shop. Small brown metal signs, located above the respective entrances, identify these functions.
The mail room has a linoleum floor, celotex walls and ceiling, and the original double six-by-six casement window in the northwest elevation. The supply rooms are finished with concrete floors and plywood walls. Both plywood sheets and horizontal planks cover the ceilings. The plumbing shop has painted-plywood walls, celotex ceilings, and a concrete floor. The carpenter shop is finished with a concrete floor, frame 1 "x4" walls, and a celotex ceiling. All finishes within the small restroom are modern. All rooms have built in shelves.
The door and window surround throughout the building - added in conjunction with the modern wall surfaces - - are 1"x3" dimensional lumber. All light fixtures are modern.
Significant modifications have been limited to replacement of the original side-hinged vertical-plank garage doors (as per buildings #444 and #445) with modern overhead garage doors. Although this modification has altered the buildings' appearance, the buildings remain^ a key link in the utility area's U-shaped configuration: buildings 444 and 428 continue to define the north "wing" of the area just as they did during the historic period. Interior finishes and room configurations have been altered during the modern period. The interiors do not contribute to the buildings' significance.
From the NRHP Registration Form