National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers - Battle Mountain Sanitarium, Mess Hall, 500 North Fifth Street, Hot Springs, Fall River County, SD

The name of the overall site and some individual buildings were edited after the initial photographic survey was transmitted. Previously the site was incompletely called Battle Mountain Sanitarium, and this building was incorrectly called Battle Mountain Sanitarium, Service Wing. This was changed to National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers - Battle Mountain Sanitarium, Mess Hall. The secondary name was changed to Hot Springs Veterans Administration Medical Center, Building No. 2 and VA Black Hills Health Care System - Hot Springs Campus, Building No. 2.
See overview historical context HABS No. SD-24 for additional information on the Battle Mountain Sanitarium and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The field notes include sketches of HABS No. SD-24-O and HABS No. SD-24-P.
Significance: Built between 1903 and 1907, Mess Hall/Service Building housed the dining room, kitchen, bakery, and staff quarters for Battle Mountain Sanitarium of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (NHDVS). The NHDVS was a federal institution authorized by Congress in 1865 and charged with caring for Civil War veterans disabled by their military service. By 1930 the system had eleven branches and became part of the new Veterans Administration. The Battle Mountain Sanitarium was the tenth NHDVS facility and the only one built exclusively for medical care.

Well-known Omaha architect Thomas Rogers Kimball designed the Mess Hall to complement the rest of the Mission Revival hospital complex. The building features a hipped red tile roof and is attached to the rear of the circular corridors surrounding the courtyard. It is placed on axis with the Administration Building. The Mess Hall continues to house a dining hall, kitchen, and a variety of storage and offices on the basement and second floor levels.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2059
Survey number: HABS SD-24-F
Building/structure dates: 1903-1907 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 11000561