Bird's-Eye Views of Camp Devens - 1918

A Bird's-Eye View of Camp Devens - Looking West from Boulder Hill. GGA Image ID # 139f237bb8

Looking due west from Boulder Hill, one can see a greater part of the cantonment. Directly in front, behind the pines, are the barracks of the 301st Engineers. Beyond the pond, at the right, is one end of the huge YMCA Auditorium.

Past the engineers' quarters, looking across the clearing to the buildings at the left of the prominent smoke-stacks, are the barracks of the Depot Brigade.

Below the sky-line, in the center of the picture we have the 303rd and 304th Infantry, and looking over the YMCA. Auditorium at the right, one sees the barracks of the 301st and 302nd Infantry. The conspicuous chimneys mark the situation of the various heating-plants of the camp.

Looking North From Boulder Hill

Looking North from Boulder Hill - Baldwin's And the 301st Light Field Infantry. GGA Image ID # 139f15f477

In the foreground, on the further side of the road, is the commercial center of the camp. The large sign of Baldwin's Restaurant is visible through the trees. Formerly this cafeteria was controlled by the Baldwin Company, a private concern, under the supervision of the military authorities and contractors.

Recently, however, it was taken over by the government; it is now under the dominion of the Quartermaster's Corps and the ticket sellers, cooks, and waiters are all enlisted men in the department.

The interior of the building is most interesting at meal-time. It is filled with soldiers who prefer the food here to that of their own mess-halls, and those who have been assigned to this place by the authorities. The men pass through a gate at the left and receive the food from a counter in the rear.

There is no choice of dishes; certain menus are prescribed for each meal. As the diner enters the main hall by another gate, he receives a check on which the amount due is punched. He then eats at one of the long wooden benches, and pays his check as he leaves the hall by a third gate.

In the rear of Baldwin's can be seen the barracks of the 301st Light Field Artillery, and in the distance, the top of the Hostess House and the administrative building of the YMCA. The two chimneys are those of the plants which heat the buildings in the vicinity.

The road in front runs by the quarters of the 303rd Heavy Field Artillery, to the Quartermasters' Corps and the railroad. The road at the extreme left, running perpendicular to it, is the main highway of the camp and runs from the Depot Brigade, in the rear, to the main gate, which lies in the direction of the center of the panorama.