Esther McCoy Irving Gill 1870-1936 Five California Architects, 1960, Reprinted in Marvin Rand Irving J. Gill: Architect 1870-1936, Gibbs Smith, Publisher: Salt Lake City, UT, Design, Ahde Lahti; Photographs, Marvin Rand, 2006, 238 pp. pp. 219-227, 2006a, 1911
"In 1911, Gill persuaded the Riverside Cement Company to let him design barracks for Mexican laborers and their families. This was the first time that an industrial concern had attempted to create a green and pleasant environment for its unskilled Mexican laborers, instead of following the usual custom of throwing up shacks. Gill's sketch for the project showed two quadrangles, separated by an avenue of eucalyptus. The four outer sides of both quadrangles were continuous walls, and all rooms opened onto the garden in the center. A pergola stretched along one side.
"The finished barracks are no longer in existence but photographs show that the material was clapboard siding and that instead of Gill's twin quadrangles, a single one was built. However, the scheme still had the virtue of enclosing a garden, and Gill's hand could be seen in the large vine-covered patio."