Throughout WWII, almost 200,000 Quonset huts were produced in the United States. The Navy spurred the production of so many Quonset huts, because they needed portable sturdy buildings that could be put in place without construction crews. The U.S. military developed portable iron and wood Quonset huts after using the Nissan hut designed by the British during the first World War. The buildings were initially manufactured in Quonset Point, Rhode Island. Because of their simple yet strong iron arc structure, Quonset huts offered a very efficient use of interior space. The flexibility and simplicity of the huts allowed the military to have immediate solid structures for medical facilities, vehicle repair shops, barracks and storage. The metal structures were definitely an improvement over the wooden foundation tent structures that had served those functions. The Quonset huts produced during the war were sold to the general populations for about $1000 each after the war. Since then, Quonset huts not produced by the military have been manufactured and utilized for a plethora of commercial and residential uses.
Quonset huts provided the foundation for the modern prefabricated steel building of today. One of the big problems with the semi circular design on Quonset huts, was that it was difficult to place square items flush to the wall on the floor. The structure was later altered to have walls at 90 degree angles, which eliminated the wasted space of the original curved wall design. The design change actually allowed the structures to break down even smaller and made it lighter to ship. And the curved arc frame introduced by the advent of Quonset huts is still used by a lot of the current portable steel building manufacturers.
The same portability and ease of construction concept that made Quonset huts so invaluable to the U.S. military is why steel buildings are such an attractive option for residential and commercial uses today. Steel buildings, much like Quonset huts, can be assembled with a handful of people without special equipment. Steel buildings are used for a wide variety of commercial and residential purposes. They serve as hangars, auto repair shops, hobby shops and equipment storage. They are more economical than traditional buildings and require little maintenance. The Quonset huts live on.