Longmire Buildings

Last updated

Longmire Buildings
Longmire Administration Building (2015).jpg
Longmire Administration Building
USA Washington location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationLongmire, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Coordinates 46°44′56″N121°48′39″W / 46.74889°N 121.81083°W / 46.74889; -121.81083
Arealess than one acre
Architect Ernest A. Davidson. et al.
Architectural styleRustic
Part of Longmire Historic District (ID91000173)
NRHP reference No. 87001338 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 28, 1987
Designated CPMarch 13, 1991

The Longmire Buildings in Mount Rainier National Park comprise the park's former administrative headquarters, and are among the most prominent examples of the National Park Service Rustic style in the national park system. They comprise the Longmire Community Building of 1927, the Administration Building of 1928, and the Longmire Service Station of 1929. Together, these structures were designated National Historic Landmarks on May 28, 1987. [1] The administration and community buildings were designed by National Park Service staff under the direction of Thomas Chalmers Vint.

Contents

Administration Building

The Longmire Administration Building is the largest and most architecturally significant of the three structures. The two-story building features heavy boulder rubble construction to the sill line of its second floor windows, with log-frame construction above. The building is entered through a front porch constructed of unusually heavy peeled logs. As the park's administrative headquarters it housed the offices of the park superintendent and engineering support activities. After the construction of a new headquarters just outside the park's boundaries under the Mission 66 program, the Administration Building became a visitor contact point and maintenance headquarters. [2] [3]

Behind the entry porch, a pair of doors give access to a reception room furnished with a stone fireplace. A conference room and offices are housed on the upper level, with the basement contains mechanical equipment and a jail cell. The exterior corners of the building are buttressed with stone pilasters at the corners. Log planks sheathe the upper level above the sill, giving the appearance of log construction. [2] [3]

Community Building

Longmire Community Building Longmire Community Building (2015), 01.jpg
Longmire Community Building

The Community Building was the first to be built and set the tone for the area. The T-Shaped frame building houses a large community room measuring about 60 feet (18 m) by 30 feet (9.1 m), with a subsidiary wing housing toilets and staff quarters. A deep porch occupies one bay in front of the community room. Exterior walls are finished with log-slab veneer. The community room's interior features exposed scissor-truss log roof framing, with a large stone fireplace at one end. The masonry of the fireplace is distinctive, with roughly squared stone in the lower portion giving way to round glacial boulders. The other end of the room houses a small stage in a bay projecting from the end of the building. Original furnishings include light fixtures and log tables resembling those at the Paradise Inn. The living quarters were renovated in 1964 and retain little of their historic fabric. The interiors of the housing wing were excluded from the National Historic Landmark nomination. The lower level is used as a kitchen, with two apartments on the upper level. [2] [3]

Service Station

Longmire Service Station Longmire Service Station.jpg
Longmire Service Station

The 1929 Service Station provided gasoline and basic services to park visitors. The front half of the building is a drive-through covered bay with supports on the gas island, with an office in the other half behind, the whole crowned by a steeply-pitched attic. Stone-faced concrete extends from grade level to sill level. The frame wall above is clad with log slab siding, while the roof is clad with cedar shingles. A small apartment is housed in the attic, accessible by an exterior stairway. [2] [3]

The Longmire Buildings form a part of the Longmire Historic District, which is itself within the Mount Rainier National Park National Historic Landmark District, comprising the entire park. [1]

The Administration Building and Service Station are close together near the road, while the Community Building is across the Nisqually River. The construction of all three was supervised by Ernest A. Davidson, a Park Service landscape architect assigned to Mount Rainier. Vint chose to feature the Community Building and the Administration Building in his 1938 Park and Recreation Structures publications, an influential series of three volumes devoted to rustic park structures that influenced state and national park design through the 1930s. The Service Station stands as an almost unique example of rustic architecture for that building type. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Faithful Inn</span> United States historic place

The Old Faithful Inn is a hotel in the western United States with a view of the Old Faithful Geyser, located in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The Inn has a multi-story log lobby, flanked by long frame wings containing guest rooms. In the western portion of the park, it sits at an approximate elevation of 7,350 feet (2,240 m) above sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Park Service rustic</span> Style of architecture developed in 20th century for the United States National Park Service

National Park Service rustic – sometimes colloquially called Parkitecture – is a style of architecture that developed in the early and middle 20th century in the United States National Park Service (NPS) through its efforts to create buildings that harmonized with the natural environment. Since its founding in 1916, the NPS sought to design and build visitor facilities without visually interrupting the natural or historic surroundings. The early results were characterized by intensive use of hand labor and a rejection of the regularity and symmetry of the industrial world, reflecting connections with the Arts and Crafts movement and American Picturesque architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradise Inn (Washington)</span> United States historic place

Paradise Inn is a historic hotel built in 1916 at 5,400-foot (1,600 m) on the south slope of Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, United States. The inn is named after Paradise, the area of the mountain in which it is located. The Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center and the 1920 Paradise Guide House are also at this location. The inn and guide house are where many climbers start their ascent of the mountain. The inn is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a major component of the Paradise Historic District. Additionally, it is part of the Mount Rainier National Historic Landmark District, which encompasses the entire park and which recognizes the park's inventory of National Park Service rustic architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longmire, Washington</span> United States historic place

Longmire, which is effectively encompassed by the Longmire Historic District, is a visitor services center in Washington State's Mount Rainier National Park, located 6.5 miles (10.5 km) east of the Nisqually Entrance. The area is in the Nisqually River valley at an elevation of 2,761 feet (842 m) between The Ramparts Ridge and the Tatoosh Range. Longmire is surrounded by old-growth douglas fir, western red cedar and western hemlock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Caves Chateau</span> United States historic place

The Oregon Caves Chateau is a historic American hotel that opened in 1934. It is located in Oregon Caves National Monument in southern Oregon, near Cave Junction. The Chateau was designed and built by Gust Lium, a local contractor. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987, the Chateau building is architecturally significant because of its construction and design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryce Canyon Lodge</span> United States historic place

Bryce Canyon Lodge is a lodging facility in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, United States, built between 1924 and 1925 using local materials. Designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, the lodge is an excellent example of National Park Service rustic design, and the only remaining completely original structure that Underwood designed for Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Canyon Lodge</span> NRPH building in Coconino County, Arizona

The Grand Canyon Lodge is a hotel and cabins complex at Bright Angel Point on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, who designed a number of other hotels in national parks for the Utah Parks Company and other concessioners. Built in 1927–28, the Grand Canyon Lodge resort complex consists of the Main Lodge building, 23 deluxe cabins, and 91 standard cabins, some of which were moved to the north rim campground in 1940. All guests are housed in cabins detached from the main lodge, which serves as a dining, concessions and service facility. Constructed of native Kaibab limestone and timber, the complex was designed to harmonize with its rocky and forested setting. The Grand Canyon Lodge complex is notable for its setting and rustic design, as well as its status as the only complete surviving lodge and cabin complex in the national parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Canyon Park Operations Building</span> United States historic place

The Grand Canyon Park Operations Building was built in 1929 on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park. It is significant as an example of a National Park Service building designed to blend harmoniously with the natural surroundings, in the National Park Service Rustic style. The Operations Building was designed to replace the Superintendent's Residence as the park headquarters. It was in turn replaced by a newer building in 1967, and presently functions as the headquarters for park law enforcement. The building was designed by the National Park Service Landscape Division under the direction of Thomas Chalmers Vint, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark for its design significance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakima Park Stockade Group</span> United States historic place

The Yakima Park Stockade Group, also known as North and South Blockhouses, Museum, and Stockade at Sunrise, is a building complex consisting of four log buildings at the Sunrise Visitors Center area in the northeast part of Mount Rainier National Park. The complex is architecturally significant as a particularly fine example of rustic frontier log architecture. The first of the blockhouses and the stockade were built in 1930, while the second blockhouse followed in 1943. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. It is in turn part of the Mount Rainier National Historic Landmark District, which encompasses the entire park and which recognizes the park's inventory of Park Service-designed rustic architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Munson Valley Historic District</span> Historic district in Oregon, United States

Munson Valley Historic District is the headquarters and main support area for Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon. The National Park Service chose Munson Valley for the park headquarters because of its central location within the park. Because of the unique rustic architecture of the Munson Valley buildings and the surrounding park landscape, the area was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1988. The district has eighteen contributing buildings, including the Crater Lake Superintendent's Residence which is a U.S. National Historic Landmark and separately listed on the NRHP. The district's NRHP listing was decreased in area in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Faithful Historic District</span> Historic district in Wyoming, United States

The Old Faithful Historic District in Yellowstone National Park comprises the built-up portion of the Upper Geyser Basin surrounding the Old Faithful Inn and Old Faithful Geyser. It includes the Old Faithful Inn, designed by Robert Reamer and is itself a National Historic Landmark, the upper and lower Hamilton's Stores, the Old Faithful Lodge, designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, and a variety of supporting buildings. The Old Faithful Historic District itself lies on the 140-mile Grand Loop Road Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent's Residence</span> Historic house in Arizona, United States

The Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent's Residence is an early National Park Service Rustic style building, designed in 1921 by Daniel Ray Hull of the National Park Service Branch of Plans and Designs as the park's first headquarters building. The visitor information room was financed by a donation from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper. The building was altered in 1931 by Thomas Chalmers Vint to be the park superintendent's residence, superseded as headquarters by the Grand Canyon Park Operations Building It is included in the Grand Canyon Village National Historic Landmark District.

The Sunrise Comfort Station (S-310) is a comfort station in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA. Built around 1930, the building was designed by Thomas Chalmers Vint of the National Park Service in association with landscape architect E.A. Davidson. The structure was part of a planned ensemble at what was then called Yakima Park, high on the northern flank of Mount Rainier. Similar structures may be found at the Ohanapecosh, Longmire and White River campgrounds in the park. The low building is framed in peeled logs on a stone foundation, set into a hillside and surrounded by native landscaping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White River Entrance</span> United States historic place

The White River Entrance to Mount Rainier National Park is a complex of buildings built between 1929 and 1931 to accommodate visitors arriving on the Yakima Park Highway, in the northeastern portion of the park. Like most of the structures in Mount Rainier, the buildings are designed in the National Park Service Rustic style, using natural stone and log materials. The historic district includes the 1933 Men's Mess Hall and Dormitory, believed to be the only surviving camp structure built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wonderland Trail Shelters</span> United States historic place

The Wonderland Trail is an approximately 93-mile (150 km) hiking trail that circumnavigates Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, United States. The trail goes over many ridges of Mount Rainier for a cumulative 22,000 feet (6,700 m) of elevation gain. The trail was built in 1915.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narada Falls Comfort Station</span> United States historic place

The Narada Falls Comfort Station was built in Mount Rainier National Park by the National Park Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1941–42. The public toilet building is close to Narada Falls in the south central portion of the park. Initial work by the Park Service encountered substantial rock excavation, with the subsequent cost overrun requiring the Park Service to use CCC labor to complete the project. The building features stone masonry walls to window sill level, woor framed upper walls, and a timber framed roof. The interior comprises a waiting room and a toilet facility. The design was by the Western Region Landscape Engineering Division, with plan approval by Thomas Chalmers Vint, NPS Chief of Planning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradise Historic District</span> Historic district in Washington, United States

The Paradise Historic District comprises the historic portion of Paradise developed area of Mount Rainier National Park. The subalpine district surrounds its primary structure, the Paradise Inn, a rustic-style hotel built in 1917 to accommodate visitors to the park. The Paradise Inn is a National Historic Landmark. Five other buildings are included in the district. The district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 13, 1991. It is part of the Mount Rainier National Historic Landmark District, which encompasses the entire park and which recognizes the park's inventory of Park Service-designed rustic architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tipsoo Lake Comfort Station</span> United States historic place

The Tipsoo Lake Comfort Station was designed by the National Park Service Branch of Plans and Designs in the National Park Service Rustic style and built in Mount Rainier National Park by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934. The design was supervised by Park Service Chief Architect Thomas Chalmers Vint, and is similar to the Sunrise Comfort Station in the central portion of the park. Located near the park's northern entrance, two comfort station were planned to be part of a developed area in the vicinity of Tipsoo and Chinook Pass, which was never developed beyond the toilet facilities and an entrance arch. One of these survives and remains in use. The public toilet facility features rough stonework to window sill level, with a framed wall above and a log-framed roof with cedar shingles.

The Tahoma Vista Comfort Station was designed by the National Park Service Branch of Plans and Designs in the National Park Service Rustic style and built in Mount Rainier National Park by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1931. The design was supervised by Park Service Chief Architect Thomas Chalmers Vint, and site selection and development were undertaken by Park Service landscape architect Ernest A. Davidson. The comfort station serves the Tahoma Vista Overlook, also designed by Davidson. The 14-foot (4.3 m) by 30-foot (9.1 m) public toilet facility features rough stonework to window sill level, with a framed wall above and a log-framed roof with cedar shingles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nisqually Entrance Historic District</span> Historic district in Washington, United States

The Nisqually Entrance Historic District comprises the first public entrance to Mount Rainier National Park. The district incorporates the log entrance arch typical of all Mount Rainier entrances, a log frame ranger station and checking station, a comfort station and miscellaneous service structures, all built around 1926, as well as the 1915 Superintendent's Residence and the 1908 Oscar Brown Cabin, the oldest remaining structure in the park. The buildings in the district conform to the principles of the National Park Service Rustic style that prevailed in park design of the 1920s and 1930s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Harrison, Laura Soulliere (1986). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Longmire Administration Building, Community Building and Service Station" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Kaiser, Harvey H. (1997). Landmarks in the Landscape: Historic Architecture in the National Parks of the West. Chronicle Books. pp. 44–46. ISBN   0-8118-1854-3.