Mount Rainier National Park is a national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park was established on March 2, 1899, as the fourth national park in the United States, preserving 236,381 acres including all of Mount Rainier, a 14,410-foot (4,390 m) stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet to over 14,000 feet (490–4,300 m). The highest point in the Cascade Range, Mount Rainier is surrounded by valleys, waterfalls, subalpine meadows, and 91,000 acres of old-growth forest. More than 25 glaciers descend the flanks of the volcano, which is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow.
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.
Paradise is the name of an area at approximately 5,400 feet (1,600 m) on the south slope of Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, United States. Southeast of Seattle, the area lies on the border of Pierce and Lewis counties and includes the Paradise Valley and the Paradise Glacier, the source of the Paradise River. Virinda Longmire named Paradise in the summer of 1885 while she viewed the wildflowers in the alpine meadows there. Paradise also offers views of Mount Rainier and the Tatoosh Range.
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. The administration and community buildings were designed by National Park Service staff under the direction of Thomas Chalmers Vint.
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.
The Sunrise Historic District, also known as the community of Sunrise, Washington, is located at approximately 6,400 feet (2,000 m) on a ridge overlooking the northeast side of Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park. The district comprises seven individual structures designed in accordance with the principles of the National Park Service Rustic style. The area is inhabited and open to the public only during a brief period in the summer season.
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.
The Chinook Pass Entrance Arch marks the east entrance to Mount Rainier National Park. The rectangular log entry arch is one of several placed at the entrances to the park. It was designed in 1933 by the National Park Service Branch of Plans and Designs, and was built in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The arch consists of two stone abutments carrying horizontal logs over the road. The arch functions as a bridge, carrying a horse trail, which is now part of the Pacific Crest Trail.
The Christine Falls Bridge is a reinforced concrete arch bridge in Mount Rainier National Park, spanning Van Trump Creek at Christine Falls. The bridge was built in 1927–1928 by contractor J. D. Tobin of Portland, Oregon, who built the Narada Falls Bridge at the same time. The arch has a three-centered profile and spans 56 feet (17 m). The bridge is 30 feet (9.1 m) wide. It was faced with rubble stonework and is an example of National Park Service Rustic design.
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.
The Narada Falls Bridge is a reinforced concrete arch bridge in Mount Rainier National Park, spanning the Paradise River above Narada Falls. The bridge was built in 1927–1928 by contractor J. D. Tobin of Portland, Oregon, who built the Christine Falls Bridge at the same time. The arch spans 36 feet (11 m). The bridge is 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, with an additional 3.5 feet (1.1 m) on either side for sidewalks. It was faced with rubble stone masonry and is an example of National Park Service Rustic design. The bridge is not open for public traffic, and leads to the Narada park utility area.
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.
Indian Henry's Patrol Cabin is an early National Park Service patrol cabin in Mount Rainier National Park. The cabin was built in 1915–1916 at an elevation of 5,300 feet (1,600 m) in an area of the park known as "Indian Henry's Hunting Ground," which had been used in the 19th century by the Cowlitz and Nisqually tribes. "Indian Henry" was an Indian guide who accompanied James Longmire in his explorations of the area. The Indian Henry's area became a tourist destination with the 1908 establishment of the "Wigwam Camp," a tent camp which was abandoned in 1918. The area remained as a headquarters for backcountry patrols; the cabin was the first such facility in the park.
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.
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.
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.
The St. Andrews Creek Bridge was built in 1930-31 as part of the West Side Road in Mount Rainier National Park. The bridge spans 26 feet (7.9 m) and is almost 34 feet (10 m) wide, carrying a two-lane road on a stone-faced concrete bridge. The West Side Road was planned to link the Nisqually and Carbon River entrances to the park, but only 13 miles (21 km) were completed in six years.
The South Puyallup River Bridge was built in 1930–31 in Mount Rainier National Park as part of the West Side Road project, planned to link the park's Nisqually and Carbon River entrances. The stone-faced reinforced concrete bridge was designed by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads. It spans 42 feet (13 m) and is almost 35 feet (11 m) wide, carrying two lanes of traffic.
Architects of the National Park Service are the architects and landscape architects who were employed by the National Park Service (NPS) starting in 1918 to design buildings, structures, roads, trails and other features in the United States National Parks. Many of their works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and a number have also been designated as National Historic Landmarks.
