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. Architects, landscape architects and engineers combined native wood and stone with convincingly native styles to create visually appealing structures that seemed to fit naturally within the majestic landscapes. Examples of the style can be found in numerous types of National Park structures, including entrance gateways, hotels and lodges, park roads and bridges, visitor centers, trail shelters, informational kiosks, and even mundane maintenance and support facilities. Many of these buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The historical buildings and structures of Zion National Park represent a variety of buildings, interpretive structures, signs and infrastructure associated with the National Park Service's operations in Zion National Park, Utah. Structures vary in size and scale from the Zion Lodge to road culverts and curbs, nearly all of which were designed using native materials and regional construction techniques in an adapted version of the National Park Service Rustic style. A number of the larger structures were designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, while many of the smaller structures were designed or coordinated with the National Park Service Branch of Plans and Designs. The bulk of the historic structures date to the 1920s and 1930s. Most of the structures of the 1930s were built using Civilian Conservation Corps labor.
The Isabella Ranger Station is a complex of 21 buildings in Stony River Township, Minnesota, United States, near the town of Isabella. It is located on Minnesota State Highway 1 about one mile east of Isabella. The complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its association with New Deal federal relief construction.
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 Elwha Ranger Station is a historic district in Olympic National Park, originally built in the 1930s for the U.S. Forest Service. The complex of fourteen buildings is divided in two by Olympic Hotsprings Road. To the east lie the ranger station and three residences, with nine maintenance buildings on the west side of the road. The complex was turned over to the National Park Service in 1940 when the land was added to Olympic National Park from Olympic National Forest. Construction is typical of USFS practice, and reflects the Forest Service's preference of the time for bungalow and American Craftsman style architecture.
The Eagle Ranger Station, also known as the Eagle Guard Station and presently known as the Sol Duc Ranger Station, is a complex of three buildings built in the 1930s in what would become Olympic National Park. The primary structures were built by the U.S. Forest Service in what was at the time the Olympic National Forest., While the main residence was built by the USFS, the generating plant and landscaping were built by the National Park Service using labor provided by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The historical buildings and structures of Grand Teton National Park include a variety of buildings and built remains that pre-date the establishment of Grand Teton National Park, together with facilities built by the National Park Service to serve park visitors. Many of these places and structures have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The pre-Park Service structures include homestead cabins from the earliest settlement of Jackson Hole, working ranches that once covered the valley floor, and dude ranches or guest ranches that catered to the tourist trade that grew up in the 1920s and 1930s, before the park was expanded to encompass nearly all of Jackson Hole. Many of these were incorporated into the park to serve as Park Service personnel housing, or were razed to restore the landscape to a natural appearance. Others continued to function as inholdings under a life estate in which their former owners could continue to use and occupy the property until their death. Other buildings, built in the mountains after the initial establishment of the park in 1929, or in the valley after the park was expanded in 1950, were built by the Park Service to serve park visitors, frequently employing the National Park Service Rustic style of design.
Architects of the United States Forest Service are credited with the design of many buildings and other structures in National Forests. Some of these are listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to the significance of their architecture. A number of these architectural works are attributed to architectural groups within the Forest Service rather than to any individual architect. Architecture groups or sections were formed within engineering divisions of many of the regional offices of the Forest Service and developed regional styles.
The Caverns Historic District comprises the central developed area of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The complex was built between the early 1920s and 1942, initially in Pueblo Revival style, and later in New Mexico Territorial Revival style in the area around the natural entrance to Carlsbad Caverns. The earlier structures are built of local limestone, the later buildings in adobe. Thirteen buildings in the district are considered contributing structures. Buildings built between 1940 and 1942 were constructed with labor provided by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The Brush Creek Work Center in Medicine Bow National Forest near Saratoga, Wyoming is a ranger station of the USDA Forest Service, Region 2 that was built during 1937-41 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by architects of the United States Forest Service in rustic style. The designs were applications of standard plans.
The Centennial Work Center in Medicine Bow National Forest near Centennial, Wyoming was built in 1938. It was built to replace the nearby Centennial Ranger Station. It was designed by USDA Forest Service, Region 2 in USFS rustic architecture and served as a government office. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architecture. The listing included three contributing buildings, a bunkhouse, a combined office and bunkhouse, and a garage, on 5 acres (2.0 ha).
Randle Ranger Station-Work Center in Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Randle, Washington was built during 1935-36 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 for its architecture. It was designed by the USDA Forest Svce. Architecture Group in Rustic architecture. The listing included seven contributing buildings including a single dwelling, a secondary structure, a warehouse, and a fire station on a 5-acre (2.0 ha) area.
Canelo Ranger Station, also known as Canelo Work Station, is a historic ranger station in the Coronado National Forest, within Santa Cruz County of southern Arizona. It is located in the ghost town of Canelo, within a small valley between the Canelo Hills on the west and the northern Huachuca Mountains on the east.
The Columbine Work Station in Coronado National Forest near Safford, Arizona was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The complex is a representative example of a Depression-era Forest Service administrative center. The station is on a high point of the Pinaleño Mountains in forested land. The main residence is in the Forest Service bungalow style. The barn is unique, not designed to a standard Forest Service prototype.
The Lowell Ranger Station compound is in the Coronado National Forest of southern Arizona. It is located in Pima County, near Tucson.
The Gasquet Ranger Station Historic District comprises a compound of buildings associated with the Gasquet Ranger District of Six Rivers National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service complex is located along the Smith River on U.S. Route 199 in Del Norte County, California, within Smith River National Recreation Area. Most of the buildings were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1933 and 1939. Seven buildings and a rock wall remain of the CCC-built structures. The district office, the assistant district ranger's residence, a warehouse, two garages and a fuel house were built in the Forest Service rustic style that prevailed at the time. The style is reflected in distinctive detailing, including a recurring pine tree cut-out logo that appears on gables and shutters.
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.
The Marcell Ranger Station is a historic United States Forest Service ranger station in Marcell Township, Minnesota. It was built from 1934 to 1935 to serve as the headquarters for the Marcell District of Chippewa National Forest. It was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 for having state-level significance in the themes of architecture, conservation, and politics/government. It was nominated for its associations with the expansion and development of Chippewa National Forest during the New Deal, for being a well-preserved example of that era's Forest Service administrative facilities, and for its fine National Park Service rustic architecture. Marcell Ranger Station was closed in 2001 and the property was converted into a vacation rental known as Marcell Lodge. A 1963 office adjacent to Minnesota State Highway 38 was turned into the Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center, a visitor center for the Edge of the Wilderness Scenic Byway.
The Kabetogama Ranger Station District is a historic ranger station complex in Kabetogama, Minnesota, United States. It was built from 1933 to 1941 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as an administrative center for Kabetogama State Forest, managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Following the establishment of Voyageurs National Park in the 1970s, the Minnesota government finalized the donation of the property to the National Park Service (NPS) in 1987. The NPS continues to use the property as one of the four administrative and visitor entrances to Voyageurs.
The North Bend Ranger Station is a collection of buildings operated by the USDA Forest Service in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1936, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. The multiple buildings indicate the expansion of Forest Service responsibilities from custodial supervision to extensive resource management. North Bend Ranger Station is considered historic both for its distinctive rustic architecture and for its association with the federal New Deal programs.
