National Park Service Rustic

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The National Park Service Rustic (also popularly: Parkitecture ) is an architectural style that has established itself specifically in the area of ​​the United States National Park Service (NPS) since the early 20th century . He is characterized by the effort to design buildings that harmonize with the surrounding nature. It is thus close to the style of organic architecture . Since it was founded in 1916, the NPS has endeavored to build visitor facilities in the national parks that blend in with the natural or historical surroundings. The first buildings in this style were elaborately handcrafted and rejected regularity and symmetry as required in the industrialized world. There are links to the Arts and Crafts Movement and the American Picturesque architecture. Architects , landscape architects and engineers combined locally occurring woods and stones with convincing local style in order to design picturesque buildings and facilities that fit naturally into their surroundings. Examples of this are entrance gates, park roads and bridges, visitor centers, shelters, information kiosks and even workshops and storage buildings. Many of these buildings are now on the National Register of Historic Places .

Mount Rainier Administrative Building, Longmire.

The development between 1872 and 1916

The first national parks emerged from a romantic movement that reinterpreted the American concept of wilderness in the 19th century. As with John James Audubon , James Fenimore Cooper , Thomas Cole , George Catlin , William Cullen Bryant and others, the idea of ​​wilderness as a place of fear to be conquered shifted in favor of the idea of ​​the noble wilderness as a resource must be preserved and cherished. From these early concepts of wilderness worthy of protection, associations developed that campaigned for the establishment of national parks. With Yosemite Park in 1864 and Yellowstone in 1872 as the first, a reallocation began, where state land was designated as parks. The early national park administration was still quite haphazard. Yosemite fell victim to a political board of state commissions, while Yellowstone received an unpaid superintendent and no funding.

In 1883 the army was authorized to protect Yellowstone because poaching was now excessive and there was a political scandal. However, it was not until 1886 that the Secretary of the Interior appointed the military. The Army then stayed in Yellowstone until 1916. After 1890, the Army was also tasked with guarding the Sequoia , General Grant Tree and Yosemite. In each of the "Army Parks", the War Department was forced to erect buildings for its own basic needs. Fort Yellowstone , Wyoming, was the most important of these buildings. These buildings were built according to standard regulations and the army had no interest in landscape, which in turn can be seen in the architecture.

In the early parks where the Department of the Interior was in charge, such as Crater Lake , Mount Rainier, and Glacier , government buildings were usually confined to primitive constructions just barely enough for necessities. Huts in frame construction, log cabins or tent frames were the measure. The state buildings remained very simple because the accommodation of guests and transport duties were outsourced to concessionaires.

Refuge at Sol Duc Falls, Olympic National Park

The first concessionaires were hardly monitored. Their buildings were mostly makeshift frontier buildings. Only after the completion of the northern routes of the transcontinental railway lines in the 1890s did more complex construction methods appear. One of the first buildings from this period is the Lake Hotel in Yellowstone Park, which was built in 1890 by the Northern Pacific Railroad . The formal classicism with columns according to the Ionic order , three protruding portico and symmetrical facade clearly showed that the building had no relation to its surroundings.

The emerging railway lines triggered the first major developments in the parks. At the same time, architecture and engineering specialists came along with the railways. During this time, the awareness developed that the buildings should blend in harmoniously with the landscape. Landscape architecture began to have an impact on architectural theory. In 1842 Andrew Jackson Downing published his ideas on "picturesque landscape" and the importance of nature in architecture in his widely published book Cottage Residences . Decades later, Frederick Law Olmsted , Sr., a friend and student of Downing, reinforced the links between architecture and landscape architecture. He also worked with other architects such as Henry Hobson Richardson . The shape of the buildings should correspond to their position in the landscape, the landscape became an integral part of the design. The buildings were made of natural materials, but only a few were consciously "rustic" at the time. Early examples of this type of construction were usually "follies" (pleasure buildings: gazebos , pavilions ). Larger buildings, deliberately kept rustic, emerged in the Adirondack Mountains in the 1870s . They established the style of Adirondack Architecture . From there, after 1900, an influence on park architecture developed .

implementation

As the park administration became more organized in the 1920s, it developed a Rustic Design guideline . This was mainly represented by Thomas Chalmers Vint and Herbert Maier and the rustic design soon became the standard of Park Services. In the 1930s, the Park Service ordered Civilian Conservation Corps projects in state parks and took the opportunity to implement rustic design on a broad basis. In the post-war period, however, it became clear that not enough facilities could be built with this type of construction, after the number of visitors from motorists increased enormously. In the Mission 66 range , Vint and Maier consciously moved away from the rustic style and switched to a simpler and less elaborate style.

Yosemite

LeConte Memorial Lodge.

In 1903 the Sierra Club established the LeConte Memorial Lodge in Yosemite Valley . The lodge was the headquarters of the club and housed a library and an information center. Weathered granite was the main building material of the symmetrical Tudor Revival style building. The influence of the architect John White, who executed an exaggerated roof line, was clearly visible. This roof line alone covered half of the building. There was also a huge granite fireplace and rough exposed beams.

The Ahwahnee Hotel in December

The Yosemite Valley Railroad had built a warehouse at El Portal near the park boundary in 1910 , as well as another warehouse in Yosemite Valley . Although the railway line was not as important as those of Grand Canyon or Yellowstone, its buildings were seminal for park architecture . Both buildings were built in a " stick style " reminiscent of the Adirondack Architecture from the 19th century. The wooden frame buildings were covered with screens made from decorative branches. The struts consisted of trunks with protruding knots. The Yosemite Valley Stage Depot , which also served as a telegraph station , had a pointed gable roof that was half the height of the building, and diamond-shaped windows. This type of "rustic" architecture emerged after 1900 and was the model for a whole series of buildings in the nearby Camp Curry .

Ahwahnee Hotel

Glacier Point got a new hotel in 1917. The building was constructed by the Desmond Park Company and, with its two- and three-story clapboard- clad building sections, had strong echoes of Swiss chalets . The steeply sloping roofs, the large number of dormers and angled balconies contributed to this impression. The location overlooking the Yosemite High Country was chosen so that Glacier Point was not overwhelming.

Parsons Memorial Lodge was built in 1915 by the Sierra Club in Tuolumne Meadows . The lodge was a wide, low-profile building, the walls of which appeared to be granite dry stone walls. In fact, however, the architect had experimented with a new construction technique in which the dry stone walls contained a concrete core. This idea, which used new building techniques to mimic pioneering buildings, had its heyday in the 1920s, as can be seen in buildings like the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. As a contemporary architect commented, "The building seems to grow naturally out of the ground and belong there, as do the neighboring trees and rocks."

Yellowstone

Old Faithful Inn ( Larger Version ).

In 1903, the Northern Pacific Railroad built the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park . This six-storey hotel was in the tradition of Swiss chalets and Norwegian villas, but used particularly striking elements of the Western Frontier Manner . The outer frame structure made of logs was clad with shingles and the building was strongly structured by round timber elements. Two rows of dormers were attached to the enormous main roof, which was the dominant architectural element. The combination of logwork (block house construction), shingles and form created a masterpiece. The inn was designed by Robert Reamer and is said to have made the plan when he "emerged trembling from a monumental binge."

A series of four " Trailside Museums " were designed by Herbert Maier in the late 1920s. The buildings were at Madison, Norris Geyser Basin, Fishing Bridge, and Old Faithful . Maier designed many buildings in the national parks while he was a Park Service Architect and later became an influential administrator in the Park Service Regional Office .

Eagle's Store , August 24, 1939.

In 1927, Fred F. Willson of Bozeman designed a new building for Eagle's Store in place of the original West Yellowstone building that had been built in 1908. Willson made a point of promoting the National Park Service Rustic Style . The design was similar to the Old Faithful Inn . Willson set fir trunks 18 ft (5.5 m) to 36 ft (11 m) long in a foundation of rhyolite and cement . The buttresses were made of basalt .

Mount Rainier

Mount Rainiers Nisqually Gate

Mount Rainier National Park is the fifth national park and was the first to be built according to a master plan. For this reason, the national park has some excellent examples of the National Park Rustic Style . The buildings in four historic districts - Nisqually, Longmire , Paradise and Sunrise - as well as the Patrol Cabins and bridges make the park a real lesson in the rustic style.

At the Nisqually entrance, massive gate structures mark the entrance to the park, which the Secretary of the Interior , Richard Ballinger , commissioned during a visit in 1910. The pergola was completed in time for President William Howard Taft's visit in the fall of 1911. The National Park Inn at Longmire was designed as an inconspicuous building in a beautiful setting at the entrance to the Wonderland Trail . The library, museum and visitor center as well as the community building are entirely committed to the rustic style. The administration building was built in 1928 and is an example of a successful combination of Prairie Style and Rustic Style .

Most famous in the National Park is the Paradise Historical District . The Paradise Inn , built 1916-17 by the Rainier National Park Company, is the national park's "crown jewel". Modeled on the Old Faithful Inn , the 2½-story hotel was designed to withstand the severe Cascade winters . The building material was made of the wood left over from a severe forest fire. Years of weathering gave the wood a fine silver appearance. In addition, a Ranger Station, a Comfort Station, a Guide House and the new Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center were built in rustic style.

Grand Canyon

In Arizona, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built a railway line from the Chicago-Los Angeles main line to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon in 1901 , even before it was declared a Grand Canyon National Monument . In collaboration with the Fred Harvey Company , the railway company built a luxury hotel, El Tovar, in 1904 . For this, the railway company engaged the architect Charles Whittlesley from Topeka , Kansas . The hotel had more than a hundred rooms and opened in January 1905. In and of itself it was built in the style of eclecticism, which was fashionable at the time, so according to Fred Harvey it combined elements of Swiss chalets and Norwegian villas an exotic mix of interior motifs such as a 15th century dining room and a series of "Art Rooms" with paintings by Thomas Moran , Navajo carpets and other Indian artefacts. The hotel had a paint in a rich brown or a weather-colored color that perfectly matched the surroundings.

El Tovar Hotel around 1910.

The Hopi House, which was directly adjacent to El Tovar, was built in 1905 by Fred Harvey and the railway company. The building served as a gift shop where Native Americans were allowed to sell their wares. In this way it became a trading post for both those Hopi Indians who lived in part of the building and the Navajo who lived in traditional hogans nearby. The Hopi House was a copy of the Hopi Pueblo from Oraibi , Arizona . It was designed by Mary Colter , an architect with the Fred Harvey Company. The Hopi House had a lasting influence on the park architecture, as well as the contemporary Southwestern architecture in general , even if later adaptations placed less emphasis on authenticity. In this case too, however, the choice of stylistic devices initially served commercial purposes to arouse interest in the Indian sales items. In this respect, the Hopi House was very successful. It became the symbol of a link between commerce and romanticism that was typical of Fred Harvey's architecture. By 1914, the Fred Harvey Company began an expansion of their Grand Canyon property. This included Mary Colter's Lookout Studio as one of the first . The building was built from local stone and the uneven parapet of the building on the slope edge matched the surrounding cliffs in shape and color.

Fireplace in Hermit's Rest

Hermit's Rest is another fantasy building designed by Colter. It was created in 1914 at the entrance to the Hermit Trail , where it served as a kiosk for refreshments and souvenirs. The building was constructed from local stones and massive logs and carefully framed by planting. His most impressive piece of equipment was a huge open hearth.

The buildings on the comparatively remote north rim of the Grand Canyon were built and operated by the Utah Parks Company , a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad . The management focused on the Grand Canyon Lodge , which was built 1927–1928. It was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood and featured the use of local limestone, wood and logs. 120 rustic visitor cabins were distributed around the main building. The original building burned down in 1932, but was rebuilt in 1936–1937 according to the original plans. The ideal of rustic design that was realized there is now considered the best-preserved design from that time.

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park was established in 1910. Its location right on the Great Northern Railway made it a worthwhile destination. The railway company immediately began a massive development program in and around the park with two large hotels and nine smaller "chalet" facilities. The cornerstone of the project was the Glacier Park Hotel ( Glacier Park Lodge ), which was built directly on the national park border at Glacier Park Station ( East Glacier ). The hotel offered space for 400 guests. The huge log cabin complex had four stories and was 628 ft (191 m) long. There were music and writing rooms, a sun terrace and an infirmary. The construction was supported by unpeeled logs up to 4 ft (1.2 m) in diameter. The trunks served as a visual reference to the surroundings and the so-called "Forest Lobby" even had an open campfire in the lobby. The 160 acres (0.6 km²) hotel grounds also included a Blackfoot Indian camp.

The second major construction project was the Many Glacier Hotel , a large and sprawling Swiss chalet style building on the banks of Swiftcurrent Lake in the northeast of the park. A third rustic style hotel was today's Lake McDonald Lodge , which was privately built in 1913 and added to the concession in 1930.

The chalet camps that were built across the park were log houses or stone huts "on the Swiss style of architecture". Most were Log Cabin Villages, Sperry Chalet , Granite Park Chalet, and a few other stone houses. Each of the huts had a large stone fireplace. They were distributed in such a way that you could find them on easy hikes in the most beautiful places in the park.

Crater Lake

Crater Lake Lodge

The construction of the Crater Lake Lodge in Oregon began in 1914. Many additional buildings were added later. The hotel was right on the crater rim, about 1,000 ft (300 m) above the lake. In the original plan, the building was fairly symmetrical. The lower floor was made of stone and had beautiful arched windows. The upper floors were covered with shingles. The roof, which was strongly articulated by dormers, had clipped gables at the ends. Although an attempt was made to use local materials to make the hotel appear original, due to its location it remained prominently visible.

Other rustic style buildings can be found in: Munson Valley Historic District ; Rim Village Historic District ; Rim Drive Historic District ; Crater Lake Superintendent's Residence ; Sinnott Memorial Building No. 67 ; Comfort Station No. 68 ; Comfort Station No. 72 ;

Further examples

Other national parks
US National Forests
Timberline Lodge in the Mount Hood National Forest
US Historic Districts
Keweenaw Mountain Lodge
US State Parks

Influences in Canada

In Canada , "Rustic Architecture" influenced the design of various national park buildings such as the Jasper Park Information Center (1914) and the Riding Mountain Park East Gate Registration Complex (1933). In addition, the style was decisive for the Château Montebello (1930) and many private buildings, especially holiday homes and second homes by lakes and in forests ("cottages" in Ontario, "cabins" in Western Canada etc.)

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andrew Jackson Downing : Cottage Residences: Or, A Series of Designs for Rural Cottages and Cottage Villas, and Their Gardens and Grounds, Adapted to North America . Wiley & Halsted, 1856.
  2. ↑ "The building seems to grow out of the ground naturally and to belong there just as much as the neighboring trees and rocks."
  3. ↑ "sketched the plans while coming shakily out of a monumental submersion in malt, and some authorities claim to be able to read that fact in its unique contours."
  4. ↑ a b Rich Aarstad, Ellie Arguimbau, Ellen Baumler, Charlene Porsild, Brian Shovers: Montana Place Names: From Alzada to Zortman . Montana Historical Society, 2009, ISBN 0-9759196-1-X , p. 73.
  5. ^ National Record of Historic Places Information Form: West Yellowstone, Montana . National Park Service . February 24, 1983. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  6. ^ Eagle Store, West Yellowstone, Montana . Department of Geology, University of Georgia. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  7. ↑ Carly Flandro: Explorer's heart: Eagle family has left a strong legacy in southwest Montana . In: Bozeman Daily Chronicle , June 20, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2012. 
  8. ^ Harvey Kaiser: Landmarks in the Landscape: Historic Architecture in the National Parks of the West . Chronicle Books, 1997, ISBN 0-8118-1854-3 .
  9. ↑ "stained to a rich brown or weather-beaten color, that harmonized perfectly with the gray-green of its unique surroundings. It is pleasant to the eye."
  10. ^ Architecture in the Parks: A National Historic Landmark Theme Study . National Park Service. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
  11. ↑ "open camp fire on the Lobby's floor; here tourists and dignified Blackfeet chiefs and weatherbeaten guides cluster of evenings about a great bed of stones on which sticks of fragrant pine crackle merrily."
  12. ↑ http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=24889
  13. ↑ http://www.pc.gc.ca/apprendre-learn/prof/itm2-crp-trc/htm/nriding_e.asp

literature

Web links

Commons : Rustic architecture in the United States  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : National Park Service buildings and structures  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files