“Parkitecture” in Intermountain National Parks

From the early- to mid-1900s, the Arts and Crafts movement inspired the National Park Service’s (NPS) signature rustic style. The early style blended several architectural approaches together, but design sensibilities quickly evolved into a more harmonious and refined style that centered on rustic design. NPS staff affectionately refer to it as “parkitecture”. Using native materials and an aesthetic that resembled being be built by hand (if not literally made that way), the national park buildings’ subtle but distinctive design adds to visitors’ experiences. There are a few defining principles of parkitecture beyond the inclusion of natural materials: buildings should harmonize with their landscapes without attempting to visually upstage the natural beauty of their surroundings; buildings should blend in with each other through material and design when located within the same park; and stone, timber, and log should be scaled to provide a balanced appearance. Like any architectural style, parkitecture had its famous architects, including Gilbert Stanley Underwood and Mary Jane Colter who advocated for simplicity in design, natural materials, and balance with its surroundings. As you travel through the parks, look around at the buildings, bridges, and entrance signs that harmonize with their natural environment just as parkitecture should.

Grand Canyon Lodge

In the 1920s, the National Park Service gave the first permanent concession on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to the Union Pacific Railroad and its subsidiary Utah Parks Company. From 1901, the railroad provided transportation for tourists to the…

Moraine Park Museum and Amphitheater

In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps removed Moraine Lodge from Rocky Mountain National Park in an initiative to restore the land to its original state. They converted the lodge’s remaining assembly hall into a museum in 1936 and the…

Zion Lodge

The Union Pacific Railroad and its subsidiary, the Utah Parks Company, completed a railway line near Cedar City in 1923, granting visitors of Zion National Park an easy and convenient method of travel from the railway station to the park by motorbus.…

Grand Canyon Depot

Designed by architect and Santa Barbara, California native Francis W. Wilson, the Grand Canyon Train Depot is one of fourteen log depots ever constructed in the United States and is now one of only three remaining. Out of these, the Grand Canyon…