“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 South Rim of the canyon but did not reach the…
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Beaver Creek Administrative Area Historic District Cultural Landscape
The first development at the Beaver Creek Administrative Area in what became Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park was in 1908, when Forest Service ranger Al Austin built the Stewart Ranger Station in what was then known as Teton National Forest. Between 1908 and 1929, there were a few small…
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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 following year added the Moraine Park Museum…
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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. The Union Pacific also collaborated with the…
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Grand Canyon Depot
Take the Grand Canyon Railway to the historic train depot in Grand Canyon National Park and experience the unique architectural design of the only operating log depot in the United States.
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