Construction of a new road from Government Camp to the lake rim on a 6.5-percent maximum grade with a minimum curvature radius of 100 feet was completed by the autumn of 1926. The elimination of the former road with 11-percent grades with its steep and hazardous turns was, according to Mather, “a great step forward.” The road terminated at the rim “at a spot selected by the landscape division” that provided “a spectacular first sight of the lake and the crater.”
That same year a 65-foot rustic bridge was constructed across Goody Gulch at Anna Spring. This span greatly improved alignment by eliminating three “bad curvatures,” facilitated traffic, and permitted the gradual restoration of the spring area.
Continued low appropriations limited park construction items, other than roads, to $3,800 in 1926. Of this sum, $3,000 was spent on the construction of a small warehouse at Government Camp. This rustic structure was described as “an attractive building of rough stone walls, with second story of rough boards, battened with shake roof.” According to Superintendent Thomson, this was “the type of building evolved for use in all future construction here, and is the first building of the utility group planned for headquarters at Government camp.”
Several other construction projects were also carried out in the park during 1926. A fire lookout station was built on Mount Scott, following plans developed by the U.S. Forest Service. New telephone lines were constructed from Government Camp to the south and west entrances and from Lost Creek to the lookout on Mount Scott–a total of 26 miles of new telephone line. [12]
Efforts to finalize the first parkwide long-term development plan for Crater Lake were undertaken during the summer of 1926. The planning endeavor, which had been under discussion for several years, was headed by Thomas C. Vint of the NPS Landscape Division based in San Francisco. In July Vint informed Superintendent Thomson that the plan was “ready to be put into a definite form,” pending approval by the Washington Office. The key elements of the plan, most of which would receive Mather’s enthusiastic endorsement, related to development of concession facilities and development at the rim, Government Camp, and Anna Spring.
Vint presented the essential points of the plan and the rationale behind the planning decisions to Thomson on July 31. Relative to park concessions he stated:
Summarizing the present tourist facilities in the Park we find that we have an unbalanced program at present. We are furnishing the two extremes, namely, the American plan hotel which is the most expensive type of service, and on the other hand, the free Government auto camp, which is at the other end of the list of tourist facilities found in the parks. . .
There is no question that at Crater Lake there is a demand for a less expensive type of service than can be obtained at the hotel and, due to the fact that auto camps are provided enroute to and from the Park which the tourist can depend upon to get a cabin at a relatively low cost, this condition brings many who are not outfitted to stay in our free auto camps and who do not desire the more expensive type of service furnished by the hotel.
Reviewing our discussions of the next step taken in providing additional tourist facilities at Crater Lake we felt that the housekeeping type of camp should be the next step, this to go adjacent to, and possibly include some of the land within the present Rim auto camp. The hotel with the additions planned should be sufficient for this type of service at this Park for some time. The American plan tourist camp or Howard Hays camp would be the last step as the present Rim area could be divided between the hotel and the housekeeping unit by including in the hotel plan a cabin unit and possibly at the housekeeping unit developing two classes of service. When the day arrives that it is necessary to open a new area on the Rim such as Kerr Notch or possibly near Centinal Point, the American plan camp would be the logical unit to place there. The headquarters unit of the housekeeping camp would include the store, studio, and cafeteria or lunch room service for the entire Rim area.
Due to the limited amount of usable ground we will have to limit the number of facilities at the Rim as far as possible. For this reason the gasoline service station will be located at Government Camp.
Vint proceeded to detail the development plans for the rim,Government Camp, and Anna Spring. Concerning the rim area he observed:
