Other construction projects at Crater Lake during 1930 included the completion of a two-story stone and frame employee’s cottage at park headquarters, a combination bathhouse and comfort station at the rim, and a north entrance ranger station. The design of the latter building had been changed from log to stone for climatic and landscape considerations.
Meanwhile Merel S. Sager, who had received a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Harvard University, had been assigned to Crater Lake by the NPS field landscape engineering headquarters office to supervise architectural, landscape, and planning projects. Among the park development projects he advised on in 1930 were the Sinnott Memorial (discussed in the chapter on interpretation), roadside cleanup operations, location surveys for the proposed new Rim Road, and landscaping and revegetation of the rim area. Plans were laid to plant a sample plot at the head of Crater Wall Trail in order to determine the costs, feasibility, and best methods to be used in restoring vegetation on the dry pumice area of the rim. [22]
Construction and development projects at Crater Lake received a considerable boost in the early 1930s as a result of government emergency public works programs designed to counter the effects of the worsening Depression. Increasing funds were made available for park purposes to help alleviate the unemployment crisis. The 1931 construction season was the first at Crater Lake to be affected by such appropriations, a total of $546,750 being allotted for park development projects. Superintendent Solinsky described the construction season s operations:
. . . In our endeavor to assist the unemployment situation in this locality our forces were increased from 30 to 40 per cent over our normal requirements. This increase in force taxed our accommodations and facilities to the limit and the overburden in a measure increased the construction costs. Additional bunkhouse and messhall accommodations were necessary, additional transportation facilities were needed to take the crews to and from the work, additional hand tools and equipment were needed and the employment of hand labor, wherever possible rather than the use of labor saving machinery and equipment, all tended to increase the construction cost over what would have been the case under normal conditions.
The emergency funds permitted the park to undertake extensive improvements to its utility systems. A new electrical power system was installed to serve the Government Camp and rim areas, a water storage system was constructed near Garfield Peak to service the rim area, and a water supply system was built for the Lost Creek Ranger Station and public campground.
The allotted funds also enabled the park to perform various minor roads and trails construction projects. Some thirty men were employed to clean up both sides of the highway between Government Camp and the west park entrance, removing and burning trash, logs, dead snags, and debris. Rim Village landscaping and revegetation continued with primary emphasis being placed on the area at the head of Crater Wall Trail where shrubs, evergreens, and sod were planted. The Garfield Peak Trail was completed and quickly became one of the most popular trails in the park. A new parking area was constructed near the lodge and cafeteria to provide ample parking space for visitors. Some 66 miles of telephone line were reconstructed and relocated to remove all lines in sight of park roads, and all overhead wires in the rim area, Government Camp, and Annie Spring were replaced by underground cable. A new rustic fire lookout station was partially completed on Watchman Peak, and a storeroom and garage were added to the Government Camp utility area to house the park’s fire fighting equipment. Some thirty miles of fire lane motorways were constructed to aid in fire control and suppression operations. Initial grading and layout of three major road projects were begun, including grading on the first six-mile unit of the new Rim Road from the rim area to the North Entrance Ranger Station and a road from Lost Creek to Kerr Notch. [23]
Extensive construction and development activity continued at Crater Lake during 1932. An extensive program was undertaken at Government Camp to provide for more ample employee housing and aid park operations. The structures erected included two employees’ residences for the park superintendent and park naturalist, a ranger dormitory, combination machine shop/utility shed/oil house, and comfort station. These buildings shared a number of design elements that contributed to their unobtrusive, environmentally-sensitive rustic appearance, including the use of stone masonry, steeply-pitched roofs pierced by dormers and masonry chimneys, and multi-paned sash windows. The building projects, which were carried out under the guidance of the aforementioned Sager, has been called “one of the most comprehensive rustic architecture programs ever undertaken by the National Park Service.”
