Nearly $500,000 in PWA allotments, provided under the Emergency Construction Act of June 19, 1934, enabled the park to complete much of its planned roadwork in 1935. In July Superintendent Canfield observed that the fire control motorway system for the park had been completed. In addition work had progressed under the Bureau of Public Roads to the point that some 18 miles of the new Rim Road were ready for oiling. He observed further:
Three more units were in varying stages of construction, bringing three-quarters of the rim circuit in the process of road building. This leaves only the highway from the East Entrance Highway to the Annie Spring-Rim Highway untouched except for survey work. Covering this stretch there has been a great deal of debate as to whether the so-called high line or the low line is the proper route. Sides and opinions on this subject have varied from year to year, being almost settled several times, but now apparently has been reopened. Survey work has also been done on the two entrance highways from south and west with a view toward reconstruction which is necessary in view of increased winter usage and contemplated snow removal operations. [32]
During the summer of 1936 only one CCC camp was established at Crater Lake. This was Camp No. 1 at Annie Spring, the enrollees having spent the winter at Oregon Caves National Monument. On May 21 a detachment of enrollees arrived at the park to assist in snow removal and “other smaller preparatory projects.” The full detail of enrollees did not arrive from Oregon Caves until June 22. The camp consisted of 137 men with a spike camp from Lava Beds National Monument supplying an additional 30 enrollees. Of the 137 men, 125 were junior enrollees and 12 were local experienced men.
One of the principal projects of the CCC enrollees in 1936 was the continuation of landscape work in the rim and park headquarters areas. Work was virtually completed in the Rim Campground with construction of fifteen additional log tables and benches and twenty more fireplaces, planting of shrubs and trees, and placement of logs and boulders for individual camping units. Expansion of the campground was undertaken with five fireplaces and log tables being built in the area below the existing campground. Further landscaping work was performed around the lodge, Community House, Information Building, north and south sides of the rim area, cafeteria, and island at the Rim Road junction. The tank house at the rim was razed and the area landscaped, and a new tile water line was laid near the pumping plant. By the summer of 1936 Superintendent Canfield was pleased to report that the rim area landscaping had “transformed a former dusty and unattractive area into a scene of native beauty.”
Landscape work at park headquarters consisted of planting and laying of walkways and the new Administration Building, ranger dormitory, warehouse, messhall, parking area, and various park residences. A stone base flag pole was completed at the east end of the Administration Building, and a rustic log directional sign was erected at park headquarters.
Other CCC projects during 1936 included construction of a rustic log foot bridge between the ranger dormitory and the messhall and placement of entrance motifs at the park’s west and south entrances. The exteriors of three temporary employees’ cottages were completed. Fireplaces and log tables for individual camping sites at the Cold Spring and Annie Spring campgrounds were built. Portions of abandoned roads were obliterated and replanted. [33]
Funds appropriated by various New Deal agencies enabled the park to carry out new construction projects in 1936. The heating system, flooring, and other interior finishing touches in the ranger dormitory were completed. The structure had been commenced in 1932 but left unfinished because of the exhaustion of funds. Roadwork under the supervision of the Bureau of Public Roads, however, continued to be the principal public works project in the park. Superintendent Canfield provided a brief overview of the various road projects in his annual report for 1936:
