It is very much doubted that the Service would require the operator to move the present building. Rather a relocation, if such were desirable, would occur only in the future when and if a new lodge is erected. The question should not and cannot be answered at this time although consideration is desirable.
He stated further that cabin development would be determined on the basis of postwar visitor needs and use. The location of a more suitable utility area for the concessioner and a gasoline station in the rim area required further study. A park visitor center/museum building on the rim was a high priority item for new construction. [45]
During the remainder of 1945 further discussions ensued concerning the status of these issues, particularly in view of the decision that Crater Lake would be operated as an all-year park. Accordingly, Drury reversed earlier policy statements by issuing directives in late 1945 and early 1946 that new all-year park headquarters be established “just within the boundary of the south entrance to the Park.” The existing park headquarters and utility area had been constructed for summer operation only and was not laid out for economical and efficient operation during the winter months, nor were any of the buildings constructed for year-round use. This area would “become the principal urban area within the Park, serving for its all-year operation, with the thought that other developed areas will be kept to a minimum, and will lead to the closing of most of the utility areas in Medford and the ultimate sale of those properties.” Accordingly, he initiated discussions with the U.S. Forest Service to acquire a tract of land from the Rogue River National Forest on which to build the new headquarters. At the same time Drury indicated his support for the reduction and ultimate elimination of camping in the rim area and enlarging camping facilities at Annie Spring. He also endorsed reconstruction and realignment of the road between park headquarters and the rim area and in the vicinity of Annie Spring. [46]
No new construction was initiated in the park for several years after the war. The lack of construction activity, according to Superintendent Leavitt, was the result of an “economy-minded Congress” whose primary purpose was “to reduce and close out war-born expansion or new bureaus and provide for an effective national defense during the Cold War.” Thus, continuing low appropriations worked hardship on the park’s budget which had “reached an all-time low during the war and now must expand to give proper protection” for accommodation of the “tremendous increase in travel.” [47]
Despite the lack of funds with which to commence a major park construction program during the postwar years, available funding permitted minor construction projects at Crater Lake. In 1948, for instance, the former Wineglass CCC camp was dismantled and the materials salvaged for use in building temporary ranger stations and checking kiosks at the park’s four entrances. The hospital building was completed in 1948, but in view of changing park needs it was converted into apartments for personnel housing. During 1951-52 nine two-room cabin quarters in the Munson Valley residential area were “winterized” with insulation, storm proofing, and improved heating facilities. Each cabin was enlarged with the addition of a new room. These improvements were designed to “increase the comfort and efficiency of these little homes” for year-round use, and resulted “in savings in operating costs both to the Government and the employees.” In 1951 a new electric-driven pump was installed in the Munson Spring pumphouse to keep the Garfield Peak reservoir filled to capacity, thus providing the rim area with sufficient water for domestic use and fire protection. [49] During 1952 a new fire lookout was constructed on Mount Scott, replacing an old building that had been erected during the 1920s, and a slope stabilization project was carried out at Anderson Point. [50] After some fifteen years of repeated requests for funding by park management, funds were made available in 1956 to erect new bridges over Annie and Goodbye creeks, the former being opened to traffic in 1956 and the latter in 1957. [51]
As related earlier, the decade following World War II witnessed ever-increasing visitation to the national parks. At the same time Congressional appropriations which had been reduced drastically during the war remained low, thus hindering the parks from developing their facilities and services to meet the ever-rising demands placed on them by the rising visitation. Not only was new development stymied but the existing park facilities and developments, most of which dated from the 1930s, were becoming obsolete and run-down. Thus in 1955 the National Park Service initiated a long-range 10-year program, designated Mission 66, that was intended to upgrade the units of the National Park System. The program was designed
