In July 1975 some 1,500 park visitors and employees became sick as a result of sewage contamination of the park’s water supply system. This necessitated the closure of the park for three weeks. Crater Lake Lodge, Inc., and Ralph Peyton were co-defendants in the ensuing litigation. Although their defense attorneys argued that the federal government, not the concessionaire, was ultimately responsible for the illness of park visitors, the jury decided that Peyton and his company demonstrated “wanton misconduct” in not warning guests of the outbreak of illness among concession employees.
Following the epidemic outbreak, the concession rights in the park were sold for $1,900,000 to the Canteen Company of Oregon, a subsidiary of Trans World Airlines, on March 1, 1976. Among the conditions incorporated in the terms of the transfer by the National Park Service were the following: (1) no possessory interest to be allocated the concessioner in 19 cold water cabins; (2) cold water cabins and two fourplex units to be removed within ten years; and (3) concessioner contract to be rewritten in compliance with the park’s master plan provisions. Under the provisions of the contract for concession privileges in the park, the National Park Service owns the lodge subject to the small possessory interest gained by the concessioner through the subsequent installation of a sprinkler system. [73]
The current status of visitor services and facilities is reflected in the park’s “Statement for Management” approved in October 1986. The document states that a “majority of the visitors come to the park to see the lake, may stop at some of the pullouts along park roads, and may participate in interpretive programs offered primarily in the Rim Village area.” Two automobile campgrounds provide 210 sites. Mazama Campground (198 sites) has modern, cold-water comfort stations and an amphitheater for evening programs, while Lost Creek Campground (12 sites) is more primitive. Mazama is operated by the park concessioner and is sometimes the recipient of complaints since it lacks hot water and showers.
The Rim Village area is a complex of isolated structures dating primarily from the 1920s and 1950s that are connected by a network of roads, extensive parking areas, and walkways. Although originally developed as a rim promenade from which to view the lake, increasing visitation led to periodic expansion of parking and related facilities. At the present time pedestrians along the rim must remain cognizant of traffic movement and must cross busy traffic lanes and parking areas to reach many of the lake viewpoints and park facilities.
The concessioner operates 20 cold-water cabins behind the cafeteria building and the 80-room lodge, which are available to visitors for approximately 90 days each summer season. The lodge contains some substandard rooms and has various structural defects, conditions which have led to extensive debate and study during the 1980s as to the economic feasibility of rehabilitating and restoring the historic structure for continuing use. [74] The concessioner also operates a cafeteria/curio shop in Rim Village on a year-round basis and a summer season service station in Munson Valley, and provides bus tours around the Rim Drive and boat tours on the lake.
NPS facilities in Rim Village are limited. The old Community Building, now referred to as the Rim Center, serves as an auditorium for summer interpretive programs. The facilities are minimal, however, and the location does not attract heavy use. The structure was damaged severely by heavy snows during the winter of 1982-83 and currently is unsafe for winter use.
The Exhibit Building, a small structure on the rim now referred to as the Rim Visitor Center, is in an obscure location and visitation is low. This structure nevertheless serves as the principal contact point between NPS personnel and park visitors with the exception of the entrance stations. The building contains a small information and sales area and minimal exhibits.
