Landscape architects Davidson and later, Sager, grappled with a variety of issues while working at Rim Village during this first phase of development. One was the location of the park’s hitching rail for horses. The new Crater Wall Trail was built wide enough to accommodate saddle animals, “enabling many thousands to enjoy the lake who were heretofore denied that pleasure by physical incapacity,” but Davidson thought its siting at the west end of the village near the new trailhead was “unfortunate” and noted:
. . . these things too often become extremely hard to correct if allowed to drag along. The sight of a dozen horses diligently fighting flies, now equally divides with the Lake, the attention of every visiting tourist’s “first look” as he comes over the “hump” into [view] of the water.[36]
Another issue was how to properly light the boulevard. While opinions differed the general consensus was to have subdued lighting. Superintendent Solinsky noted in 1931:
Please bear in mind that the Landscape Division is not particularly interested in having this boulevard brilliantly lighted; on the contrary, illumination comparable with moonlight will be sufficient. The object is to secure only fair general illumination, and not to distract the visitor’s attention from the view of the Lake at night. Therefore the usual illuminating engineering calculations need not be used but rather the installation will be made from the aesthetic standpoint.[37]
Fifteen standards spaced at 180-foot intervals, located on only one side of the road between the lodge and the Cafeteria, was determined to be appropriate. But as was the case with the Sinnott Memorial lighting, none of these fixtures were added to the landscape of Rim Village.
By the end of the 1932 construction season, the basic elements of the master plan for Rim Village were in place. A circulation system of primary and secondary roads and paths directed vehicles and pedestrians around the site. Facilities, including additional overnight accommodations, were constructed for the use and enjoyment of park visitors. And finally, the “greening” of the barren, dusty village had begun with the introduction of new trees, shrubs, and ground cover.
Phase II: 1933-1941
Nineteen thirty-three brought many significant changes into the National Park system. Up until that time President Herbert Hoover saw to it that the national parks received their allotment requests for park operations and development. Budgets and staff for the national parks had increased substantially during his administration.[38] But the Depression changed all of this. Budgets for the parks were drastically reduced and park staff were let go during Hoover’s final year in office. In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt and a new administration came on board. A variety of innovative and comprehensive relief programs were introduced to alleviate the nation’s growing unemployment crisis. These programs, instituted under the New Deal, provided work opportunities for the unemployed. In March 1933, the Emergency Conservation Work Act was passed by Congress. The ECW program created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Originally conceived as a “conservation army” to undertake the simplest kind of manual labor, the CCC eventually became more than tree planting and ditch-digging crews. Government bureaus benefiting from the new labor force — one being the NPS — saw greater potential for these work crews. While the NPS recognized the tremendous opportunity this manpower provided, there remained the concern that the quality of work was at risk if unskilled laborers were allowed to build structures. NPS architect Charles Peterson firmly stated that all design work would be undertaken and supervised by professionals, while actual implementation would be done by the enrollees. Landscape architect E.A Davidson agreed, advising against the use of the CCC for capital improvements because of the lack of skilled supervision at the time.[39] But within a few years time, CCC crews demonstrated that if properly supervised, they were capable of constructing well-built structures. During the summer of 1933, seventy CCC camps were in place in national parks and monuments across the country, and two of these were established at Crater Lake.[40]
