Crater Lake Lodge
Encyclopedia
Crater Lake Lodge was built in 1915 to provide overnight accommodations for visitors to Crater Lake National Park
in southern Oregon
, USA. The lodge is located on the southwest rim of the Crater Lake
caldera
overlooking the lake 1000 feet (304.8 m) below. The lodge is owned by the National Park Service
, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
collapsed following a large volcanic eruption. Over the following millennium
, the caldera was filled with rain water forming today's lake. The Klamath Indians revered Crater Lake for its deep blue waters. In 1853, three gold miners found the lake. They named it Deep Blue Lake, but because the lake was so high in the Cascade Mountains the discovery was soon forgotten.
In 1886, Captain Clarence Dutton
led a United States Geological Survey
party to Crater Lake. Dutton's team carried a half-ton survey boat, the Cleetwood, up the steep mountain slope and lowered it 2000 feet (609.6 m) into the lake. From the Cleetwood, Dutton used piano wire to measure the depth of the lake at 168 different points. The survey team determined the lake was 1996 feet (608.4 m) deep. This is surprisingly close to the modern sonar based readings made in 1959 that established the lake's deepest point at 1932 feet (588.9 m).
William Gladstone Steel
accompanied the Dutton party in 1886. He named many of the lake's landmarks including Wizard Island
, Llao Rock, and Skell Head, and participated in lake surveys that provided scientific evidence of the lake's uniqueness. After he returned, Steel began advocating that Crater Lake be established as a national park. On 22 May 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt
signed the bill making Crater Lake the Nation's sixth national park
. The idea of building a guest lodge at Crater Lake was first raised by Steel shortly after the park was established.
In 1922, a two-year facility upgrade project was begun. The project doubled the number of guest rooms, and added private bathrooms in the lodge's new wing. However, lack of money left many of the new rooms unfinished. The number of visitor to the park decreased during the Great Depression
, and the lodge suffered financially from the decline in visitation. As a result, very little was spent on facility maintenance. However, the guest rooms on the second and third floors were finished in the mid-1930s.
Over the years, cars had destroyed most of the vegetation around the lodge. During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps
built Rim Village adjacent to the lodge. Their work included landscaping around the lodge, something the privately operated lodge could not afford to do on its own. The new landscape included hundreds of indigenous trees and shrubs that helped blend the lodge structure into its surroundings environment. In addition, the National Park Service paved the lodge parking areas and adjacent walkways. This significantly reduced the dust and erosion problems around the building.
During World War II, both Crater Lake National Park and the Crater Lake Lodge were closed to the public. After the war, park visitation increased dramatically and the lodge benefited from the increase in tourism. The National Park Service continually pushed the lodge operator to upgrade the facility, but little was done to maintain the structure beyond basic utilities maintenance and required fire safety measures. Eventually, cables had to be stretched between the north and south walls to keep them from bowing.
In the spring of 1989, just before the lodge was to open for its summer season, structural engineers advised the National Park Service that the Great Hall was unsafe. It was so unstable they feared it might collapse from its own weight, bringing down the rest of the lodge with it. This forced the National Park Service to close the lodge pending renovation. After two years of planning, construction began in 1991. Some original materials were salvaged for reuse, but most of the original building had deteriorated to the point it could not be saved or reused. However, the Great Hall was carefully dismantled. The rest of the building was gutted and a steel support structure, modern utilities and fire suppression system were installed, and guest rooms were upgraded to modern hotel standards. The renovation was completed in the fall of 1994 at a cost of $15 million. On 20 May 1995, Crater Lake Lodge reopened to the public.
Today, visitors to Crater Lake Lodge enjoy modern accommodations in a rustic atmosphere reminiscent of the original 1920 era lodge. The lodge has 71 rooms. Each room provides modern comfort and privacy. The Great Hall has been completely restored. The dining room overlooks the lake and serves northwest regional cuisine. An exhibit room just off the lobby provides information about the history of the lodge, Crater Lake, and the park. The lodge is open from late-May to mid-October.
Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake National Park is a United States National Park located in southern Oregon. Established in 1902, Crater Lake National Park is the sixth oldest national park in the United States and the only one in the state of Oregon...
in southern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, USA. The lodge is located on the southwest rim of the Crater Lake
Crater Lake
Crater Lake is a caldera lake located in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a nearly deep caldera that was formed around 7,700 years agoby the...
caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
overlooking the lake 1000 feet (304.8 m) below. The lodge is owned by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Location history
Crater Lake lies inside a caldera created 7,700 years ago when the 12000 feet (3,657.6 m) high Mount MazamaMount Mazama
Mount Mazama is a destroyed stratovolcano in the Oregon part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the Cascade Range. The volcano's collapsed caldera holds Crater Lake, and the entire mountain is located within Crater Lake National Park....
collapsed following a large volcanic eruption. Over the following millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
, the caldera was filled with rain water forming today's lake. The Klamath Indians revered Crater Lake for its deep blue waters. In 1853, three gold miners found the lake. They named it Deep Blue Lake, but because the lake was so high in the Cascade Mountains the discovery was soon forgotten.
In 1886, Captain Clarence Dutton
Clarence Dutton
Clarence Edward Dutton was an American geologist and US Army officer. Dutton was born in Wallingford, Connecticut on May 15, 1841...
led a United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
party to Crater Lake. Dutton's team carried a half-ton survey boat, the Cleetwood, up the steep mountain slope and lowered it 2000 feet (609.6 m) into the lake. From the Cleetwood, Dutton used piano wire to measure the depth of the lake at 168 different points. The survey team determined the lake was 1996 feet (608.4 m) deep. This is surprisingly close to the modern sonar based readings made in 1959 that established the lake's deepest point at 1932 feet (588.9 m).
William Gladstone Steel
William Gladstone Steel
William Gladstone Steel , called the "father of Crater Lake", referring to the creation of Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, United States. A native of Ohio, he worked in the newspaper business before becoming a mail carrier...
accompanied the Dutton party in 1886. He named many of the lake's landmarks including Wizard Island
Wizard Island
Wizard Island is a volcanic cinder cone which forms an island at the west end of Crater Lake in Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. The top of the island reaches above sea level, about above the average surface of the lake. The cone is capped by a volcanic crater about wide and deep. The...
, Llao Rock, and Skell Head, and participated in lake surveys that provided scientific evidence of the lake's uniqueness. After he returned, Steel began advocating that Crater Lake be established as a national park. On 22 May 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
signed the bill making Crater Lake the Nation's sixth national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
. The idea of building a guest lodge at Crater Lake was first raised by Steel shortly after the park was established.
Construction
In 1909, Steel finally convinced a Portland developer, Alfred Parkhurst, to build a lodge on the rim above Crater Lake. The average winter snowfall at Crater Lake is 533 inches (13.5 m). As a result, the lodge structure was required to carry an extremely heavy snow load for up to eight months every year. Neither Parkhurst or the project's architects R. L. Hockenberry & Company had experience building structures in a demanding environment like the Crater Lake rim site. In addition, building materials had to be trucked to the site over very poor park roads, and the construction season was limited to only three summer months. These factors combined to slow construction and drive up project costs. To compensate, Parkhurst kept the structure very simple. For example, the exterior was covered in tar-paper and the interior walls were finished with a thin cardboard-like wallboard called "beaver board." The lodge had no private bathrooms and the only electricity came from a small generator.Early development
When Crater Lake Lodge opened in 1915, it drew many visitors despite the lack of amenities. The magnificent view of Crater Lake and the surrounding peaks of the Cascade Mountains kept a steady flow of visitor coming to the lodge.In 1922, a two-year facility upgrade project was begun. The project doubled the number of guest rooms, and added private bathrooms in the lodge's new wing. However, lack of money left many of the new rooms unfinished. The number of visitor to the park decreased during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, and the lodge suffered financially from the decline in visitation. As a result, very little was spent on facility maintenance. However, the guest rooms on the second and third floors were finished in the mid-1930s.
Over the years, cars had destroyed most of the vegetation around the lodge. During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
built Rim Village adjacent to the lodge. Their work included landscaping around the lodge, something the privately operated lodge could not afford to do on its own. The new landscape included hundreds of indigenous trees and shrubs that helped blend the lodge structure into its surroundings environment. In addition, the National Park Service paved the lodge parking areas and adjacent walkways. This significantly reduced the dust and erosion problems around the building.
During World War II, both Crater Lake National Park and the Crater Lake Lodge were closed to the public. After the war, park visitation increased dramatically and the lodge benefited from the increase in tourism. The National Park Service continually pushed the lodge operator to upgrade the facility, but little was done to maintain the structure beyond basic utilities maintenance and required fire safety measures. Eventually, cables had to be stretched between the north and south walls to keep them from bowing.
National Park Service ownership
In 1967, the National Park Service acquired the Crater Lake Lodge. The lodge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. However, the building continued to deteriorate due to lack of funds. Despite being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service felt restoring the old building was too costly so it was scheduled to be demolished. The decision was later reversed due to public opposition. In 1988, the National Park Service approved a plan to rebuild the lodge as part of the comprehensive Rim Village redevelopment program.In the spring of 1989, just before the lodge was to open for its summer season, structural engineers advised the National Park Service that the Great Hall was unsafe. It was so unstable they feared it might collapse from its own weight, bringing down the rest of the lodge with it. This forced the National Park Service to close the lodge pending renovation. After two years of planning, construction began in 1991. Some original materials were salvaged for reuse, but most of the original building had deteriorated to the point it could not be saved or reused. However, the Great Hall was carefully dismantled. The rest of the building was gutted and a steel support structure, modern utilities and fire suppression system were installed, and guest rooms were upgraded to modern hotel standards. The renovation was completed in the fall of 1994 at a cost of $15 million. On 20 May 1995, Crater Lake Lodge reopened to the public.
Today, visitors to Crater Lake Lodge enjoy modern accommodations in a rustic atmosphere reminiscent of the original 1920 era lodge. The lodge has 71 rooms. Each room provides modern comfort and privacy. The Great Hall has been completely restored. The dining room overlooks the lake and serves northwest regional cuisine. An exhibit room just off the lobby provides information about the history of the lodge, Crater Lake, and the park. The lodge is open from late-May to mid-October.