Zion Lodge Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Zion Lodge Historic District surrounds the rustic lodge
originally designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood
in Zion National Park
. The lodge served as the center of a group of cabins, employee dormitories and support buildings which are included in the district. A swimming pool and bathhouse were demolished in 1976. The district was expanded in 1986 to include an Underwood-designed former photography studio and additional cabins.
The Zion Lodge complex was developed by the Utah Parks Company to provide lodging for tourists at Zion. The Utah Parks Company was owned by the Union Pacific Railroad
, which had developed a strong relationship with Underwood. Underwood designed most of the structures in the lodge community using principles of rustic design favored by the National Park Service
, a style that was developed and promoted, in part, by Underwood himself.
The district is centered on the Zion Lodge. Underwood's National Park Service Rustic
style lodge burned in 1966 and was replaced by a prefabricated structure on the same foundation. A 1990 renovation added elements of Underwood's original design to the 1966 structure. The district includes:
Zion Lodge
Zion Lodge is located in Zion National Park. The lodge was designed in 1924 as a compromise solution between its developer, the Utah Parks Company, which wanted a large hotel, and National Park Service director Stephen Mather, who desired smaller-scale development...
originally designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood
Gilbert Stanley Underwood
Gilbert Stanley Underwood was an American architect best known for his National Park lodges. Born in 1890, Underwood received his B.A. from Yale in 1920 and a M.A. from Harvard in 1923. After opening an office in Los Angeles that year, he became associated with Daniel Ray Hull of the National...
in Zion National Park
Zion National Park
Zion National Park is located in the Southwestern United States, near Springdale, Utah. A prominent feature of the park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles long and up to half a mile deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River...
. The lodge served as the center of a group of cabins, employee dormitories and support buildings which are included in the district. A swimming pool and bathhouse were demolished in 1976. The district was expanded in 1986 to include an Underwood-designed former photography studio and additional cabins.
The Zion Lodge complex was developed by the Utah Parks Company to provide lodging for tourists at Zion. The Utah Parks Company was owned by the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
, which had developed a strong relationship with Underwood. Underwood designed most of the structures in the lodge community using principles of rustic design favored 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...
, a style that was developed and promoted, in part, by Underwood himself.
The district is centered on the Zion Lodge. Underwood's National Park Service Rustic
National Park Service Rustic
National Park Service rustic, also colloquially known as Parkitecture, is a style of architecture that arose in the United States National Park System to create buildings that harmonized with their natural environment. Since its founding, the National Park Service consistently has sought to provide...
style lodge burned in 1966 and was replaced by a prefabricated structure on the same foundation. A 1990 renovation added elements of Underwood's original design to the 1966 structure. The district includes:
- Female Dormitory Built in 1927 to Underwood's design, in the "studs out" style with wall framing exposed outside of the wall sheathing. The one story building measures approximately 36 feet (11 m) by 69 feet (21 m), with a log-framed hipped roof. The entry porch features stone piers and heavy log roof construction.
- Male Dormitory Built in 1937 as an enlarged version of the female dormitory in a manner sympathetic to Underwood's original design. The one story building measures approximately 36 feet (11 m) by 112 feet (34.1 m).
- Standard Cabins Also known as "Pioneer Cabins" and "Frontier Cabins", built in the "studs out" style with an anticipated life expectancy of 20 years. The standard cabins were built beginning in 1925. In the 1940s small additions were made for bathrooms.
- Western Cabins Also known as "Deluxe Cabins, the duplex and quadruplex cabins built in a substantial manner with massive stone piers and fireplaces and open log truss ceilings. Infill walls are built in the studs out style. The Western Cabins were built beginning in 1927.
External links
- Photographs of the Zion Lodge area at the National Park Service's NRHP database
- Zion Lodge-Birch Creek Historic Complex, Springdale vicinity, Washington County, UT: 5 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page, 3 color transparencies, at Historic American Building Survey
- Zion Lodge-Birch Creek Historic Complex, Women's Dormitory, Springdale vicinity, Washington County, UT: 3 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page, 3 color transparencies, at Historic American Building Survey
- Zion Lodge-Birch Creek Historic Complex, Men's Dormitory, Springdale vicinity, Washington County, UT: 3 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page, 3 color transparencies, at Historic American Building Survey
- Zion Lodge-Birch Creek Historic Complex, Western Deluxe Quadraplex Cabins, Cabins No. 523, 528 & 529, Springdale vicinity, Washington County, UT: 3 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page, 3 color transparencies, at Historic American Building Survey