Park Headquarters: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Olympic National Park, National Park Service

Owens, Erica

The historic Park Headquarters site coincides with the original 38‑acre tract of land donated to the NPS by Clallam County in 1938. The site is adjacent to the Olympic National Park Visitor Center property and located outside the southern city limits of Port Angeles, WA. Within the landscape boundaries are housed administrative offices for the management of Olympic National Park such as the Superintendent’s office, maintenance facilities and offices, natural and cultural resource offices, and housing. Park Headquarters is significant for its association with the Depression Era and Federal Relief Programs. The Public Works Administration (PWA), the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the Works Projects Administration (WPA) all played a role in the development of the site. In addition, the architecture and landscape design used within Headquarters reflects late rustic style principles as the park shifted from rustic style to the Mission 66 style. Both the Administration building and the Superintendent’s residence are fine examples of late rustic style within the park system. The period of significance for Park Headquarters is from 1938 to 1944, which covers the construction period of all the historic features within the cultural landscape. The original design as laid out in the 1942 master plan is intact today and therefore has historic integrity. Development and master plans were produced immediately after the designation of Olympic National Park that guided the work of the WPA and CCC crews at Park Headquarters. These plans were part of a larger master planning effort initiated within the NPS in 1925 by Assistant Director Horace Albright. Master planning was encouraged to balance goals of accommodating increased visitor numbers while protecting park resources. In 1938, immediately after establishment of Olympic National Park, Park Landscape Architect Max Walliser created development plans for Park Headquarters. The master plan proposed to limit development within the park proper, and justified the location of Park Headquarters at nearby Port Angeles through protection of natural resources. This approach to park development was unique at the time and reflected more Modern ideas that were developing within the park system, whereas earlier established parks placed their headquarters at prominent locations within their boundaries. The document made clear the goal to preserve natural resources and discouraged further development of roads, utilities, and lodging facilities within the park. The architecture and landscape style of Park Headquarters reflected an ideological shift that was occurring throughout the NPS in the late 1930s. This period of architectural shift is referred to as the Late Rustic Style. As a result of an increase of young landscape and architecture staff trained in Modernist design, awareness of International Style within the agency was heightened, emphasizing a philosophy of simplicity and structural honesty. New architectural philosophies evolved (that eventually became associated with Mission 66) that were congruent with changing economic conditions and the availability of new building materials. It was during this shift in design principles that Park Landscape Architect Max Walliser developed the master plan at Park Headquarters. The six historic buildings at Park Headquarters reflect Late Rustic Style architecture. The Late Rustic Style was a reinterpretation of the earlier Rustic Style, forming a bridge or transition between the Rustic and Modern periods of design.

Park Headquarters: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Olympic National Park, National Park Service

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