Mather Memorial Parkway (Route 410): Cultural Landscape Inventory, Mount Rainier National Park, National Park Service

Cain, Cortney; Davison, Mark

The Mather Memorial Parkway in Mount Rainier National Park is an 11.6‑mile segment of a much larger 53‑mile state route (Highway 410) that passes through surrounding public lands, connecting Tacoma to Yakima, Washington. The 11.6‑mile road segment is a linear landscape that was designed by landscape architects and civil engineers as a scenic drive through Mount Rainier National Park. Today, the Mather Memorial Parkway also serves as a national scenic byway, extending from Enumclaw to Yakima (though the route actually begins in Auburn). Initially, the road was designed as a route to cross the Cascade Mountains and was not planned to enter a national park. The National Park Service did not get involved with the road until the late 1920s, when NPS Director Stephen Mather started to influence the design of roads leading to national parks. The road did not become part of the park until 1931, only one year before the road was completed. However, from 1928 onwards, the road followed NPS and Bureau of Public Roads standards. In 1931, the road was incorporated into the revised master plan for the park. The alignment of the Mather Memorial Parkway was carefully selected to showcase spectacular scenery, while carrying vehicles over two mountain passes. Starting at the Chinook Pass Entrance Arch (5,432 feet) the road descends along steep switchbacks to subalpine meadows near Tipsoo Lake. The road continues toward Cayuse Pass where it intersects with the Eastside Highway. After the intersection, the road turns northward, passes Deadwood Creek and begins its rapid descent into the White River valley. Following the valley floor, the road exits the park at the North Entrance Arch. Along its route, the road provides access to Tipsoo Lake, Crystal Peak Trail, Mather Overlook, White River Road and a number of backcountry trailheads. The Mather Memorial Parkway is a nationally significant historic designed landscape that is part of a rare example of an early national park scenic highway, and is an integral part of the early master plan for the park. The historic road is within the Mount Rainier National Historic Landmark District (NHLD). Designated in 1997, the NHLD is nationally significant for its association with the events of early National Park Service master planning (criterion A) and the design style of naturalistic landscape architecture (criterion C) perpetuated by the NPS in the period between World War I and II. The road is distinguished by outstanding engineering achievements and features of naturalistic design. The period of significance for the Mather Memorial Parkway is from 1919‑1940, reflecting the period when the NPS influenced the design and construction of the road. The naturalistic character of the road is evident in its remaining landscape characteristics: spatial organization, natural systems and features, circulation, topography, land use, buildings and structures, small scale features, views and vistas, vegetation, and archaeological sites. These patterns and their surviving features continue to exist as originally planned, conveying the integrity of the road as a scenic highway.

Mather Memorial Parkway (Route 410): Cultural Landscape Inventory, Mount Rainier National Park, National Park Service

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