Zion Lodge/Birch Creek: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Zion National Park, National Park Service

Mather, Mimi; Gibney, Tom

Though they are not contiguous, Birch Creek and Zion Lodge represent one unified phase of development by the historic concessionaire, the Utah Parks Company. The period of significance for the Zion Lodge/Birch Creek landscape is 1924 to 1937, which encompasses the development of all contributing buildings by the Utah Parks Company and all the known contributing landscape features. All resources are associated with the development of tourist facilities. The Zion Lodge/Birch Creek Historic District is significant for its association with events that contributed to the patterns of state history. It is the product of a partnership between the National Park Service, the state of Utah, and the Union Pacific Railroad, forged in order to develop southern Utah and northern Arizona for tourism. This partnership exerted a profound impact on the development of this region, which is now widely known for its scenic wonders. The district is also associated with important architects and landscape architects, namely Gilbert Stanley Underwood and Daniel Hull. These two practitioners helped advance the NPS‑Rustic Style, which promoted a design that harmonized with the surrounding landscape through the use of local building materials. The cultural landscape is also significant because it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type and period of park development, as well as a particular style of architecture and landscape design. The Zion Lodge complex was built as part of an emerging nationwide model for tourist accommodations which the NPS followed for many years. In its integration of building and landscape design, it reflects the National Park Service’s increased commitment to park planning during the 1920s. The Zion Lodge/Birch Creek cultural landscape is significant for its association with the rise of tourism in southern Utah and northern Arizona through the establishment of a “Grand Loop” tour of National Park Service units. This network of parks and tourist facilities came about through a partnership between the federal government and the Union Pacific (UP) Railroad. NPS Director Stephen Mather approached the UP Railroad with the suggestion that they invest substantially in Zion and control all the concession facilities in the park. Mather preferred that one large company control concession operations rather than a number of competing firms. Railroad/concession monopolies had been effective at other national parks, providing quality services while assisting the NPS promote the developing parks. In 1923 the Union Pacific Railroad formed a subsidiary, the Utah Parks Company, to develop tourism in this scenic region. The leaders of the Utah Parks Company envisioned an enhanced “Grand Loop,” with improved roads, accommodations, and other tourist facilities. Once the Utah Parks Company had been awarded the contract for tourist accommodations at Zion, it purchased the canyon property of the Wylie Permanent Camping Company and began planning for its redevelopment. The Zion Lodge was a key component of this new system of infrastructure. In 1924‑1925 the Utah Parks Company designed and built the Zion Lodge complex very close to the site of the old camp. Accommodations consisted of a large central lodge building surrounded by a number of rustic cabins. Between 1926 and 1928, the Utah Parks Company constructed the Birch Creek utility area on a site farther down the canyon. Equipped with a powerhouse (which is no longer extant) horse barn and corral, maintenance garage, and a blacksmith shop, this utility area was built to support concession operations in the canyon. Perhaps most importantly, the concessionaire sheltered its vehicles on‑site. In 1925 the Utah Parks Company purchased a fleet of buses to transport tourists between its holdings in the parks and monuments of the region. These buses were equipped with demountable tops so that visitors could better view the scenic wonders on display.

Zion Lodge/Birch Creek: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Zion National Park, National Park Service

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