Rim Drive Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Crater Lake National Park, National Park Service
Gilbert C, Mark S, Watson J, Gjesfjeld CC, Germano V. 2011. Rim Drive Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Crater Lake National Park, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 400186. NPS Pacific West Regional Office. Pacific West Regional Office/CLI Database
Rim Drive is located in Crater Lake National Park in southwestern Oregon. Built by the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) and the National Park Service (NPS) with work relief funding from the federal government, the 31.6‑mile Rim Drive Historic District and its associated 4.9‑miles of hiking trails are at the center of the park’s vehicular and pedestrian circulation system during the busy summer season. Constructed to primarily provide vehicular access to scenic features, the road provides numerous observation stations, substations and parking areas that provide views and constructed vistas of Crater Lake, its geological formations, and surrounding environs. The road is circuitous, aligned around the caldera, starting from the junction at Rim Village, traversing clockwise to Park Headquarters in Munson Valley. Designed to highlight the natural beauty of the lake, Rim Drive was sited to avoid impinging on the splendor of the setting where the rugged surroundings are still shaped by the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Mazama, which occurred more than 7,700 years ago. From the rim most visitors are struck by the intense color of the lake and associated setting where caldera walls tower from 550 feet to 1,900 feet above the surface. Much of the area around the lake and its immediate surroundings is heavily forested, yet distant peaks and other topographic features characteristic of this portion of the Cascade Range can be seen from Rim Drive. The approximately 250‑acre historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 and is significant for its association with the history and development of Crater Lake National Park. Rim Drive is also significant for its association with landscape architects and engineers who produced an outstanding example of blending naturalistic and functional design elements. As a linear designed landscape, the period of significance for the Rim Drive Historic District extends from 1926 to 1941, reflecting the period of development when planning and design efforts were undertaken by the NPS in conjunction with the BPR. Today, the character of the Rim Drive Historic District continues to be conveyed through the following landscape characteristics: Natural Systems and Features, Spatial Organization, Land Use, Vegetation, Circulation, Buildings and Structures and Views and Vistas. Rim Drive remains in fair condition, exhibiting many of the features that were designed and constructed during the period of significance, 1926‑1941.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Gilbert, Cathy; Mark, Steve; Watson, Jerry; Gjesfjeld, Cortney; Germano, Vida
- Date of Issue
- 2011-06-29
- Publisher
- NPS Pacific West Regional Office
- Units
- CRLA , PWR
- Keywords
- Army Corps of Engineers, automobile, Caldera, carriage roads, Civilian Conservation Corps, Conservation, Engineering, Entertainment, Historic Designed Landscape, Klamath County, Klamath Tribes, Landscape architecture, Mission 66, Oregon, overlook, parkway, Recreation, rim drive, Rim Road, Road-Related, roadway, Route 7, Scenic Landscape, The 1930s: Era of Public Works, Tourism Roads, Transportation, Transportation by Land and Air
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 400186: Rim Drive Historic District