Superintendent's Residence - CRLA: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Crater Lake National Park, National Park Service

Dolan, S.; Franks, K.; Rome, C.

The Superintendent’s Residence at Crater Lake National Park is located within the Munson Valley Historic District. Munson Valley is a glaciated valley, with hummocky moraines intermixed with pumice, the proportion of pumice gradually diminishing in the upper part of the valley. Linear sloped terraces of the valley provided natural siting opportunities for buildings and roads and required only minimal grading. A steep north‑south valley wall creates a western boundary for the district, and Munson Creek, a spring‑fed tributary of Annie Creek, traverses and dissects the historic district into three distinct areas or subdistricts, physically stepping down in elevation from north to south. The Munson drainage is part of the Klamath Basin, an area south of the caldera and east of the Cascade Divide The Munson Valley Historic District serves as the park’s administrative headquarters, and contains 18 contributing buildings constructed between 1926 and 1941 in the Rustic Style by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The Superintendent’s Residence was built in 1932 and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1987. As a district, these buildings are representative of rustic architecture built in the National Parks during the New Deal programs of the post‑Depression era. The remaining landscape characteristics of the component landscape Superintendent’s Residence typify the work of the CCC and the National Park Rustic Style at Crater Lake National Park. The Superintendent’s Residence is located at the highest point of the historic district. Commencing at the administrative building and visitor center, a winding service road branches off to the northwest from the district’s central drive and rises approximately 160 feet to its terminus at the Superintendent’s Residence. A series of wood and stone residences and other structures are situated along this road, and are sited to blend with the natural environment. The district’s characteristic vegetation consists of Mountain hemlock forest with open park‑like meadows and sparse underbrush. These plants, as well as White bark pine, Shasta red fir, and Noble fir are typical of the Undonian Life zone. Wood rush is the dominant understory species; Scouler’s willow and Subalpine fir are found along Munson Creek and in low wet areas where mountain meadow conditions exist. The Superintendent’s Residence is oriented toward the east, and has an open meadow at the front of the house, providing expansive views of Garfield Peak. Major tree species in the residence vicinity is predominantly Mountain hemlock, Shasta red fir, and Lodgepole pine.

Superintendent's Residence - CRLA: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Crater Lake National Park, National Park Service

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