Going-to-the-Sun Road Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Glacier National Park, National Park Service

Renewable Technologies, Inc.

Going‑to‑the‑Sun Road winds its way east to west through the heart of Glacier National Park, allowing visitors to experience – through driving – the mountains, hanging valleys, rock walls, and glaciers that make up the northern Rocky Mountains. Almost 50 miles in length, the road crosses several distinct zones of vegetation, from lake‑filled valleys to an alpine pass crossing the Continental Divide. It is both the only link between the east and west sides of Glacier, and the only extensive automobile route in the park. As such, it defines Glacier’s basic circulation pattern and receives heavy amounts of traffic during the summer months. Because of heavy snowfall the road is closed during the winter, opening only after a significant snow‑removal effort. The Sun Road is recognized as a monumental engineering feat and is designated as a National Historical Civil Engineering Landmark and a National Historic Landmark (NHL). The district begins 30 feet east of the T‑junction on the west side of the park (at the southern edge of Lake McDonald) and continues to the eastern park boundary. The district encompasses approximately 355 acres directly surrounding the road; however, views from the road are integral to its function of making park scenery available to visitors, and thus are integral to its character. Going‑to‑the‑Sun Road has National Register significant at the national level under criteria A (association with events that have made a contribution to broad patterns of history) and B (embodying distinctive characteristics of a period and method of construction.) The period of significance is 1921 – 1952. The historic district’s resources – the original roadbed, bridges, tunnels, culverts, retaining walls, and guard walls – were built in the “NPS Rustic” style. Individually, these structures are often significant examples of period engineering and design philosophy; collectively, they comprise a vital, integral component of the road’s unique character. Most of these structures were designed to harmonize with the roadway setting by using native materials and by blending with landforms as much as possible. Today, the road retains its defining resources and is considered to have retained integrity. Construction of Going‑to‑the‑Sun Road, by any standard, was a significant undertaking. Even today, visitors to the park marvel at how such a road could have been built and how well it fits into its rugged setting. The road’s basic infrastructure was developed between 1921 and 1932; at the end of that time, its entire length was officially open to park visitors. However, no portion of the road was considered complete in 1932. Reconstruction and improvement of the roadbed, bridges, drainage system, and rockwork continued until 1955, when the last section was paved in asphalt. Between 1956 and 1982 work on the road was limited in scope, focused mainly on routine maintenance and damage repair due to limited funding. Since 1982, when Congress passed the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, $28.6 million has been spent to reconstruct 24.1 miles of the road, mostly in its lower sections. This money was provided by the Federal Highway Administration for emergency repairs and priority projects. At this time the remaining approximately 26 miles are considered to need drainage improvements, slope stabilization, retaining and guard wall repairs, and roadbed resurfacing. Maintaining the character of these features is paramount in future rehabilitation efforts. The road is notable for the fine stonework of many of its bridges, retaining walls and smaller stone features, for its tunnels, for its route carved into the side of the Garden Wall, for the imagination of its designers and the labors of its builders, and for the marvelous views it offers as it climbs and then descends the continental divide.

Going-to-the-Sun Road Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Glacier National Park, National Park Service

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