Consensus Determination of Eligibility Hurricane Ridge Road, Olympic National Park

Avery, Christy

Hurricane Ridge Road is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places at the local level of significance under Criterion A in the category of entertainment/recreation. Hurricane Ridge Road has remained the only new road constructed within Olympic National Park (ONP) since the park was established in 1938. Congress created ONP as a wilderness park, but Congressman Henry Jackson, Olympic Peninsula business interests, and other constituencies pressured the National Park Service (NPS) to build roads into the park in the 1940s. NPS leaders, too, sought to make ONP more accessible to the public, without compromising its wilderness character, by constructing one modern, paved road into the park. After over a decade of debate, the agency chose to build Hurricane Ridge Road—a decision that satisfied political and business leaders, recreational users, and conservationists. The 12.3-mile-long road between Heart O’ the Hills and Hurricane Ridge was constructed between 1950 and 1958, and when completed, it facilitated access to Hurricane Ridge, an alpine area with sweeping views into the heart of the Olympic Mountains and the site of the park’s new alpine lodge and ski area. The road was extended 5.2 miles from Heart O’ the Hills to the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles in 1969. The road is not associated with a significant person, and is not eligible under Criterion B. The road is not eligible under Criterion C. It does not embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction; represent the work of a master; or possess high artistic values. The Bureau of Public Roads designed the 12.3-mile section of road between Heart O’ the Hills and Hurricane Ridge in the late 1940s, when federal funds for national park development were scarce, to deliver visitors safely and efficiently to Hurricane Ridge. The road was not designed to maximize scenic views and it lacks associated features, such as rock walls, entrance gates, signage, or buildings, from the period of significance. The 5.2 mile road extension between Heart O’ the Hills and the town of Port Angeles, constructed in 1969, was similarly built to be a practical and efficient route without distinctive characteristics or high artistic values.