Oregon Caves Cultural Landscape Report

HISTORY (continued)

1941 - PRESENT

One of the final CCC projects at the monument involved removal of the filling station and restroom, which had been damaged by a landslide in 1940. The structures were replaced in spring 1941 with a checking station that was also used as an administrative office for the ranger who monitored overnight parking at the monument and traffic along the service road to the cave entrance.

During that same year, Gust Lium was again hired to design and build the new Oregon Caves Chalet on the site of the old Chalet. Completed in 1942, the new structure, despite the change in building form and accentuated design of the breezeway, maintained the aesthetic balance of the cave entrance area through the use of the same Port Orford-cedar bark that sheathed the other monument structures. [12] During the construction process the Kiddy Kave was removed because the new structure incorporated a nursery, in addition to a dormitory, cave tour administration office, and lunchroom (the present gift shop).

View of the new Chalet from the cave entrance, 1945. ORHI 84530

By the eve of World War II, Oregon Caves appeared as a rustic alpine village nestled in the rugged Siskiyou mountains. The design motif envisioned by Peck was realized by careful site planning, the use of native plant materials, rough stone masonry, steeply pitched wood- shingled gable roofs with peaked dormers, and cedar bark sheathing. Postwar work focused primarily upon improvements in the cave, site utilities, and the monument's road system. In keeping with the rustic design precedent, native stone was used for benches, retaining walls, and curbing at the Chateau and Chalet courtyards, and cedar bark sheathing used for fire hose cabinets along the Big Tree trail. Utility work included the addition of recessed lights near the cabins and under the eaves of the Chateau.

The potential for winter floods and summer fires pose a threat to development at the monument. Mature stands of mixed broadleaf and conifer trees create dense crown fire conditions and produce ground fuels on canyon slopes surrounding the Chateau and Chalet. In response to the general accretion of time, weathering, and neglect, a revegetation plan was implemented in 1962. Yet, no natural event has been as calamitous to the developed area at the monument as the flash flood of 1964. A landslide obliterated the picnic area south of the main parking area Severalsections of the service road between the cave entrance and SR46 required reconstruction and resurfacing, plantings required rehabilitation, and extensive repairs and alterations to the Chateau and Chalet were needed.

Northeast view of the Chateau, Guide Dormitory (left, back) and the new Chalet (right, back), 1945. ORHI 84553

Over the following decades seasonal repairs and interior changes comprised the extent of alterations made to the Concession Cottages and Ranger Residence. The first alterations to the cottages occurred in 1952; subsequent alterations, including changes to the Ranger Residence, coincided with a series of improvements associated with the Mission 66 era (1956-66). Visitors continued to rent the Concession Cottages until the summer of 1982. The Ranger Residence and Concession Cottages were in use until spring 1988. By autumn of that year, because of the deteriorated condition of the cottages and to reduce potential impact to the cave system below, all seven cottages were removed. However, the Ranger Residence is maintained.

Through the use of the naturalistic design principles that guided the rustic style of architecture practiced between 1922 and 1942 in western national parks and monuments, the development at Oregon Caves harmonizes with the surrounding topography and mixed conifer forest. [13] A vision for the site, initiated by the monument's concessioner under USFS administration, set the precedent for subsequent architectural and landscape design. Under NPS direction," CCC workers continued the tradition of using native plant materials and stone masonry, alpine- type structures and cedar-bark sheathing. Today, despite the loss of the cottages and some of the original infrastructure of plant materials and masonry features, the rustic character of the district retains the vision of its creators.