Mission 66 and Modern Architecture

The early years of the National Park Service were marked by a spree of construction of park lodges, museums, and other buildings. Collectively, buildings constructed from 1916 to 1942 comprise the Park Service Rustic era. Rustic design strived to harmonize with the natural environment through use of natural materials, often locally sourced, as well as a heavy reliance on tedious hand labor techniques.

Much of the Rustic architecture across the National Park Service was made possible by New Deal spending programs, including the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). These programs provided inexpensive labor to build not only elaborate structures, but other park infrastructure such as trails. The discontinuation of the CCC in 1942 further hampered the ability of parks to keep up with needed maintenance and new development. Without the availability of inexpensive labor, the cost of labor-intensive construction methods and Rustic design aesthetics slipped out of reach.

While the Rustic era closed, National Park Service staff included large numbers of highly experienced landscape architects who were invested in design decisions. National Park Service Director Conrad Wirth had worked as a landscape architect for the National Park Service for many years before his appointment as director. He worked with Thomas Vint, a long-time colleague serving as the chief architect who led the National Park Service’s Western and Eastern Offices of Design and Construction. Wirth, Vint, and many of their design staff worked for the National Park Service during the Rustic architecture era and even helped establish Rustic design standards.

With Rustic design financially out of reach, it was time for a new era of park aesthetics. Ultimately, many of the same individuals who built the Rustic charm of the parks were also responsible for establishing its stylistic successor decades later.