New walks were added around the cafeteria building in 1936 to facilitate and direct visitor circulation. Also in 1936, stone markers were placed at the corners of walkways where they met curbs, directing pedestrians onto the walkways and away from the newly planted vegetation.[55] By this time a number of the walks built earlier at the site had fallen into disrepair. Some of these paths were constructed under adverse weather conditions and the proper setting of paving materials did not occur. The addition of an underground water system at the rim and the landscaping work in general had also damaged some of the walks. CCC crews were put to work on the rehabilitation and/or repair of these features during the 1936 work season.[56]
Beginning in 1934, the Rim Campground became the focus of activity for CCC workforces. The campground was an area of concern for both NPS landscape architects as well as professional consultants working outside of the Park Service. Dr. Emilio P. Meinecke, a pathologist employed by the Bureau of Plant Industry in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was one of the specialized professionals the NPS employed to assist them in development of this area. In 1933 Meinecke visited the park to confer with various park officials concerning “campsite preservation and general forest conservation.”[57] His advice and recommendations were outlined in his “Camp Planning and Camp Reconstruction,” and included everything from general site layout and planning to specifics on individual campsite features.[58] Following Dr. Meinecke’s suggestions, the public campground and parking areas at Rim Village would be “improved” in such a way that cars could be driven through the campground but parking would be restricted. Meinecke provided guidance on the appropriate types of stoves and fireplaces to use in parks. In 1933 the superintendent noted in his monthly narrative report:
Fire places of a permanent nature are also being installed so that automobile driving and camp fire burning cannot occur indiscriminately and destroy the forests. It is hoped that by this regulated parking and driving through the camp ground that the sustenance for the beautiful hemlock trees may be preserved and that the growth and longevity of the forest cover will be aided.[59]
The next year work was underway, and twenty-five individual units were developed. Each unit was comprised of a stove, a fireplace, space for a tent, a table, and an area for parking one automobile. For the “permanent fireplaces,” the park followed Meinecke’s designs for an elaborate type of stove-fireplace unit that required an inordinate amount of time to erect. These units quickly proved to be too expensive, and after eight of the more sophisticated versions were built, fireplaces of “less elaborate design” were put in.[60]
In addition to these functional features, portions of the campground were naturalized with the addition of shrubs, plants and a fine ground cover of rush.[61] The following year, more plants were added and additional parking and fireplaces were built to accommodate the large numbers of tourists staying at the camp. By 1935, the campground had more than seventy-five camping sites. It was at this time that consideration was given to developing the south slope of the existing campground, as an “overflow” area for campers. Francis Lange noted in a 1935 report that ten fireplaces and parking stalls were erected in the area but the area would remain closed until it was a fully developed campground.[62] Throughout the development, site “furniture” was added to the Rim Campground. After “experimenting” with a particular type of log table — one designed to be more “fitting to an area of this nature than the usual milled type of table,” — a number of table and bench combinations (picnic tables) were constructed and placed throughout the campground.[63] In 1936, additional picnic tables, twenty fireplaces, and thirty more sites were added. Over the next few years, replanting efforts continued, log tables and benches were brought in, and a general maintenance program was underway for the area. Log and stone barriers were added to the campground beginning in 1938 in the hopes that they would prevent cars from hitting trees, running over vegetation, and in general, control parking within individual campsites. New sites and additional parking areas were added as late as 1939.[64]
