The Rustic Landscape of Rim Village, 1927-1941

Recommendations

 

Vegetation

PLANTING CONCEPTS

Design Principles

• Vegetation selected for planting design purposes should reflect a site’s native plant community.

 

• Vegetation should be massed to reflect continuity, sequence, and groupings found in nature. A hierarchy of canopy, understory, and groundcover should always be present in plant compositions.

 

• Plant materials should be used to soften the demarcation between buildings and the ground plane, so that the former seems part of the latter.

1. Planting beds between Rim Village Road and the caldera have integrity and should be retained whenever possible in the redevelopment of the area.

2. Plant materials within each planting bed should be evaluated to determine physical condition and then stabilized, rejuvenated or replaced in-kind, as appropriate (see Plant Materials, below).

3. Historic planting beds that will be retained in the new design and have lost plant materials (due to visitor impacts and snow loads) should be restored following historic design principles, including the selection and use of native plant materials.

4. A detailed site plan should be prepared for the plaza south of the lodge that addresses rehabilitation of the planting beds and all associated features.

5. Existing foundation plantings around the Plaza Comfort Station, Comfort Station No. 2 in the former campground, and the south and west elevations of the Crater Lake Lodge, have integrity and should be retained.

6. In the rehabilitation of Crater Lake Lodge, individual plant materials around the foundation should be salvaged and reused or replaced in-kinds. Special attention should be given to the preservation of the large specimen trees on the southwest and northwest corners of the structure.

7. The establishment of new planting areas at Rim Village should follow historic design principles including the use of native materials, massing, and a clear gradation of canopy, understory, and groundcovers.

8. Revegetation of disturbed areas should target restoring the material and visual quality of the surrounding landscape. Plants along roads and walks should be grouped in such a way that they reflect natural plantings and the transition between forest and meadows.

9. With the removal of Rim Village Road, the landscape between the promenade and the historic campground should be planted in order to minimize the demarcation between these two distinct areas and enhance the visual and physical connection between these two zones (see RECOMMENDATIONS: Vegetation, Planting Concepts, #7).

10. Snags and “ghost trees” should be incorporated into the new design whenever possible. These elements were historically considered part of the natural landscape by NPS designers and should only be removed when they present a threat to safety.