PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AT RIM VILLAGE: 1886 – PRESENT
by Stephen R. Mark, Park Historian, 1991
Earlier work by Harlan Unrau of the Denver Service Center has documented park-wide planning from 1916 to 1987.* Since publication of the first two volumes of Crater Lake National Park’s Administrative History in early 1988, park staff have communicated the need for more contextual information about the proposed redevelopment of Rim Village. Specifically, they wanted to know what the major planning thrusts have been in the past and how these efforts have shaped the site’s development.
Rim Village has been the center of visitor activity at Crater Lake since before the park’s establishment. It has received the most attention of any site in the park from planners and is currently the subject of a multi-million dollar redevelopment effort. This chapter covers the period from first documented use in 1886 to the closing of the Crater Lake Lodge in 1989. Particular emphasis is placed on planning since 1967, when a 30 year concession contract was signed by the National Park Service and Crater Lake Lodge, Inc.
Acknowledgments
The idea for an addition to the two volumes written by Harlan Unrau was first suggested by Dr. Stephanie Toothman, Chief of the Cultural Resources Division, Pacific Northwest Region. She not only saw the need to document past planning and development at Rim Village, but wanted to establish a precedent in making the park’s administrative history a “living” work by periodically adding chapters.
Editorial assistance during the draft stage was rendered by Maureen Briggs and Kent Taylor of the park’s Interpretation Division. The draft was reviewed by Mr. Unrau, Dr. Toothman, Alfred Staehli, Superintendent Robert Benton, and Associate Regional Director Richard Winters. Improvements to the initial version were facilitated by their comments and the availability of more source material which appeared in the eleven months after completion of the draft.
Stephen R. Mark
March 1990
