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Mission 66 Expenditures – Crater Lake National Park – 1956 through 1966
Mission 66 was a ten-year program that was intended to dramatically expand Park Service visitor services by 1966, in time for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Park Service.
The explosion in prosperity following World War II brought a tide of automobile-borne tourists that the parks were ill- equipped to receive. By the mid-1950s it was apparent that massive investment in park infrastructure was required. Mission 66 was conceived as the means to accommodate increased visitor numbers and to provide high-quality interpretation services.
In 1955, Park Service Director Conrad Wirth proposed a decade-long program of capital improvement, to be funded as a single program by Congress.
While Mission 66 involved a variety of infrastructure projects such as roads, utilities and employee housing, the most visible components were the interpretational facilities, or visitor centers. Crater Lake National Park was an exception to the visitor center concept. As of 2011 no visitor center has been built in the Park.
Fifty years later, as many Mission 66 facilities themselves aged and required repairs and modernization, controversy erupted over their suitability for the Park Service mission and their impact on historic and natural sites. Modernism had fallen from favor with the general public, and some facilities were considered intrusive. Two of the most notable examples were the Cyclorama at Gettysburg National Military Park and the Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center at Mount Rainier National Park. Both of which have been demolished.
While a large portion of the funding for Mission 66 was devoted to visitor facilities, attention was also given to employee housing. Much of the existing housing was built by the CCC and amounted to little more than cabins. Using the model of postwar military housing, a series of standard designs was developed, focusing on the ranch style detached housing popular at the time.
The National Park Service Rustic style that had previously been popular was suitable for the 1930s, when cheap and plentiful Civilian Conservation Corps labor was available, but was not practical on a large scale in a time of full employment. Managers made a conscious decision to employ a more streamlined modern style of design for Mission 66 facilities. The simpler, cleaner design philosophy was faster and less expensive to implement, and its public image fitted with the idea of a “new era” in park services.
This streamlined design resulted in a number of flat-roofed, non-insulated cement block duplexes to be built in Steel Circle. The idea was that with cheap, government supplied heating oil, the snow would melt off the flat roofs. As heating costs escalated, the government began charging for their heating oil. Employees cut back on their heat, the flat roofs were insulated, thus snow built up on the roofs and the buildings were in danger of collapsing. Teams of employees were employed to manually shovel the roofs. The flat-roofed Mission 66 residences now sport giant pitched metal encased super structures.
Roads and Trials
Work Order number Project Cost
521.1 Annie Spring Bridge 110,282
521.2 Goodbye Creek Bridge 84,725
523.1 Campground Roads, Annie Spring 18,245
523.2 Roads and Walks, Headquarters 16,056
523.3 Surfacing Campground Roads, Annie Spring 37,177
523.4 Headquarters Residence Roads 20,745
523.5 Driveway, Annie Spring 3,491
523.6 Picnic Area Roads 7,540
524.7 Pave Utility Area 6,115
523.8 Rim Campground Road 41,970
523.9 Reconstruct Trails, Garfield and Discovery Pt. 6,991
523.10 Interpretive Roadside Markers 32,809
523.11 Construct Parking area and intersection 34,790
523.12 Pave Utility Area, Headquarters 26,781
R-1 Restore Walks and Walls Rim 17,612
R-1A Restore Walks and Walls Rim 39,057
R-2 Construct Cleetwood Trail 29,268
R-2A Construct Cleetwood Trail 44,243
R-3 Reconstruct Campground Road, Annie Spring 6,140
R-4 Extend Road, Mazama 17,340
R-5 Trail to Campfire Circle, Mazama 1,931
R-6 Parking Area for Cleetwood Lake Trail 21,252
R-7 Annie Spring to Rim Road Reconstruct 484,890
R-8 Seasonal Employee Trailer Court 1,479
R-9 Reconstruct – Bit. Pave – Rt. 4 133.037
R-10 Rt. 2, Reconstr4uct, Grading and Paving 2A1 and B2 839,294
R-11 Road Aprons, School, and Apt. Buildings 6,168
R-12 Road Aprons, Equipment Building 2,274
R-13 Road Aprons, Apt, Buildings 2,941
Roads and Trails Total $2,094,668.95
Buildings and Utilities
Work Order Number Project Cost
331.2 Comfort Station Reconstruct – Rim campground 7,975
331.3 Comfort Station Reconstruct – Annie Spring 21,606
331.5 Employee Housing, HQ 142,166
332.1 Water and Sewer Supply, A Spring C.G. 36,925
332.2 Water and Sewer Employee Housing HQ 38,077
332.3 Spring Encasement, Annie Spring 2,328
332.4 Reservoir and Pump, Annie Spring 17,513
332.5 Water and Sewer at Annie Spring Check Station 1,096
332.6 Munson Spring Improvement 10,061
332.7 Campground Electric Line 2,966
333.1 Campground Tables 3,683
333.2 Campground Development (Por) 27,338
333.3 Reconstruct Rim Campground (Por) 16,783
333.4 Picnic Site Development (Por) 6,395
B-1 Site Development, Hq, Residence (Por) 4,374
B-2 Covered Entrance Admin Building 11,019
B-3 Campground Comfort Station, Mazama 22,491
B-4 Checking Station, Annie Spring 11,879
B-5 Covered Entrance, Rim Comfort Station 3,374
B-6 Headquarters Fire Alarm and Telephone System 3,012
B-7 Headquarters Sewer System 2,393
B-8 Reconstruct Annie Spring Campground 4,893
B-9 Emergency Fire Exits, Apartment Buildings 3,918
B-10 Additional Campsites, Mazama 14,037
B-11 Comfort Station #62 11,639
B-12 Water, Sewer and Comfort Station, Mazama 7,472
B-13 Elec. System, Mazama Campground 2,426
B-14 Reconstruct Sinnott Memorial 21,006
B-15 Amphitheater, Mazama Campground 36,718
B-17 Construction Employee Trailer Camp 6,959
B-18 Water Storage and Distribution System, HQ 52,584
B-19 Employee Residences 146,353
B-20 Equipment Storage and Shop Building 161,587
B-21 Community School Building Steel Circle 200,782
B-22 Duplex Residences 170,560
B-23 Sewage System Extension, HQ 43,505
211724 Trunk Sewer, Rim to HQ 45,787
211727 Water, Sewer, Power, and Campsites, Loop F 30,136
Buildings and Utilities Total $1,366,181.04
Construction Costs Crater Lake National Park 1962 – 1974 (From Maintenance Foreman Jeff Adams)
- Water storage and distribution 1963 52,584
- Trail to campfire circle 1963 1,931
- Interpretive markers 1963 32,810
- Camp sites Loop E 1963 14,037
4a Employee trailer court 1963 8,439
- Road Rt. #3, 4, 7 1963 163,636
- Road Rt, #3, 4, 7 (+$19,065) 1963 596,415
- Parking area Lake Trail 1963 25,950
- Building 14-A 1964 187,441
- Builidngs 15,18,26 1964 169,770
- Building 222 1964 200,782
- Sewer Lagoon 2-cell 1964 43,502
- Buildings 219, 221, 226 1965 168,473
- Road aprons apartment building 1964 2,914
- Road apron equipment building 1964 2,274
- Road apron school and apartment bld. 1964 6,168
- Sewer Rim ara to Headquarters 1965 45,787
- Comfort station (2) Loop G and F 1965 30,136
- Sewer Lagoon 3rd Cell 1966 16,588
- Concrete Curb and Guard Post 1966 32,863
- Road Loop G and F 1966 38,066
- Utilities Loop G and F 1966 39,820
- Tables Loop B 1967 1,733
- Reconstruct Rt. #2 1966/67 996,326
- Cleetwood Picnic Tables 1968 3,518
- Lodge Sprinkling System to Garfield Res. 1969 30,041
- Road Rt. #1,2,3, (+12,526) 1969 346,578
- No construction 1970
- No construction 1971
- Annie Springs Water and Sewer 1972 58,670
- Sewer System Extension, Sleepy Hollow 1972 115,797
- Watchman Parking Area Overlook 1972 115,797
- Utility Extension – Rim Village 1973 58,670
- West Entrance Road – 1-A2 1973/75 595,858
- Asphalt Concrete Overlays – Maint. 1974 35,459
Total Mission 66 Construction over a 10-year period $3,511,446.46
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