Rocky Mountain National Park Administration Building

Rocky Mountain National Park Administration Building, also known as the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, is one of the most historically and architecturally significant National Park buildings in the country. It was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 2001. Frank Lloyd Wright’s apprentices at Taliesin Associated Architects designed the building. It received widespread attention when it opened in 1967. The building helped usher in a new era of modernist architecture in the national parks.

Mission 66

In the decade after World War II, visits to US national parks soared. To deal with the growing number of tourists, in 1956 National Park Service director Conrad Wirth launched the “Mission 66” program. This was an ambitious ten-year development campaign. It aimed to make the parks capable of handling larger crowds by the National Park Service’s fiftieth anniversary in 1966.

One important outcome of the Mission 66 program was the development of the modern park visitor center. Before visitor centers, rangers would educate park visitors. The larger numbers of visitors required new methods of educating people about the parks. Visitor centers solved this problem by combining interpretive exhibits, restrooms, shops, and food in one location, usually near park entrances. Visitors could stop on their way in, get oriented, learn a little about the park, and then drive through in a day. Mission 66 focused on adding new visitor centers that could handle a heavy influx of automobiles and tourists.

Between 1941 and 1951, the number of visitors at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) more than doubled, going from 663,000 to 1.3 million. As part of Mission 66, RMNP opened three new visitor centers. One was opened at Beaver Meadows, on a new eastern entrance road to the park. Another was built at Grand Lake on the west side of the park. The Alpine Visitor Center was added along Trail Ridge Road in the middle of the park in 1965. The Beaver Meadows Visitor Center opened later, but it was the most significant. It doubled as the park’s headquarters. It was designed in a striking modern style that was different from the typical rustic architecture found in the national parks. It began a new style of architecture known as Park Service Modern.

Planning

When Mission 66 started in the mid-1950s, RMNP was laying the groundwork for a new eastern entrance. The park acquired 320 acres of land on its eastern border and built a new entrance road across Beaver Meadows. The road opened in 1959, as the staff considered different options for the location of the visitor center and headquarters. While RMNP officials searched for a site, National Park Service architect Cecil Doty and staff began to sketch preliminary designs for the building at Beaver Meadows.

In 1964 Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall contacted Taliesin Associated Architects, a firm made up of Frank Lloyd Wright’s apprentices. Udall sought out Taliesin because, like Wright, the firm’s architects paid special attention to the local landscape in their designs. The firm asked about the RMNP building’s site, but an exact location still had not been chosen. That summer, two of the firm’s architects, William Wesley Peters and Edmund Thomas Casey, traveled to the park to inspect potential sites. They focused on the south side of the new entrance road. It had a south-facing slope that would allow the separation of the building into distinct visitor and administration areas. They picked a site about a mile outside the park’s gate. The building would be easily accessible without visitors having to pay an entrance fee.

On July 1, 1964, Taliesin officially received the commission for the RMNP Administration Building. The building plan was finished in the spring of 1965. The design had a large visitor lobby attached to an auditorium and a long hallway with administrative offices.

Construction

Ground was broken on July 16, 1965. Construction proved to be a long and complicated process, in part because the building required unusual materials and building techniques. The exterior walls, for example, were built of precast concrete panels in sixty-four different sizes. The panels were made by pouring concrete around large stones and then sprinkling the concrete with pebbles. This created a building material that bridged the gap between natural and industrial and between rustic and modern.

By January 1966, the building was halfway done. Construction slowed briefly because of union protests. By October the building was finished, and in November park staff started to move in. Final repairs and alterations were completed over the next few months and the building was officially dedicated on June 24, 1967.

Architecture

The building had opened one year after Mission 66 officially ended. But the RMNP Administration Building became one of the program’s most influential architectural legacies because it artfully blended a modernist building into the natural landscape. The building was a long, narrow rectangular structure running roughly east to west, with a large auditorium at the eastern end. It was built on a south-facing slope, which allowed it to maintain a low, one-story profile for visitors entering from the north. It also contained plenty of space in the two-story southern section for administrative offices and meeting rooms.

Visitors encounter some of the building’s most distinctive features before they enter. The precast concrete panels include local stones. The building’s exterior includes a Corten steel framework arranged in an abstract triangular design that is based on Native American rock art. The triangular pattern recurs throughout the building.

Visitors pass through a low entryway and walk into a large lobby with high ceilings. The lobby contains an information desk, a large relief map of the park, and a bank of windows facing the mountains. The alcove to the right originally held a stone fireplace but is now a store. A set of stairs lead down to the auditorium entrance, where visitors can watch a short film about the park. The auditorium was inspired by the design of Native American kivas. It was built to double as a meeting space for the town of Estes Park, and so was the largest auditorium built during the Mission 66 program. A balcony around the upper level of the auditorium passes through to the building’s exterior, where visitors are treated to a panoramic view of Longs Peak.

Today

The RMNP Administration Building has seen a few minor changes in the decades since it opened. The main changes have been the conversion of part of the lobby into a store run by the Rocky Mountain Nature Association. Also, parts of the original circuit around the upper level of the auditorium and the exterior balcony have been closed. This has prevented visitors from flowing through the building as the architects intended. Otherwise, the building remains the same as when it opened in 1967, and it continues to fulfill the same functions of interpretation, education, and administration.

On account of its history and architecture, the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center in Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most important National Park Service Buildings in the country. The building includes both the Visitor Center and the Rocky Mountain National Park Administrative Offices. The Visitors Center opened in 1967 and has modernist design elements, beginning a new trend of modernist architecture in national park buildings.

Mission 66

In the 1950s, visits to US national parks soared. In 1956 the National Park Service (NPS) started the “Mission 66” program, a ten-year plan to improve the parks’ ability to handle larger crowds. Led by NPS director Conrad Wirth, the plan was to be completed by the agency’s fiftieth anniversary in 1966.

The Mission 66 program included the development of visitor centers. Until the 1950s, visitors learned about a park through interactions with the rangers. With so many more visitors, the parks needed new ways to educate people. Visitor centers solved this problem by combining interpretive exhibits, restrooms, shops, and food in one location near the park entrances. People could stop on their way into the park, get oriented, and learn about the park. The new visitor centers could handle large numbers of cars and people.

The number of visitors at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) more than doubled between 1941 and 1951. Visitation went from 663,000 people to 1.3 million. As part of Mission 66, RMNP opened three new Visitor Centers. One was opened at Beaver Meadows at the park’s eastern entrance; another was built at Grand Lake on the west side of the park, and the Alpine Visitor Center was added along Trail Ridge Road in the middle of the park in 1965. The Beaver Meadows Visitor Center also served as the park’s headquarters and was designed in a striking modern style. In the past, buildings in National Parks had been built in a rustic style. The new Administration Building and Visitor Center was built in a new style that became known as Park Service Modern.

Planning

When Mission 66 started, RMNP was building a new eastern entrance. The park had acquired 320 acres of land and planned a new road across Beaver Meadows. They would build the Visitor Center and park headquarters on the site. The road opened in 1959. As RMNP officials searched for a site, National Park Service architect Cecil Doty and staff began to sketch designs for the building at Beaver Meadows.

In 1964 Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall contacted Taliesin Architects to see if they would be interested in working on the building. This firm was made up of Frank Lloyd Wright’s apprentices. Frank Lloyd Wright was a famous architect who designed modern structures that were in harmony with nature.

That summer, two of the firm’s architects, William Peters and Edmund Casey, traveled to the park to choose the site. They decided on the south side of the new road. It had a south-facing slope that allowed the building to be separated into visitor and administration areas. The site was about a mile outside the park’s gate, making it accessible to all visitors.

On July 1, 1964, Taliesin was chosen to design the RMNP Administration Building. The building plan was finished in the spring of 1965. The design called for a large visitor lobby with an attached auditorium, as well as a long hallway for administrative offices.

Construction

Construction crews broke ground on the Visitors Center on July 16, 1965. Construction was a long and complicated process, because the building required unusual materials and building techniques. The exterior walls, for example, were built of precast concrete panels in sixty-four different sizes. The panels were made by pouring concrete around large stones. The panels were then sprinkled with pebbles to create a building material that was both natural and industrial, and a style that was between rustic and modern. The building was officially dedicated on June 24, 1967.

Architecture

The Beaver Meadows Visitors Center opened one year after Mission 66 officially ended, but it was one of the program’s most architecturally influential buildings. It artfully blended a modern building into the natural landscape. It was a long, narrow rectangular building that had a large auditorium at the eastern end. Visitors entering from the north saw a low, one-story building. There was plenty of space in the two-story southern section for offices and meeting rooms.

Visitors can see some the building’s most distinctive features on the outside. The precast concrete panels include local stones, while the building’s exterior has a special rusted steel framework in an abstract triangle design that is based on Native American rock art. The triangular pattern is found throughout the building.

Inside, visitors pass through a low entryway and walk into a large lobby with high ceilings. Here there is an information desk, a large relief map of the park, and a bank of windows facing the mountains. An alcove that originally held a stone fireplace is now a store. A set of stairs leads down to the auditorium entrance, where visitors can watch a film about the park. The auditorium was inspired by Native American kivas and was the largest auditorium built during the Mission 66 program. It also served as a meeting space for the town of Estes Park. A balcony runs around the upper level of the auditorium and continues outside, where visitors are treated to a panoramic view of Longs Peak.

Today

The RMNP Administration Building has seen a few minor changes since it opened. The main change was the store in the lobby. In addition, parts of the original balcony around the auditorium and the outside balcony have been closed. This prevents visitors from flowing through the building as the architects intended. Otherwise, the building remains the same as when it opened in 1967. It continues to fulfill the same functions of interpretation, education, and administration. It was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 2001.

The Beaver Meadows Visitor Center is in Rocky Mountain National Park. It is one of the most important National Park Service buildings in the country. It is important for historic and architectural reasons. The building opened in 1967. It started a new trend of using modern architecture in the national parks.

Mission 66

In the 1950s, more and more people were visiting the national parks. In 1956 the “Mission 66” program was started. It was a ten-year plan that would allow the National Parks to handle the larger crowds. The plan was called Mission 66 because it would be finished by 1966. That was the year of the National Park Service’s fiftieth anniversary.

Creating Visitor Centers was an important part of the Mission 66 program. Until the 1950s, visitors learned about a park by talking to rangers. With more visitors, parks needed a new way to educate people. Visitor Centers solved this problem. There were exhibits, restrooms, shops, and food in one place. The Visitor Centers were located near the park entrances. People could stop on their way into a park. The new Visitor Centers handled large numbers of people and cars.

At Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), the number of visitors had doubled in ten years. As part of Mission 66, RMNP opened three new Visitor Centers. One was at Beaver Meadows, on the east side of the park. Another was at Grand Lake on the west side of the park. The Alpine Visitor Center was added along Trail Ridge Road in the middle of the park in 1965. The Beaver Meadows Visitor Center also served as the park’s headquarters. In the past, buildings in National Parks were built in a rustic style. The Beaver Meadows Visitor Center was different because it was designed in a modern style.

Planning

When Mission 66 started, RMNP was building a new eastern entrance. The park had 320 acres of new land. Officials planned to build the Visitor Center and park headquarters on the site.

In 1964 Taliesin Architects was chosen to design the building. This firm was made up of people who had worked with Frank Lloyd Wright. Frank Lloyd Wright was a famous architect who designed modern buildings that were in harmony with nature. Taliesin was chosen because the firm paid special attention to the local landscape in their building designs.

That summer the architects chose a south-facing slope for the building. The building would be separated into the Visitor Center and offices. The site was about a mile outside the park’s gate.  

Construction

Construction crews broke ground on July 16, 1965. Construction was long and complicated. This was because the building used unusual materials and techniques. The outside walls were made of concrete panels in sixty-four different sizes. The panels were made by pouring concrete around large stones. The panels were then sprinkled with pebbles. This created a building that was both natural and industrial. It was also a style that was between rustic and modern. The building was officially dedicated on June 24, 1967.

Architecture

Beaver Meadows Visitor Center was one of the Mission 66’s most important buildings. This was because it blended a modern building into the natural landscape. It was a long, narrow rectangular building. It was built on a slope, so visitors saw a low, one story building. It also had plenty of space in the two-story section for offices. It had a large auditorium at the eastern end.

Visitors can see some of the building’s special features on the outside. The concrete panels include local stones. The building has a unique rusted steel frame in a triangle design. This design is based on Native American rock art. The triangle pattern is seen all over the building.

Inside, visitors pass through a low entryway. They walk into a large lobby with a high ceiling. There is an information desk, a large map of the park, and windows that face the mountains. A set of stairs leads to the auditorium. Here visitors can watch a film about the park. The auditorium was inspired by Native American kivas. A balcony runs around the upper level of the auditorium. The balcony continues outside, where visitors can see a view of Longs Peak.

Today

The RMNP Administration Building has seen some changes since it opened. The main change was that part of the lobby is now a store. Also, parts of the original balcony have been closed. Otherwise, the building remains the same as when it opened in 1967. It is still used as a visitor venter and administration building. It was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 2001.