CRATER LAKE LODGE

When William G. Steel envisioned an inn on the rim of the Crater Lake caldera, he thought that a grand and modern lodge would encourage people to come here. Unfortunately, he hired a developer who had no experience building in a wild, high-elevation area. Alfred Parkhurst from Portland was apparently a widely-respected developer who entered into this project with a passion. However, he failed to consider a few important points: 1. At that time, roads to here were primitive, requiring heroic efforts to get equipment, materials, and employees on location. 2. Due to the elevation and the resulting harsh, long winters, construction was possible for only about 3 months per year. 3. The building had to be able to withstand at least 15 feet of snow on the roof.

This lack of planning / experience lead to long delays and the building, begun in 1909, was fraught with cost over-runs. This unanticipated expense lead to cutting corners. The resulting building, finally completed in 1915 had spartan furniture, tar-paper covering the external walls, and very thin internal walls. There were no private restrooms. Upgrades were attempted through the early years, but apparently nothing which made much difference.

The Park Service acquired the Lodge in 1967, but basically performed minimal maintenance and allowed it to deteriorate further. It was scheduled to be demolished in the 1980s, but there was enough of a public outcry that this decision was reversed. Even then, however, it kept deteriorating until, in 1989 structural engineers determined that it was unsafe and the Park Service shut it down.

Renovation began in 1991. It's my understanding that re-building may be a more accurate term. The building was so unstable that it was pretty much dismantled. A steel frame was then constructed and the building was re-built around this frame, using as much of the original material as possible to maintain the ambiance.

https://www.nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/upload/2010-crater-lake-lodge-sb.pdf

barcraterlakelodge