Crater Lake Historic Resource Study

XI. Summary of Important Structures (continued)

D. Structures Not Eligible for the National Register

1. Exhibit Building (Bldg. #066)

The cornerstone of the Kiser Studio at Victor Rock, on the rim of Crater Lake, was laid July 12, 1921, by Will Steel. A crowd of 100 people gathered around as F.P. Salter the contractor, and his men, swung the lava block into place and Kiser took a motion picture of the ceremony. The structure was to be the headquarters for Kiser s photographic expedition in this part of Oregon, and the studio/salesroom for his hand-colored pictures of Crater Lake and the Northwest, for post cards and photographic supplies, and for literature about scenic beauties and encouraging their preservation. The studio was to be a story and a half, facing the lake, built of stone and timber, with a veranda across the front and a large plate glass window framing a vista of the lake. After the studio was completed, Kiser planned to surround it with a small rock garden and flower beds containing specimen plants and flowers of the Crater Lake area. Present at the occasion were Mr. and Mrs. Walter Prichard Eaton of Sheffield, Massachusetts. Eaton was visiting Crater Lake with Kiser to secure material for a Boy Scout book about the park and to obtain data for magazine articles about Oregon. [5]

Photographic studios were operated in the parks by private concerns for the purpose of taking and selling photographs therein under contract with the Department of the Interior. Kiser s company, Scenic America, with headquarters in Portland, Oregon, had the right, through contract, to take photographs for the purpose of sale in the park, while the Crater Lake National Park Co. had included in its contract only the right to sell photographs. Kiser was not the park's "official" photographer in the strict meaning of the word, but only in the sense that he was authorized to conduct that particular business. It was hoped that Kiser's reputation would help the park. And Kiser did have a reputation. He was recognized as one of the very finest artists on the Pacific Coast in photography work and was the first scenic photographer in the United States to apply opaque oil colors to the emulsion of a photograph and develop a system of producing hand-colored-in-oil photos for volume distribution. [6] For over twenty-five years he worked toward the development of Crater Lake National Park by publicizing it as much as possible.

In 1903 he made and displayed in different parts of the United States the first colored-in-oil photographs of Crater Lake. He assisted Will Steel in his efforts to establish Crater Lake and the surrounding area as a national park for three years by preparing and maintaining a complete set of colored lantern slides that Steel could use in his lecture work, as well as supplying Steel with photographs for publicity work. In 1917 Kiser persuaded the noted author Walter Prichard Eaton to come West and visit Crater Lake. Kiser personally conducted the author and his wife through southern Oregon and they camped ten days in the park. From his various experiences on the trip, Eaton wrote two books--Skyline Camps and Boy Scouts at Crater Lake--and numerous articles and short stories dealing with the area, bringing the lake attention from a nationally known author. [7]

Kiser illustrated the National Geographic Magazine for many years and was official photographer for the Great Northern Railway for six years. In 1906 he originated the slogan "See America First," suggesting it to the railway's advertising agent, who appropriated it for use by the company. [8] Kiser was an avid outdoor enthusiast and mountain climber. During his lifetime he endeavored to explore, photograph, and advertise the magnificent scenery in Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. He devoted his entire life to conserving and portraying our scenic resources. A large collection of his hand-colored-in-oil enlargements of the Rocky Mountains in the northern Montana wilderness were shipped to Washington, D.C., and installed as an exhibit in the halls of Congress just prior to presentation of the Glacier National Park Bill. They were thought to have exerted a strong influence in passage of that legislation. In addition to making a complete record of all the major scenic regions of the Northwest, Kiser made scenic motion picture "shorts" of the region.

In 1919 Kiser blazed the Skyline Trail down the backbone of the Cascade Range from Mt. Hood to Crater Lake. His party camped in Crater Lake National Park for one week; because this was the pioneer trip of its kind, the publicity value for the lake was enormous. Kiser also in 1926 blazed the new trail from the rim of Crater Lake to the water's edge. During his concession period at Crater Lake, Kiser explored every feature by climbing up and down the rim in many different places. He determined to bring Crater Lake to the public in the same way he had the Rocky Mountains. His policy became to make a new series of photographic negatives of the lake each summer and thereby acquire the largest and most complete set of Crater Lake negatives in existence.

The stone and log studio building was constructed by Kiser's company, Scenic America, at a cost of about $6,800, plus about $960 for the installation of a lighting plant, for use as a photographic studio under an operating contract entered into with the Secretary of the Interior. By purchase of the equipment and assignment of the contract in 1927, a general scenic photographic business was continued by Kisers (Inc.), of which Kiser was the majority stockholder, until January 1, 1930, when the contract expired. The business was found unprofitable to continue, and the operating assets, with the exception of the studio building, were sold to the Crater Lake National Park Company, which absorbed the operation into its existing development at the park. The studio building and fixtures thus abandoned were found desirable for use by the government as an information office and comfort station, and the former operator offered to sell the same to the government for $1,000. There being no funds available for the, purchase, the corporation agreed to permit the use of this building by the government for the above purposes without any obligation for remuneration or for the purchase of the building in the future. After 1962 the building was used for exhibits.

The structure, now referred to as the Rim Visitor Center, is considered to have only moderate architectural value. It is a small building of stone masonry with horizontal wood siding on the gable ends and wood shingles on the roof. It is basically compatible with the dominant architectural style of the park and has a prominent location in the Rim Village. It is the main contact point between Park Service personnel and park visitors. The structure is not determined to have enough significance to warrant its nomination to the National Register. If an adaptive use compatible with its early use as a photographic studio could be found, this might be a worthwhile effort. Horace Albright, former Director of the NPS, once stated that Fred Kiser, as an artistic photographer, had few peers in the United States and that he felt that Kiser's continued association with National Park Service affairs was important. [9] Kiser did generate interest on the part of the public in the future plans of the NPS and U.S. Forest Service. Kiser once stated that he wanted his name to

forever be considered a reminder to future generations that regardless of the primitive state of any region and the ruggedness of industrial and agricultural demands for greater development of that specific region, there must be, always, a certain number of citizens who will exert their strength, their endeavors and their influence exclusively to the conservation of God Given Scenic Beauty,--for the benifit [sic] of posterity. [10]

Perhaps this association could be continued in spirit by using his Crater Lake studio adaptively.

2. Community Building

This building, referred to now as Rim Center, serves as an auditorium in the summer and a ski-touring facility in the winter. It has no historical or architectural significance and is not deemed eligible for inclusion on the National Register.

3. Cafeteria Cabins

The cold-water cabins behind the cafeteria building run by the concessionaire, Canteen Company of Oregon, are not considered to be historically or architecturally significant. Built in the 1920s, they were part of the general rim area development plan geared toward providing more visitor services and facilities. The deluxe cottage units were constructed in the 1940s and are not deemed eligible for the National Register.

4. Sleepy Hollow Residential Area

The cabins in the Sleepy Hollow area are not historically or architecturally significant. They are representative of the post-rustic architecture development period of the park and have been rebuilt and remodeled over the years.

Illustration 68. Structure in Sleep Hollow residential area, 1981. Photos by David Arbogast, NPS, TWE.

5. Steel Circle Residential Area

None of the residences or other structures in Steel Circle, products of the NPS Mission-66 building and development program, are considered to be historically or architecturally significant.

Illustration 69. Apartments and school in Steel Circle residential area, 1981. Photos by David Arbogast, NPS, TWE.

6. Miscellaneous Structures

Illustrations 70 through 72 show other major park structures that are not considered historically or architecturally significant. These are staff housing in the headquarters area at Munson Valley (Bldg. #034), the employee dormitory south of the lodge near the Rim Village area, and the cafeteria building in Rim Village. Other structures not deemed eligible for the National Register include the comfort station at Annie Spring, the amphitheatre at the Mazama Campground, and park entrance kiosks.

Illustration 70. Building #034 in Munson Valley.

Illustration 71. Employee dorm south of lodge.

Illustration 72. Cafeteria in Rim Village.