Longmire Buildings

Historic landmarks in Mount Rainier National Park

United States historic place

Longmire Buildings

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

U.S. National Historic Landmark

U.S. Historic district
Contributing property

Longmire Administration Building, 2015

Longmire Buildings

Location| Longmire, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Coordinates| 46°44′56″N 121°48′39″W﻿ / ﻿46.74889°N 121.81083°W﻿ / 46.74889; -121.81083
Area| less than one acre
Built| 1927 (1927)
Architectural style| National Park Service rustic
Restored by| Ernest A. Davidson, Thomas Chalmers Vint
Part of| Longmire Historic District (ID91000173)
NRHP reference No.| 87001338[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP| May 28, 1987
Designated NHL| March 13, 1991

The Longmire Buildings in Mount Rainier National Park comprise the park's former administrative headquarters, and are among the most prominent examples of the National Park Service Rustic style in the national park system. They comprise the Longmire Community Building of 1927, the Administration Building of 1928, and the Longmire Service Station of 1929. Together, these structures were designated National Historic Landmarks on May 28, 1987.[1] The administration and community buildings were designed by National Park Service staff under the direction of Thomas Chalmers Vint.

## Administration Building

[edit]

The Longmire Administration Building is the largest and most architecturally significant of the three structures. The two-story building features heavy boulder rubble construction to the sill line of its second floor windows, with log-frame construction above. The building is entered through a front porch constructed of unusually heavy peeled logs. As the park's administrative headquarters it housed the offices of the park superintendent and engineering support activities. After the construction of a new headquarters just outside the park's boundaries under the Mission 66 program, the Administration Building became a visitor contact point and maintenance headquarters.[2][3]

Behind the entry porch, a pair of doors give access to a reception room furnished with a stone fireplace. A conference room and offices are housed on the upper level, with the basement contains mechanical equipment and a jail cell. The exterior corners of the building are buttressed with stone pilasters at the corners. Log planks sheathe the upper level above the sill, giving the appearance of log construction.[2][3]

## Community Building

[edit]

Longmire Community Building

The Community Building was the first to be built and set the tone for the area. The T-Shaped frame building houses a large community room measuring about 60 feet (18 m) by 30 feet (9.1 m), with a subsidiary wing housing toilets and staff quarters. A deep porch occupies one bay in front of the community room. Exterior walls are finished with log-slab veneer. The community room's interior features exposed scissor-truss log roof framing, with a large stone fireplace at one end. The masonry of the fireplace is distinctive, with roughly squared stone in the lower portion giving way to round glacial boulders. The other end of the room houses a small stage in a bay projecting from the end of the building. Original furnishings include light fixtures and log tables resembling those at the Paradise Inn. The living quarters were renovated in 1964 and retain little of their historic fabric. The interiors of the housing wing were excluded from the National Historic Landmark nomination. The lower level is used as a kitchen, with two apartments on the upper level.[2][3]

## Service Station

[edit]

Longmire Service Station

The 1929 Service Station provided gasoline and basic services to park visitors. The front half of the building is a drive-through covered bay with supports on the gas island, with an office in the other half behind, the whole crowned by a steeply pitched attic. Stone-faced concrete extends from grade level to sill level. The frame wall above is clad with log slab siding, while the roof is clad with cedar shingles. A small apartment is housed in the attic, accessible by an exterior stairway.[2][3]

The Longmire Buildings form a part of the Longmire Historic District, which is itself within the Mount Rainier National Park National Historic Landmark District, comprising the entire park.[1]

The Administration Building and Service Station are close together near the road, while the Community Building is across the Nisqually River. The construction of all three was supervised by Ernest A. Davidson, a Park Service landscape architect assigned to Mount Rainier. Vint chose to feature the Community Building and the Administration Building in his 1938 Park and Recreation Structures publications, an influential series of three volumes devoted to rustic park structures that influenced state and national park design through the 1930s. The Service Station stands as an almost unique example of rustic architecture for that building type.[2]

## See also

[edit]

Media related to Longmire Buildings at Wikimedia Commons

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Lewis County, Washington
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Pierce County, Washington
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Mount Rainier National Park
* List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington (state)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. ^ a b c d e Harrison, Laura Soulliere (1986). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Longmire Administration Building, Community Building and Service Station" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
3. ^ a b c d Kaiser, Harvey H. (1997). Landmarks in the Landscape: Historic Architecture in the National Parks of the West. Chronicle Books. pp. 44–46\. ISBN 0-8118-1854-3.

* v
* t
* e

National Register of Historic Places in Mount Rainier National Park

National Historic Landmarks|

* Longmire Buildings
* Paradise Inn

National Historic
Landmark District|

* Mount Rainier National Park
* Yakima Park Stockade Group

Other historic districts|

* Longmire Historic District
* Nisqually Entrance Historic District
* Paradise Historic District
* Sunrise Historic District
* White River Entrance

Other properties|

* Camp Muir
* Chinook Pass Entrance Arch
* Christine Falls Bridge
* Edith Creek Chlorination House
* Gobbler's Knob Fire Lookout
* Huckleberry Creek Patrol Cabin
* Indian Bar Trail Shelter
* Indian Henry's Patrol Cabin
* Ipsut Creek Patrol Cabin
* Lake George Patrol Cabin
* Longmire Campground Comfort Station No. L-302
* Longmire Campground Comfort Station No. L-303
* Longmire Campground Comfort Station No. L-304
* Mt. Fremont Fire Lookout
* Mowich Lake Patrol Cabin
* Narada Falls Bridge
* Narada Falls Comfort Station
* North Mowich Trail Shelter
* Ohanapecosh Comfort Stations
* Shriner Peak Fire Lookout
* South Puyallup River Bridge
* St. Andrews Creek Bridge
* St. Andrews Patrol Cabin
* Summerland Trail Shelter
* Sunrise Comfort Station
* Sunset Park Patrol Cabin
* Sunset Park Trail Shelter
* Tahoma Vista Comfort Station
* Three Lakes Patrol Cabin
* Tipsoo Lake Comfort Station
* Tolmie Peak Fire Lookout
* White River Bridge
* White River Mess Hall and Dormitory
* White River Patrol Cabin

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Mount Rainier National Park

* v
* t
* e

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Topics|

* Architectural style categories
* Contributing property
* Historic district
* History of the National Register of Historic Places
* Keeper of the Register
* National Park Service
* Property types

Lists by state|

* List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state:
* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

Lists by insular areas|

* American Samoa
* Guam
* Minor Outlying Islands
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Puerto Rico
* Virgin Islands

Lists by associated state|

* Federated States of Micronesia
* Marshall Islands
* Palau

Other areas|

* District of Columbia
* American Legation, Morocco

Lists of specific structure types|

* Amusement rides
* Jails and prisons
* University and college buildings

Related|

* National Historic Preservation Act
* Historic Preservation Fund

* National Register of Historic Places portal
* Category

* v
* t
* e

National Register of Historic Places in Lewis County, Washington

Historic districts|

* Centralia Downtown Historic District
* Chehalis Downtown Historic District
* Hillside Historic District
* Longmire Historic District
* Pennsylvania Avenue-West Side Historic District

Historic properties|

* Ben Olsen House
* Boistfort High School
* Centralia Post Office
* Centralia Union Depot
* Chehalis Post Office
* Claquato Church
* George E. Birge House
* Grace Evangelical Church of Vader
* Holy Cross Polish National Catholic Church
* Hubbard Bungalow
* John R. Jackson House
* Joseph Borst House
* La Wis Wis Guard Station No. 1165
* Lewis County Courthouse
* Lewis County Historical Society and Museum
* Longmire Buildings
* Longmire Campground Comfort Stations
* Mineral Log Lodge
* Narada Falls Comfort Station
* North Fork Guard Station No. 1142
* O. B. McFadden House
* O. K. Palmer House
* Ohanapecosh Comfort Stations
* Olympic Club Saloon
* Randle Ranger Station-Work Center
* Troop 373 and 7373 Scout Lodge
* St. Helens Hotel
* Three Lakes Patrol Cabin
* Wesley Everest Gravesite
* Wolfenbarger Site

Historic objects|

* The Sentinel

Historic structures|

* Narada Falls Bridge

National Historic Landmarks|

* Mount Rainier National Park

Former listings|

* Doty Bridge
* Weyerhaeuser Pe Ell Bridge

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Lewis County, Washington and List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington

* v
* t
* e

National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington (state)

Lists
by county|

* Adams
* Asotin
* Benton
* Chelan
* Clallam
* Clark
* Columbia
* Cowlitz
* Douglas
* Ferry
* Franklin
* Garfield
* Grant
* Grays Harbor
* Island
* Jefferson
* King
* Kitsap
* Kittitas
* Lewis
* Lincoln
* Mason
* Okanogan
* Pacific
* Pend Oreille
* Pierce
* San Juan
* Skagit
* Skamania
* Snohomish
* Spokane
* Stevens
* Thurston
* Wahkiakum
* Walla Walla
* Whatcom
* Whitman
* Yakima

Other lists|

* National Historic Landmarks
* Bridges and Tunnels

* Keeper of the Register
* History of the National Register of Historic Places
* Property types
* Historic district
* Contributing property

*[No.]: number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template