MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK
Longmire Community Building (1927)
As part of a general development plan, prepared in 1927, the
two-story, T-plan, timber-framed Longmire Community Building serves as
the social and cultural center for Longmire, as well as a prime example
of the Rustic style. Under the direction of Thomas C. Vint, chief
architect of the National Park Service Landscape Engineering Division,
his staff designed the buildings to acknowledge and emphasize the beauty
of the surrounding landscape, using simple sheltering forms and native
materials in proper scale.
Community buildings were a popular feature in park campgrounds during
the 1920s and 1930s. These buildings contained bathing facilities,
laundry tubs, a store, and often a post office. In addition, they might
house one or more rangers, and serve to shelter campers from inclement
weather. Historically, the Longmire Community Building was the focus of
the Longmire Public Auto-Camp, and still serves as the principal site
for meetings, lectures and training classes in the park.32
Photograph by Jack E. Boucher, 1996, National Park
Service, Historic American Buildings Survey. [Library of Congress
reproduction number: HABS, WASH,27-LONG,4-;DLC/PP-99:WA-2 (HABS
WA-222-1)]
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