National Building Museum, Washington, DC
photo: David Castenson
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Mount Rainier National Park Archives Photo of the Paradise Ranger Station with the park’s first naturalist, Ranger Floyd Schmoe, in the 1920s.
The Paradise Ranger Station was constructed in 1921 and was the first government-built structure of its kind at Mount Rainier. Built by the National Park Service in the Rustic style, its steeply pitched roof was designed to withstand the excessive amounts of snowfall at Paradise. The front has a full width 1-story stone porch accessed by stone steps, which descend directly onto the sidewalk. The NPS Rustic style uses native materials like wood and stone to minimize contrast from the natural setting. Shrubs and trees were also planted around the ranger station to better help it blend with the environment and not detract from the visitors’ experience of nature. The Paradise Ranger Station is part of the Mount Rainier Historic Landmark District.
NPS Photo of the ranger station in 1984 (left). Mount Rainier National Park Archives Photo courtesy Val Lou photo of the Paradise Ranger Station in the 1990s (right).
The first floor of the ranger station was originally used as an information and checking station, with living quarters in the second story. The information center has since moved to the Climbing Guide House behind the ranger station, but the Paradise Ranger Station still serves as office space for rangers today. Have you noticed this building when visiting Paradise?
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The fireplace and Dutch oven in the kitchen (at the back of the basement) in the Old Merchant's House, 29 E. 4th Street on April 5, 1954. The kettle, with a swinging arm, was still in usable condition. The small, square opening to the left of the fireplace is the Dutch oven.
The Old Merchant's House, built in 1832 and now the Merchant House Museum, still stands and is open to visitors. Below is a spread from a 1944 issue of House & Garden about the historic house. Click/tap to enlarge.
Top photo: Associated Press
Bottom photo: Merchant's House Museum
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Lavender path to Avebury Manor.
Wiltshire, England.
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Historic Courtyard in the New Orleans French Quarter.
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On the 18th January 2009 just a few weeks before the completion of a £4m restoration project, Raasay House was severely damaged by fire.
The history of Raasay and the house here is intermingled with The McLeod Clan, of which my own family were septs to on the Island, and quartermasters to the family. . A clan house, home to the Macleod Chief of Raasay, has stood on or near the present site from as early as the 1500's, but the original clan house was burnt to the ground, torched by government troops after Culloden. Like many families there were MacLeods on both sides that day, the Raasay branch were on the Jacobite side. Perhaps the most famous of the clan in modern times is Calum Macleod, who single handily famously built Calum's Road on the Island over ten years, with little more than a shovel, a pick and a wheelbarrow.
Anyway, back to the house. Since rebuilding started on 1747 the present Raasay House history has been recorded right through to today.
In 1773 Dr Samuel Johnson and James Boswell made their historic journey to the Western Isles and were guests of the Macleod chief at Raasay House, but by 1843 the last Laird, John Macleod, left the house and emigrated with his family to Australia, the house was old three years later to a George Rainy from London and changed hands again in 1872-4.By 1746 it was in the hands of It was sold to Henry Wood who added the ornate Georgian-style wings and frontage to the house. It changed hands twice more before being converted into a sporting hotel around 1937, very successfully at first, with many wealthy guests. It closed it's doors in 1960.
Another 3 decades passed under different owners and the house was used as an Adventure centre and Outdoor centre, during which little maintenance work was carried out and the building started to deteriorate, it was finally sold to the Raasay House Community Company in 2007. A multi-million-pound project to renovate and refurbish Raasay House commences a year later.
Fire caused damage to all but the west wing in January 2009, just as the house was about to be reopened but thanks to a lottery grant the house rose from the ashes to what it is today, the house retains many of its historical features which were painstakingly restored. Today, still owned by the community it has returned to it's use as a hotel and has a four and a half star rating out of five on Tripadvisor.
As you can see from the pics it is a beatiful building, and the views from the house over to the Isle of Skye are stunning.
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The National Archive, Washington, DC
photo: David Castenson
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Mount Rainier National Park Archives Photo of the Sunrise Day Lodge in 1932.
The Sunrise Day Lodge was built by the Rainier National Park Company (RNPC) in 1931. It was originally intended to be a much larger lodge similar to the Paradise Inn, but only one wing of the original design was constructed. Despite this, its large size, steeply pitched roof, and shingled exterior immediately attracts visitors arriving to Sunrise.
Mount Rainier National Park Archives Photos: Aerial view of Sunrise in the 1930s showing the cabins behind the lodge (left) and the cabins covered in snow in the spring (right).
Historically the lodge provided services to 215 overnight cabins with a cafeteria and concessionaire employee housing. The cabins were located on the meadow slopes behind the lodge. During World War II, tourism declined, and the concessionaire struggled to maintain funds. In an effort to offset their debt, the RNPC sold all the cabins at Sunrise for government defense installations as a part of the war effort and the structures were removed from Sunrise in 1944. However, the cabin’s linear rows left an indelible imprint on the fragile soil of the subalpine meadows. It took decades of natural growth and replanting to recover the area and some traces can still be seen on the slope behind the lodge.
NPS Photo of the Sunrise Day Lodge in 2015.
The Sunrise Day Lodge is a contributing structure to the Mount Rainier Historic Landmark District. It still serves day visitors with a cafeteria/gift shop and has concessionaire employee housing. Have you stopped in the Sunrise Day Lodge during the summer?
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