Spring 2007 - Yosemite Online

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YOSEMITE’S MUSEUMBY SUEANN BROWNA TRAILBLAZER IN PARK ARCHITECTURE AND NATURE EDUCATIONOne of the most significant buildings in Yosemiteis located at the heart of Yosemite Village.Visitors pass through its doors every day, butfew realize the seminal role it played in the developmentof the National Park Service’s signature Rustic style. Infact, the Yosemite Museum was the first building constructedas a museum in the National Park system, andserved as the home of educational initiatives that wouldserve as models for park programs nationwide.Museum development at Yosemite began even beforethe creation of the National Park Service. As early as 1915,some exhibits prepared by Chief Ranger Forrest Townsley,primarily specimens of mounted wildlife, were displayedat the Chief Ranger’s office. In the fall of 1920, the oldJorgensen Studio building near Sentinel Bridge was madeavailable as museum space. That year, Ranger Ansel Hallwas designated as the Information Ranger. He began creatingmore displays. By the summer of 1921, exhibits in thetemporary museum quarters included a history room, ethnologyroom, natural history room, and terrarium. Theseexhibits were well received by visitors and inspired donationsof both cash and objects for the museum collection.In May of 1922, a collection of Indian baskets valuedat between ten and fifteen thousand dollars was donatedto the museum. The donation intensified Hall’s desirefor a new museum building—specifically a “fireproof”structure to protect the growing and valuable collections.At Hall’s request, architect Herbert Maier, then employedby the Buffalo Museum of Science as an exhibit designer,prepared plans and a color perspective sketch of theproposed museum.With plans and sketches of the proposed museum inhand, Hall began raising funds for the structure. TheYosemite Museum Association was formed to handlethe funds in 1923. As the National Park Service’s firstnonprofit cooperating association, the group was aprototype for associations that now exist for NationalParks nationwide. In later years, the group was renamedthe Yosemite Natural History Association and then theYosemite Association.While initial fundraising went well, the amountcollected was inadequate for the type of building Halldreamed of. Realizing he needed additional support,Hall turned to Chauncey Hamlin, the president of theAmerican Association of Museums. The two men firstmet on a high Sierra hike in 1921. Hamlin broughta funding request to the Laura Spelman RockefellerMemorial fund. The fund approved a grant of $75,000 inJuly of 1924. Of that, $50,000 was to be used to constructthe building, with the remainder to be used for equipment,furnishings and salaries for the first three years.NATIVE ROCKS AND LOGSOnce the funding was secured, Hall met with HermonBumpus of the American Association of Museums (AAM)to begin planning the museum’s construction. As a firststep in the museum project, Bumpus directed Hall to builda branch museum and lookout station at Glacier Point.The AAM hired Herbert Maierin August to prepare the final plansand oversee construction of the newmuseum. Maier’s first assignmentwas to design the Glacier Point lookout.His plans were approved withindays, allowing construction to beginimmediately. The structure was completedin just over a month, makingit the first of the Park Service’s manytrailside museums.The Glacier Point lookout site,atop a cliff on the south side of theYosemite Valley, was selected forits educational value. The shelterYOSEMITE RESEARCH LIBRARYHerbert Maier’s first proposed Museumdesign was far more ambitious than themodest building budget would allow.6 YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION, SPRING 2007
The Glacier Point lookout under construction in 1924. The site was chosen for its breathtaking views.YOSEMITE RESEARCH LIBRARYStephen Mather (right) visits the Glacier Point lookout in 1920s.YOSEMITE RESEARCH LIBRARYaffords a spectacular view of the valley and surroundingcliffs, making it an ideal location for naturalists to providevisitors with information about park geology.Meanwhile, the original design for the main museumbuilding was rejected by the NPS Landscape DesignOffice. Maier reworked the plans with input from thedesign office and both Hall and Bumpus. These revisionswere approved in September. The approved plans were farmore modest than the design originally proposed. Amongthe factors that led to this was NPS Director StephenMather’s desire to give the entire village, including themuseum, a unified architectural theme.Myron Hunt, a prominent Los Angeles architect,designed the Administration Building, which was underconstruction while the Museum and Post Office werebeing designed. Gilbert Stanley Underwood, architect ofThe Ahwahnee, designed the Post Office. Hunt’s designclearly set the tone for the other Village buildings. Despitebeing designed by three different prominent architects, thethree buildings are nearly identical in form and detailing.Maier fully embraced the revised design concepts.The buildings at the heart of Yosemite Village wereamong the first to be designed in the National ParkService Rustic style of architecture. Maier later becamea leading practitioner and spokesman of the style. In a1926 Nature Notes article describing the Museum building,Maier wrote of the importance of harmonizing thestructure with its surroundings, both in terms of thenatural and built environments.Maier pointed out that the museum “must take itsplace as an integral unit of the new village….In willingYOSEMITE ASSOCIATION, SPRING 20077
Page 2: Cover: A moonbowat the LowerYosemit
Page 5: against brilliant star fields. The
Page 9 and 10: The Yosemite Museum againstthe Vall
Page 11 and 12: GRAND OPENING OF THE YOSEMITE VALLE
Page 13 and 14: “Cathedral Snow” by Stephen Lym
Page 15 and 16: PARK PROFILEDAN JENSENLAUREL REMATO
Page 17 and 18: VIRGINIA FERGUSONJuly 17, 1940 - Ja
Page 19 and 20: PARK NEWSMerced River Plan Public S
Page 21 and 22: Chiura Obata: Art of Yosemite 1927-
Page 23 and 24: ASSOCIATION DATESLegend:OA = Outdoo
Page 25 and 26: POSTERSYosemite Multi-Image Landsca
Page 27 and 28: SALEThe Joy of Yosemite—Selected
Page 29 and 30: Phillip Rocha, Therese & F. Rodrigu
Page 31 and 32: Robin Moores, Karl F. Munz, Robert

Spring 2007 - Yosemite Online

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