Exhibit Goals
ObjectsBackground
This online exhibit has been compiled by the students of Colorado State University's Material Culture class for the 2017 fall semester. With the generous help of Kelly Cahill, the curator of Beaver Meadows Visitor Center in Rocky Mountain National Park, we contextualized fourteen objects that give a wider picture of the culture of Mission 66 projects. Mission 66 was a seminal movement in the National Park Service that not only drastically changed the ways visitors navigated the parks, but even shaped the interior design that visitors would interact with.Throughout this exhibit, you can explore the objects that relate to different National Park Service directors, renowned designers, and cultural trends. Objects as simple as a brass doorstop have many stories to tell and present information that illuminates much beyond simple visitor center design. The theme of movement throughout the parks during Mission 66 is reflected even in the small details of Beaver Meadows Visitor Center that we illuminate throughout this exhibit. However, many of the objects in this exhibit present a contradiction to the movement found in the rest of the park; these preserved pieces seem to tell a story of visitors stopping their movement through the park showing how the movement outside of the visitor center was accentuated by this stopping point.
Goal
The combined analysis of material culture and the historical record permits a deeper understanding of the ways Mission 66 initiatives unfolded at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), and specifically at Beaver Meadows Visitor Center (BMVC). Examination of both the structure and its furnishings provides a more holistic perspective on the manifestations of this agency-wide initiative. These material items, considered in tandem with the Taliesin/ Wright-designed visitor center, reflect both concurrent stylistic trend in design and the core values of Mission 66.
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- Introduction Kimberly Selinske
