Dates

1956 - 1968 - Mission 66 Period in RMNP

1953 - DeVoto Article

1956 - 1960 - Initial Mission 66 Infrastructural Repairs

1960 - Beaver Meadows Entrance Station Construction (first M66 structure)

1961 - Map/Pamphlet

1963 - Land Acquisition Summary

July 16, 1965 - Completion of Alpine Visitor Center

1965 - 1967 - Beaver Meadows Visitor Center construction

1967 - 1968 - Kawuneeche Visitor Center

Context

The need for infrastructural alterations, like those proposed in National Park Service Director Conrad Wirth’s Mission 66 project, grew every year. Rocky Mountain National Park rapidly deteriorated in the decade following World War II and soon earned a prominent position in Bernard DeVoto’s controversial 1953 Harper’s Magazine article, “Let’s Close the National Parks.” The park continued to operate, but DeVoto’s criticism drew attention to its dire condition. Its pristine natural areas were gradually destroyed by their own popularity. As with many other parks throughout the United States, if Rocky Mountain National Park was to survive, it needed immediate maintenance and improvements for its roads and structures.

[Photo: Mission 66 sign]

Although Mission 66 eventually gained widespread notoriety for its modern architectural aesthetic, its relationship with Rocky Mountain National Park’s natural wilderness philosophy unfolded with steady caution. The project’s emphasis on improving park functionality and efficiency did not necessarily contradict the park’s preservationist agenda. The National Park Service did not immediately alter the landscape as it did elsewhere in the country, but instead spent $3 million (of an initial nine million dollar budget) repairing and updating water and sewage systems. Aside from road repair (particularly Trail Ridge Road), these discrete structural modifications composed the bulk of Mission 66’s early activities in Rocky Mountain National Park during the late 1950’s. The Park Service attempted to further gratify natural restoration efforts through extensive land acquisition, purchasing private properties in the park and removing any pre-existing structures. Demolition efforts occasionally met resistance from critics who valued the historic nature of the buildings, many of which were old hotels. These removals largely benefitted nearby Estes Park, however, which saw an increase in overnight visitors (much to Conrad Wirth’s approval). By 1963, the park had gained an additional 11,080 acres of territory and purchased seven thousand additional trees to add to the landscape.

The 1960 Beaver Meadows entrance station marked the first official Mission 66 building project in Rocky Mountain National Park. More structures followed, primarily replacing and standardizing the highly varied post-war architecture. The most prominent park buildings to come out of Mission 66 were the three visitor centers: The Alpine Center, Kawuneeche, and the famous Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. Such structures formed the backbone of Mission 66’s efforts to streamline mobility and enhance park experiences for guests. These buildings provided visitors with centralized gathering areas and updated roads to improve visitor accessibility and flow throughout the wider park. With key focal points for congregation, park planners hoped to reduce the destruction and traffic caused by unguided guest wanderings.

[Photo: 1961 Pamphlet; 1961 Map]