Architect NPS; CCC NRHP Reference # 87000975 Year built 1926 | Architectural style Other Area 5 ha Added to NRHP 23 October 1987 | |
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Location Mi. 3.4 McKinley Park Hwy., Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA Weather -14°C, Wind N at 19 km/h, 49% Humidity | ||
The Mount McKinley National Park Headquarters District in what is now called Denali National Park was the original administrative center of the park. It contains an extensive collection of National Park Service Rustic structures, primarily designed by the National Park Service's Branch of Plans and Designs in the 1930s.
In 1920, the newly created park received funding to hire staff and establish an administrative area. When the Alaska Railroad reached the park in 1922, park headquarters were moved from the community of Nenana to a location near the new railroad station within the park boundaries. In the fall of 1925, park headquarters were moved to its current location. By 1927, nine structures—including those moved from the original site—occupied the headquarters district.
As the hub of park administrative and management, the headquarters area expanded according to detailed plans provided by the Branch of Plans and Design. As in many of the national parks during the Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps had an important role in the development of conservation and recreation-oriented projects within the park as a whole and headquarters district in particular. Beginning in 1938, CCC accomplished many projects within the park, but most of their efforts focused on the headquarters area where they constructed sewer and water lines, roads, and buildings. The CCC mess hall is the only remaining vestige of the CCC's presence at Denali.