Sunrise Historic District - Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Sunrise Historic District is a group of 7 structures featuring beautiful, rustic park architecture. The Sunrise Lodge, now the Ranger Station, was built by the Rainier National Park Company in 1931. The other six buildings (north and south blockhouses, Visitor Center, Power house, Comfort station, service station) were built by the National Park between 1930 and 1944.

In 1929, Park Superintendent Tomlinson proposed the creation of a new park area called Yakima Park (later changed to "Sunrise"). It was virgin territory and had to be fully developed – roads, buildings, administration area, trails, etc. The park made an agreement with the concessioner Rainier National Park Company to build a lodge for the area and they constructed the Sunrise Lodge, now the Ranger Station. Only a quarter of the structure was completed due to the company's financial difficulties during the Great Depression and the building was instead used as a cafeteria for park guests and park employee dormitories.

During the first stage of construction a service station, stockade, comfort station and the South Blockhouse were constructed in addition to the lodge. The North Blockhouse and the Community Building (now the Visitor Center) were the final structures at the site and were completed in 1944. The Sunrise Blockhouses, Stockade and Visitor Center are all designated National Landmarks. The comfort station is registered separately as a National Historic Place.

The Sunrise buildings are virtually unchanged. Even the uses of the buildings are much the same as when they were first completed. This section of the park is known for its incredible hiking and its views of Mt. Rainier and Emmons Glacier, the largest glacier in the lower 48 states. Of all the Visitor Centers in the park this one is located at the highest elevation, 6,400 feet, and because of that is only open from June through early September. The area is often overlooked by tourists, but in our opinion has much better hiking and views of the mountain than can be found at the popular (and crowded) Paradise section of the park.

Street address: Sunrise Mt. Rainier National Park, WA USA 98370 County / Borough / Parish: Pierce Year listed: 1991 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event Periods of significance: 1925-1949 Historic function: Domestic, Government, Recreation And Culture Current function: Domestic, Government, Recreation And Culture Season start / Season finish: From: 06/15/2007 To: 09/09/2007 Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 6:00 PM Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Privately owned?: Not Listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   08/18/2011 nomadwillie visited it 08/20/2007 Hikenutty visited it 07/17/2005 ArmyFamily4 visited it 07/12/2004 Raven visited it

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