Mesa Verde Administrative District

Mesa Verde Administrative District is a set of six National Park Service buildings within Mesa Verde National Park, constructed between 1921 and 1927 in the Pueblo Revival style. Located on Chapin Mesa, these were the structures built by the Park Service to use culturally relevant architectural traditions in park architecture. The buildings were declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1987.[2][3][4]

Mesa Verde Administrative District
Superintendent's Residence
Mesa Verde Administrative District is located in Colorado
Mesa Verde Administrative District
Mesa Verde Administrative District is located in the United States
Mesa Verde Administrative District
LocationMesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Coordinates37°11′03″N 108°29′18″W
Area3.17 acres (1.28 ha)
Built1921 (1921)
ArchitectNPS Branch of Plans & Design; Jesse Nusbaum
Architectural stylePueblo Revival Style
NRHP reference No.87001410
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 28, 1987[1]
Designated NHLDMay 29, 1987[2]

History

Mesa Verde National Park was founded in 1906 to preserve a series of spectacular Ancestral Puebloan ruins and archaeological sites in southwestern Colorado. The National Park Service was founded in 1916 to manage the nation's growing inventory of national parks. It did not begin significant oversight of Mesa Verde until 1921, when archaeologist Jesse Nussbaum took over its administration. During his tenure (which lasted until 1931), the buildings described below were built on Chapin Mesa to support the administration of the park.[3]

The buildings share a common architectural vocabulary, which includes the use of sandstone, some of which was taken from some of the park's prehistoric structures. The walls typically have a battered exterior, and are covered by a roof supported by vigas. Woodwork in the buildings is worked to appear as if it had been fashioned using pioneer tools, and the interior walls are plastered.[3]

The landmark buildings include:

  • National Park Headquarters, 1923
  • Chapin Mesa Museum, 1923–24
  • Post Office, 1923
  • Ranger Dormitory, 1925
  • Superintendents Residence, 1921
  • Community Building, 1927

Most of these buildings have undergone subsequent alteration and expansion, as the needs of the park administration have grown and changed. The buildings are clustered in a roughly 3-acre (1.2 ha) area on Chapin Mesa.

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "Mesa Verde Administrative District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on July 28, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
  3. Laura Soullière Harrison (1986). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Mesa Verde National Park Headquarters, Museum, Post Office, Ranger Dormitory, Superintendents Residence, and Community Building / Mesa Verde Administrative District (Preferred). National Park Service. and Accompanying 51 photos, exterior and interior, from 1985 (7.88 MB)
  4. ""Architecture in the Parks: A National Historic Landmark Theme Study: Mesa Verde Administrative District", by Laura Soullière Harrison". National Historic Landmark Theme Study. National Park Service. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
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