Gilbert Stanley Underwood (June 5, 1890 – August 3, 1961) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

best known for his

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

lodges.

Biography

Born in 1890, Underwood received his B.A. from

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

in 1920 and a M.A. from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

in 1923. After opening an office in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

that year, he became associated with Daniel Ray Hull, a

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

, of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. This led to a commission with the Utah Parks Company of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

which was developing the parks in hopes of producing destinations for travelers. During this time Underwood designed lodges for Cedar Breaks National Monument (now demolished),

Zion National Park Zion National Park is a national park of the United States located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a ...

Bryce Canyon National Park Bryce Canyon National Park () is a national park of the United States located in southwestern Utah. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon, which despite its name, is not a canyon, but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along ...

, and the North Rim of the

Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyo ...

. His surviving Utah Parks Company buildings are considered exceptional examples of the Rustic style of architecture, and are all listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. In addition, Underwood was contracted to design

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

's The Ahwahnee, also on the National Register and probably his greatest triumph in the Rustic style. Underwood also designed stations for the Union Pacific, culminating in the magnificent

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style station in Omaha in 1931. Then Underwood joined the Federal Architects Project in 1932. While working for the federal government, Underwood produced the preliminary designs for the Timberline Lodge,

Mount Hood Mount Hood, also known as Wy'east, is an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast and rests in the Pacific N ...

, Oregon, and went on to design more than 20 post offices, two major federal buildings, and the U.S. State Department Building. From 1947 to 1949, he was appointed as federal supervisory architect. Following retirement but utilizing an association with John D. Rockefeller Jr., and the Williamsburg Lodge project in Virginia, Underwood designed as his last major commission the Jackson Lake Lodge (1950–1954),

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is a national park of the United States in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately , the park includes the major peaks of the Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. G ...

, Wyoming. He died in 1960.

Works

* Old Faithful Lodge,

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

- completed 1923 * Cedar Breaks Lodge, Cedar Breaks National Monument - completed 1924, demolished 1972 * Bryce Canyon Lodge,

- completed 1925 * Union Pacific Dining Lodge, West Yellowstone, MT, 1925 * The Ahwahnee,

- completed 1926 * Union Pacific Railroad depot, South Torrington, Wyoming, 1926 * Zion Lodge - completed 1927, burned 1966, rebuilt (different style, then restored to original appearance in the 1990s) *

Great Overland Station Great Overland Station, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Union Pacific Railroad Passenger Depot, is a museum and former railroad station in Topeka, Kansas, United States. The station was built from 1925 to 1927 and designed ...

, 701 N Kansas Avenue,

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

, 1927 *

depot, Lund, Utah, 1927, demolished 1970 * Wilshire Tower (

Desmond's ''Desmond's'' is a British television sitcom broadcast by Channel 4 from 5 January 1989 to 19 December 1994. Conceived and co-written by Trix Worrell, and produced by Charlie Hanson and Humphrey Barclay, ''Desmond's'' stars Norman Beaton as b ...

and Silverwoods department stores), 5500–5514 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California - completed 1929 * Union Pacific Railroad depot, North Second and Broadway,

Abilene, Kansas Abilene (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,460. It is home of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Libra ...

, 1929 *

Depot,

Marysville, Kansas Marysville is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,447. History Marysville was laid out in 1855 by Francis J. Marshall, and designated in that sa ...

, 1929 *

Depot, Main and 10th Streets,

Gering, Nebraska Gering is a city in and the county seat of Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, United States, in the Panhandle region of the state. The population was 8,564 at the 2020 census, making it the 17th most populous city in Nebraska. History Gering ...

, 1929 *

Depot, 304 North Rail Street,

Shoshone, Idaho Shoshone ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Lincoln County, Idaho, United States. The population was 1,653 at the 2020 census. In contrast to the Shoshone Native American tribe for which it is named, the city's name is correctly pron ...

, 1929 * Union Pacific Railroad depot, 7th Avenue between 8th and 10th Streets,

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States census, an increase of 17.12% since the ...

, 1930 *

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

, 801 South 10th Street,

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

completed 1931 (now housing the Durham Western Heritage Museum) * Grand Canyon Lodge (North Rim) - completed 1928, burned 1932, rebuilt (modified style, same footprint) * the Lodge at

Sun Valley, Idaho Sun Valley is a resort city in the western United States, in Blaine County, Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum in the Wood River valley. The population was 1,783 at the 2020 census. The elevation of Sun Valley (at the Lodge) is above se ...

- completed 1936 * U.S.

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

Beacon, New York Beacon is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city located on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was 13,769. Beacon is part of the Kiryas ...

(with Charles Rosen) - completed 1937 * The new

San Francisco Mint The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint. Opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California gold rush, in twenty years its operations exceeded the capacity of the first building. It moved into a new one in 1874, now kn ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

- completed 1937 * the United States Court House in Los Angeles, California - completed 1940 * the United States Court House in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

- completed 1940 * Rincon Center Post Office in San Francisco, CA - completed 1940 * Jackson Lake Lodge,

, Wyoming - completed 1954 * Gilbert Stanley Underwood buildings index

Gallery

File:Omaha Union Station in May 1980 - 3 Photos (28794718292).jpg, Omaha Union Station File:CA-LosAngeles 1940 Ref.jpg, United States Court House, Los Angeles File:Bryce Canyon Lodge. - NARA - 520223.jpg, Bryce Canyon Lodge File:Yosemite - Ahwahnee Hotel.jpg, Ahwahnee Hotel

References

External links

National Park Service biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Gilbert Stanley 20th-century American architects Arts and Crafts architects Rustic style architects 1890 births 1960 deaths Architects from Los Angeles Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Yale University alumni American railway architects

Biography

Works

Gallery

See also

References

External links