The Shadow Mountain Lookout, also known as the Shadow Mountain Patrol Cabin, was built in

Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park is an American national park located approximately northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is situated between the towns of Estes Park to the east and ...

in 1932, to the design 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 United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

San Francisco Landscape Architecture Division. It was regarded as one of the best

National Park Service Rustic National Park Service rustic – sometimes colloquially called Parkitecture – is a style of architecture that developed in the early and middle 20th century in the United States National Park Service (NPS) through its efforts to create building ...

buildings in the national park system. It is now the only fire lookout surviving in Rocky Mountain National Park. Three other lookouts, now gone, were located at Twin Sisters Peak, the north fork of the

Thompson River The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches, the South Thompson River and the North Thompson River. The river ...

and near

Long's Peak Longs Peak (Arapaho: ) is a high and prominent mountain in the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located in the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, southwest by south ( bearing 209°) of the ...

. The lookout was built by

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part o ...

labor. Situated at an elevation of 9923 feet, the lookout is a three-story structure, with the first two stories in stone masonry, appearing to grow from a rock outcropping. The frame third story is topped by a pyramidal roof. The structure is near the summit of Shadow Mountain, looking over Grand Lake. The first floor has been used for visitor contact, while the second floor has been used as employee accommodation, usually for a married couple who would keep watch and deal with the public. The last summer season for use was 1978.

References

Government buildings completed in 1932 Towers completed in 1932 Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado National Park Service rustic in Colorado Civilian Conservation Corps in Colorado Buildings and structures in Grand County, Colorado National Register of Historic Places in Rocky Mountain National Park Fire lookout towers in Colorado Fire lookout towers on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Grand County, Colorado 1932 establishments in Colorado {{Colorado-NRHP-stub

See also

References