Cecil John Doty (1907–1990) was an American architect, notable for planning a consistent architectural framework for the U.S.
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
's ambitious
Mission 66
Mission 66 was a United States National Park Service ten-year program that was intended to dramatically expand Park Service visitor services by 1966, in time for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Park Service.
When the National P ...
program in the 1950s and 1960s. Doty spent his childhood in
May, Oklahoma, then attended Oklahoma A&M (now
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
), and received a degree in architectural engineering in 1928. During the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
that immediately followed Doty's graduation, Doty found intermittent work, but was unable to establish a business in
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
. In order to make a living, Doty signed up with the
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 of ...
, first as a file clerk, then as an architect in the state parks program.
Doty was hired by Park Service design director
Herbert Maier
Herbert Maier (January 2, 1893 – February 23, 1969) was an American architect and public administrator, most notable as an architect for his work at Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks. Maier, as a consultant to the Natio ...
to complete plans for a museum building at
Glacier National Park, and absorbed Maier's style by studying the design guidelines issued by Maier, which contained prototype designs executed by Maier and Park Service staff for national and state parks. By January 1935, Doty was promoted to associate engineer and given responsibility, together with landscape architect Harry Cornell, for the state parks of Kansas and Oklahoma. The next year he became regional architect, and in 1937 moved to
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...
to work with Maier at the new regional office, where he took up work on national park structures. Doty designed his new workplace, the
Santa Fe Regional Office, while still in Oklahoma, completing the design after moving to Santa Fe.
[
Doty moved to the San Francisco Office in 1940, where he took on work for the new ]White Sands National Monument
White Sands National Park is an American national park located in the state of New Mexico and completely surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range. The park covers in the Tularosa Basin, including the southern 41% of a field of white sand d ...
. During World War II Doty worked on major war effort projects like the