Gilbert Stanley Underwood (1890–1960) 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 natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

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

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

in 1920 and a M.A. from

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

in 1923. After opening an office in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

that year, he became associated with

Daniel Ray Hull Daniel Ray Hull (1890–1964), sometimes stated Daniel P. Hull, was an American landscape architect who was responsible for much of the early planning of the built environment the national parks of the United States during the 1920s. Hull planned t ...

, 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 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 properti ...

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

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

which was developing the parks in hopes of producing destinations for travelers. During this time Underwood designed lodges for

Cedar Breaks National Monument Cedar Breaks National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the U.S. state of Utah near Cedar City. Cedar Breaks is a natural amphitheater, stretching across , with a depth of over . The elevation of the rim of the amphitheater is over ...

(now demolished),

Zion National Park Zion National Park is an American national park 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 variety of ...

Bryce Canyon National Park Bryce Canyon National Park () is an American national park 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 the eastern ...

, and the North Rim of the

Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often conside ...

. 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 United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. In addition, Underwood was contracted to design

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...

's The Ahwahnee, also on the National Register and probably his greatest triumph in the Rustic style. Inside Union Station (Omaha)

Underwood also designed stations for the Union Pacific, culminating in the magnificent

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

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 Timberline Lodge is a mountain lodge on the south side of Mount Hood in Clackamas County, Oregon, about east of Portland. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, it was built and furnished by local artisans during th ...

Mount Hood Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about east-southeast of Portl ...

, 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. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in ...

, and the

Williamsburg Lodge Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia * Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *William ...

project in Virginia, Underwood designed as his last major commission the

Jackson Lake Lodge Jackson Lake Lodge is located near Moran in Grand Teton National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The lodge has 385 rooms, a restaurant, conference rooms, and offers numerous recreational opportunities. The lodge is owned by the National Park ...

(1950–1954),

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is an American national park 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. Grand Teton ...

, Wyoming. He died in 1960. Underwood's works include: *

Old Faithful Lodge Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone National Park is located opposite the more famous Old Faithful Inn, facing Old Faithful geyser. The Lodge was built as a series of detached buildings through 1923 and was consolidated into one complex by architect ...

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...

- completed 1923 * Cedar Breaks Lodge,

- completed 1924, demolished 1972 *

Bryce Canyon Lodge Bryce Canyon Lodge is a lodging facility in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, United States, built between 1924 and 1925 using local materials. Designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, the lodge is an excellent example of National Park S ...

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

- completed 1926 * Union Pacific Railroad depot, South Torrington, Wyoming, 1926 *

Zion Lodge Zion Lodge is located in Zion National Park, Utah, United States. The lodge was designed in 1924 as a compromise solution between its developer, the Utah Parks Company, which wanted a large hotel, and National Park Service director Stephen Mather, ...

- 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 27 and designed by ...

, 701 N Kansas Avenue,

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

, 1927 *

depot,

Lund, Utah Lund is an unincorporated village located in the Escalante Valley of northwestern Iron County, Utah, United States, approximately northwest of Cedar City. The town, established in the early twentieth century, was a station stop on the Los Ange ...

, 1927, demolished 1970 * Wilshire Tower (

Desmond's ''Desmond's'' is a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. Conceived and co-written by Trix Worrell, and produced by Charlie Hanson and Humphrey Barclay, ''Desmond's'' stars Norman Beaton as barber Des ...

and

Silverwoods Silverwoods, originally promoted as F. B. Silverwood, after its founder, was a men's clothing store chain founded in Los Angeles in 1894 by Francis Bernard (F.B. "Daddy") Silverwood, a Canadian-American originally from near Lindsay, Ontario. He was ...

department stores), 5500–5514 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California - completed 1929 *

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 census, the population of the city was 6,460. It is home of The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum and the ...

, 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 sam ...

, 1929 *

Depot, Main and 10th Streets, Gering, Nebraska, 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 1,461 at the 2010 census. In contrast to the Shoshone Native American tribe for which it is named, the city's name is correctly pron ...

, 1929 *

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 201 ...

, 1930 * Union Station, 801 South 10th Street,

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...

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- completed 1936 * U.S.

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

, Beacon, New York (with Charles Rosen) - completed 1937 * The new San Francisco Mint in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

- completed 1937 * the United States Court House in Los Angeles, California - completed 1940 * Rincon Center Post Office in San Francisco, CA - completed 1940 *

, Wyoming - completed 1954 * Gilbert Stanley Underwood buildings index

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

See also

References

External links