The Saint Mary Visitor Center in Glacier National Park, with the connected Saint Mary Checking Station and Entrance Station was constructed at the east entrance to the

Going-to-the-Sun Road Going-to-the-Sun Road is a scenic mountain road in the Rocky Mountains of the western United States, in Glacier National Park in Montana. The Sun Road, as it is sometimes abbreviated in National Park Service documents, is the only road that trave ...

during the

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 ...

park facilities improvement program. It was designed by Burt L. Gewalt of the

Kalispell, Montana Kalispell (, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a city in, and the county seat of, Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at 24,558. In Montana's northwest region, ...

architectural firm Brinkman and Lenon, and was completed in 1967. The complex uses common Mission 66 themes such as native stone, and

glulam Glued laminated timber, commonly referred to as glulam, is a type of structural engineered wood product constituted by layers of dimensional lumber bonded together with durable, moisture-resistant structural adhesives so that all of the grain ru ...

timber construction, combined with a dramatic roof structure that echoes the mountain peaks in the background. The stone in the walls came from the

. The view of the "St. Mary" webcam on the Glacier National Park official website is broadcast from the center and shows the westward-facing view over St. Mary Lake, which includes a distant view of Logan's Pass. There is also an

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

nest about one hundred meters to the east of the building, which can be viewed from the visitor parking lot and from the park's osprey webcam. The complex consists of the main visitor center, with a connected entrance station. Two checking stations or kiosks are located in the roadway. Recent renovations have restored the original teal, ebony and peach color scheme, which had been obscured by the application of standard

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 ...

brown paint.

References

Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana Government buildings completed in 1967 Mission 66 Tourist attractions in Glacier County, Montana National Register of Historic Places in Glacier County, Montana 1967 establishments in Montana National Park Service visitor centers National Register of Historic Places in Glacier National Park Going-to-the-Sun Road {{Montana-struct-stub

See also

References