Loomis Museum
Encyclopedia
The Loomis Museum, also known as the Loomis Visitor Center, the Manzanita Lake Visitor Center and the Manzanita Lake Museum, was built by Benjamin Franklin Loomis in 1927 near Manzanita Lake
, just outside Lassen Volcanic National Park
. Loomis was a local homesteader and photographer who documented the 1915 eruptions of Lassen Peak
, and was instrumental in the 1916 establishment of the national park. In 1929 Loomis donated the museum and 40 acres (16.2 ha) of surrounding lands to the National Park Service
, which since then has used the structure as an interpretational facility.
Loomis had desired that the headquarters of the new park be established at Manzanita Lake, but an alternate site was chosen by the Park Service. Loomis and his wife Estella started building their own museum to exhibit photographs taken by Loomis and others, as well as geological exhibits and artifacts of local Native Americans. The building was dedicated on July 4, 1927 as the Mae Loomis Memorial Museum, named after their only child, Luisa Mae Loomis, who had died in 1920.
s and a fanlight
. A small bracketed shed roof shelters the entrance, and the side elevations have similar shed projections down their length., all roofed with green tile. The interior is primarily composed of a single large room.
About 45 feet (13.7 m) to the northeast of the museum stands a seismograph building of similar design, measuring about 10 feet (3 m) by 12 feet (3.7 m). The station was built by the Loomises in 1926. It features three large windows that allow visitors to view the seismographic equipment within.
Described in 1952 as "ugly quasi-Spanish", the Loomis Museum was briefly considered for demolition and replacement during the Mission 66
program. The museum and seismograph station were placed on the National Register of Historic Places
on February 25, 1975. The museum was renovated in 199, the seismograph building in 1995. It is presently used as a visitor contact center by the Park Service. The museum and seismograph building are also part of the Manzanita Lake Naturalist's Services Historic District
.
Manzanita Lake
Manzanita Lake is a lake located in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Located near the park entrance, the lake is open for fishing and has rainbow, brown and brook trout....
, just outside Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park is a United States National Park in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak; the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southern-most volcano in the Cascade Range...
. Loomis was a local homesteader and photographer who documented the 1915 eruptions of Lassen Peak
Lassen Peak
Lassen Peak is the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range. It is part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc which is an arc that stretches from northern California to southwestern British Columbia...
, and was instrumental in the 1916 establishment of the national park. In 1929 Loomis donated the museum and 40 acres (16.2 ha) of surrounding lands to the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, which since then has used the structure as an interpretational facility.
Loomis had desired that the headquarters of the new park be established at Manzanita Lake, but an alternate site was chosen by the Park Service. Loomis and his wife Estella started building their own museum to exhibit photographs taken by Loomis and others, as well as geological exhibits and artifacts of local Native Americans. The building was dedicated on July 4, 1927 as the Mae Loomis Memorial Museum, named after their only child, Luisa Mae Loomis, who had died in 1920.
Description
The Loomis Museum is a one-story rectangular building built of local volcanic rock in cut-face random ashlar coursing. The main body of the museum is about 25 feet (7.6 m) by 60 feet (18.3 m), with small extensions to either side at the rear, making the building T-shaped in plan. The building is characterized by its prominent crenelated stepped parapets. Contrasting with the rustic character of the stonework, the the main entrance features formal sidelightSidelight
A sidelight is a window, usually with a vertical emphasis, that flanks a door. Sidelights are narrow, usually stationary and found immediately adjacent doorways...
s and a fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
. A small bracketed shed roof shelters the entrance, and the side elevations have similar shed projections down their length., all roofed with green tile. The interior is primarily composed of a single large room.
About 45 feet (13.7 m) to the northeast of the museum stands a seismograph building of similar design, measuring about 10 feet (3 m) by 12 feet (3.7 m). The station was built by the Loomises in 1926. It features three large windows that allow visitors to view the seismographic equipment within.
Described in 1952 as "ugly quasi-Spanish", the Loomis Museum was briefly considered for demolition and replacement during the Mission 66
Mission 66
Mission 66 was a US 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....
program. The museum and seismograph station were placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on February 25, 1975. The museum was renovated in 199, the seismograph building in 1995. It is presently used as a visitor contact center by the Park Service. The museum and seismograph building are also part of the Manzanita Lake Naturalist's Services Historic District
Manzanita Lake Naturalist's Services Historic District
The Manzanita Lake Naturalist's Services Historic District encompasses the historic area devoted to visitor interpretation services at the northwest entrance of Lassen Volcanic National Park. The district's earliest structures were built by Benjamin and Estella Loomis, who were instrumental in the...
.