The Brinkerhoff
Encyclopedia
The Brinkerhoff is a vacation lodge in Grand Teton National Park
on the shore of Jackson Lake
. It is the last remaining example of a forest lease vacation lodge in the park. The log house and caretaker's lodge were designed by architect
Jan Wilking of Casper, Wyoming
and were built in 1946 in what was then U.S. Forest Service land for the Brinkerhoff family. After the creation of Grand Teton National Park, the National Park Service
acquired the property and used it for VIP housing. Among the guests at the Brinkerhof were John F. Kennedy
and Richard M. Nixon. The lodge is also notable as a post-war adaptation of the rustic style
of architecture. The interior is an intact example of this transitional style.
. The house was sold to the Park Service in 1955. It received significant publicity as a result of the presidential visits.
and Jackson Lake
, an early occurrence of a feature that has since become ubiquitous. The interior features a two story living room. Interiors are finished with knotty pine paneling and polished wood floors. A smaller caretaker's cottage mirrors the style of the main house.
The Brinkerhoff was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
on April 23, 1990.
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Park consists of approximately and includes the major peaks of the long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Only south of Yellowstone...
on the shore of Jackson Lake
Jackson Lake
Jackson Lake is a lake located in north western Wyoming in Grand Teton National Park. The lake is natural, except for the top 33 feet , which is due to the construction of Jackson Lake Dam, built in 1911. This top level of the lake is utilized by farmers in Idaho for irrigation purposes...
. It is the last remaining example of a forest lease vacation lodge in the park. The log house and caretaker's lodge were designed by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Jan Wilking of Casper, Wyoming
Casper, Wyoming
Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...
and were built in 1946 in what was then U.S. Forest Service land for the Brinkerhoff family. After the creation of Grand Teton National Park, 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...
acquired the property and used it for VIP housing. Among the guests at the Brinkerhof were John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Richard M. Nixon. The lodge is also notable as a post-war adaptation of the rustic style
National Park Service Rustic
National Park Service rustic, also colloquially known as Parkitecture, is a style of architecture that arose in the United States National Park System to create buildings that harmonized with their natural environment. Since its founding, the National Park Service consistently has sought to provide...
of architecture. The interior is an intact example of this transitional style.
History
In the early days of Grand Teton National Park there were 111 forest leases, a legacy of U.S. Forest Service administration of lands that were incorporated into the new park. Ben Sheffield received a Forest Service lease for a parcel on Jackson Lake in 1930. The Sheffield house burned in the 1940s and the lease was purchased by Zachery K. Brinkerhoff Sr. and his son in 1947 from R.E. McConaughy. The Brinkerhoffs were the owners of an oil development company, the Brinkerhoff Drilling company. They hired Wiling to design their retreat, which was built by Scotty Sloten and four carpenters of Swedish descent from the Wind River valley, experienced in log construction. The house was furnished with furniture and accessories made by Western-style designer Thomas C. MolesworthThomas C. Molesworth
Thomas C. Molesworth was an American furniture designer who was a significant figure in the creation of a distinctly Western style of furniture and accessories, using hides, horn and natural wood. Molesworth's style drew from the Arts and Crafts Movement and from vernacular design characteristics...
. The house was sold to the Park Service in 1955. It received significant publicity as a result of the presidential visits.
Description
The Brinkerhoff is an early example of the conscious adaptation of rustic-style architecture that had been employed in public buildings around Jackson Hole to a private vacation house, in which the rustic style sets the tone of a rustic retreat. Jan Wilking's interpretation of the rustic style represents a transition from the heavy, consciously rustic style seen in public park buildings, to a cleaned-up, more finished and polished style., which would be further developed in vacation homes throughout the West. The main house is a partial two story log building of dressed log construction, with vertical wood sheathing on the upper story. The front gable is sheathed in planks arranged in a V-pattern. A deck spans the full width of the west side of the house, overlooking Mount MoranMount Moran
Mount Moran is a mountain in Grand Teton National Park of western Wyoming, USA. The mountain is named for Thomas Moran, an American western frontier landscape artist. Mount Moran dominates the northern section of the Teton Range rising above Jackson Lake. Several active glaciers exist on the...
and Jackson Lake
Jackson Lake
Jackson Lake is a lake located in north western Wyoming in Grand Teton National Park. The lake is natural, except for the top 33 feet , which is due to the construction of Jackson Lake Dam, built in 1911. This top level of the lake is utilized by farmers in Idaho for irrigation purposes...
, an early occurrence of a feature that has since become ubiquitous. The interior features a two story living room. Interiors are finished with knotty pine paneling and polished wood floors. A smaller caretaker's cottage mirrors the style of the main house.
The Brinkerhoff was 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 April 23, 1990.
External links
- Grand Teton Historic Resource Study: Tourists National Park Service
- Photographs of the Brinkerhoff at the National Park Service's NRHP database
- The Brinkerhoff at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office