Illinois State Park Lodges and Cabins Thematic Resources facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Illinois State Park Lodges and Cabins MPS
|
|
The covered breezeway between the two buildings of the smallest of the lodges, at White Pines Forest State Park.
|
|
| Location | Illinois, USA |
|---|---|
| Built | 1933-1942 |
| Architect | Joseph F. Booten |
| Architectural style | Vernacular |
| MPS | MPL012 - Illinois State Park Lodges and Cabins Thematic Resources |
| NRHP reference No. | 85002402 - 85002405 and 85002702 (For Starved Rock) |
| Added to NRHP | March 4, 1985 and May 8, 1985 (For Starved Rock) |
The Illinois State Park Lodges and Cabins Thematic Resources is a special collection of historic buildings. These buildings are found in five different Illinois State Parks. They are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means they are important historical sites in the United States.
Exploring Illinois State Park Lodges
The lodges are the biggest buildings in each park. Most of them are large, two-story structures. Inside, you'll find a main lounge area. This lounge is the heart of each lodge. It often has big stone fireplaces and visible wooden beams, called rafters.
Even the smaller White Pines State Park Lodge has a cozy lounge. This area is designed for people to relax and chat. The furniture is even arranged to make it easy for visitors to talk. All the lodges also have restaurants, restrooms, meeting rooms, and gift shops.
The Watch Tower Lodge at Black Hawk State Historic Site is unique. It has two museums inside! One is the Hauberg Indian Museum. The other is about the Civilian Conservation Corps. Besides Watch Tower and White Pines, this historic group includes lodges at Starved Rock, Pere Marquette, and Giant City State Park.
How Illinois State Parks Grew
The state park system in Illinois started slowly. Fort Massac became the first state park in 1903. After that, new parks were added now and then. Starved Rock State Park joined in 1911. For a long time, it was the largest park in Illinois.
In 1917, Illinois Governor Frank Lowden made big changes to the state government. He wanted the governor to have more direct control over different state departments. These departments were led by directors who were part of the governor's cabinet.
A state law in 1925 helped the park system grow even more. This law gave the director of the Illinois Department of Public Works control over state parks. This position was one of the changes Governor Lowden had made. The law also created a system of state parks under the Illinois Department of Conservation. This department is now called the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Thanks to this 1925 law, three of the parks with these historic lodges became state parks in 1927. These were Black Hawk State Historic Site, Giant City State Park, and White Pines Forest State Park. White Pines almost became a park much earlier, in 1903. But the governor at the time, Richard Yates, stopped the plan.
Pere Marquette State Park was added later, in May 1932. It was known as Piasa Bluff State Park back then. This park was the largest in Illinois at the time, covering about 1,511 acres.
Building the Lodges: A New Deal for Parks
In 1933, the state park system really started to develop quickly. This happened under Governor Henry Horner. The projects to build lodges in the state parks began. This was largely possible because of more money from the federal government. This money came from the New Deal programs.
Robert Kingery was appointed as the director of the Public Works Department. He had helped create a plan for park preservation starting in 1930. The need for these lodges had been part of that plan, which Kingery helped to adopt in 1932.
