Altair Campground Community Kitchen

The Altair Campground Community Kitchen, also known as Altaire Campground Community Kitchen, was built in Olympic National Park to serve the Altair Campground. It is an open rectangular shelter built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps personnel from the Elwha River Camp in the National Park Service Rustic style.

Altair Campground Community Kitchen
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Altair Campground Community Kitchen in October 2015
Location	Along Elwha River, about 3.4 miles (5.5 km) south of Elwha, in Olympic National Park
Coordinates	48°00′41″N 123°35′34″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1935
Architect	Civilian Conservation Corps
Architectural style	Rustic
MPS	Olympic National Park MPS
NRHP reference No.	07000732[1]
Added to NRHP	July 13, 2007

Located near the Elwha River, the peeled log structure is capped with a cedar shake roof, enclosing a cooking fireplace and chimney. It measures about 28 feet (8.5 m) by 17 feet (5.2 m), with a stone cooking fireplace in the middle, rising through the roof. The lower portions of the log columns have been replaced with concrete piers due to deterioration, and the original peeled log railings have disappeared.[2]

The Altair and Elwha Campground Community Kitchens are the only such structures remaining in Olympic National Park. The Altair campground was named after the USS Altair, whose crew regularly used the site in the 1920s and 1930s.[2] The kitchen structure was listed on National Register of Historic Places on July 13, 2007.[1]

By 2014 the Elwha Dam and all other dams along the Elwha River were removed. When the river flooded in November 2015, both Altair and Elwha Campgrounds were severely damaged by water. National Park Service has no plans to restore the two campgrounds. The actual state of buildings in the two areas is not clear.[3][4]

See also

• Elwha Ranger Station nearby

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Evans, Gail E.H.; Toothman, Stephanie; Luxenberg, Gretchen (1998). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Altair Campground Community Kitchen". National Park Service. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
3. Lynda V. Mapes (March 11, 2016). "Elwha Valley access limited after undammed river wrecks campgrounds, road". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
4. Douglas Scott (January 26, 2017). "Olympic Hot Springs Road into Olympic National Park's Elwha Valley has finally reopened". The Outdoor Society. Retrieved June 21, 2017.