New Series: The Great Outsiders
Exploring the forgotten modernist architecture of the US National Parks
Dear Friends,
I’m excited to introduce a new monthly series sharing work from my ongoing project; The Great Outsiders, which explores the overlooked architecture of Mission 66, a ground-breaking conservation program that invested one billion dollars into U.S. National Park infrastructure between 1956 and 1966.
I’ve been working on this series since 2021, making slow but steady progress traveling the country to document these unusual structures found in some of the most beloved natural spaces in the United States.
I had been intending to wait a little longer to share this work, but with the recent news on federal spending cuts to the National Park Service (unfortunately amongst many others) I thought now was a pertinent time to hold up an example of how effective and important government spending can be.
Starting next week, I’ll be sharing stories and images from the locations included in The Great Outsiders, beginning with the one that started me on this journey. Please make sure you’re subscribed to keep up to date and I’d greatly appreciate you sharing my Substack with your friends and family.
For now, I’ll leave you with a few images to whet the appetite and a longer introduction to the project.
Looking forward to sharing more with you over the coming months!
Owen
About The Great Outsiders
The Great Outsiders documents the overlooked architecture of Mission 66, a ground-breaking conservation program that invested one billion dollars into U.S. National Park infrastructure between 1956 and 1966.
Central to the Mission 66 project was the visitor center, an ambitious new building concept intended to appeal to suburban Americans and ease pressure on the over-burdened parks.
Designed in the modernist style, the visitor centers split opinion over their appearance, but revolutionized the park experience for the general public. Vacationers could park their cars, view the main attractions and exit via the gift shop. An outdoor experience as simple and convenient as visiting the local shopping mall.
The visitor center remains the primary way over 300 million people each year experience the national parks. However, many Mission 66 buildings are now under threat as maintenance costs mount and people turn away from their austere design, returning to the traditional cabin-style buildings that they replaced. This has led to the remodeling or demolition of many of the structures and in a cruel twist of irony, the very buildings that helped conserve the natural landscape of the parks are now themselves fighting for preservation.
The Great Outsiders documents remaining visitor centers from the Mission 66 era, exploring the under-appreciated beauty of these outposts of suburbia and their presence in a modern parks system looking to move on.
Cool shots and such a great idea for a project. Looking forward to seeing more!
Way cool. Perhaps you will answer this question as you begin posting about this project but I’m impatient — are there certain states that have been more interested/doing a better job of preserving these structures? This is with the assumption that states have some input but perhaps they don’t.