[Hist_Pres] McKenzie Highway listed in the National Register of Historic Places

[Ian Johnson]

Oregon Preservation Partners,
 
The Oregon State Historic Preservation Office is pleased to announce
the recent listing of the McKenzie Highway Historic District in the
National Register of Historic Places.
 

The McKenzie Highway, designated as State Highway 242, runs across the
Cascade Range from Lane to Deschutes County and is Oregon’s latest entry
in the National Register of Historic Places. 
 
The road that would become the McKenzie Highway was first constructed
in 1862 as a wagon route across the middle Cascade Mountains to link the
Willamette Valley with the Bend area. Recognizing the importance of the
route, the Oregon Highway Commission indentified the road as one of five
included in the first highway plan in 1914 and subsequently improved the
route in 1917. Increasing traffic lead to the construction of a modern
highway starting in 1921 and which was finished in 1924. Built by the
Forest Service and the US Bureau of Public Roads in Oregon, the McKenzie
Highway was specifically designed to encourage tourism by offering
motorists sweeping views of forests and mountain and volcanic vistas
from McKenzie Pass as they travelled through National Forest lands. Upon
completion, the highway carried a large amount of local traffic, as well
as tourists from all over the United States, and was known for its
scenery and recreational opportunities such as hunting and fishing,
hot-spring resorts, hotels, and campgrounds. Seeking to further
encourage tourism, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed the Dee
Wright Observatory at the pass in 1935. Constructed of volcanic rock,
the building offers visitors breath-taking views of the surrounding
mountains and volcanic lava flows.
 
Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation recommended
the highway’s nomination in December 2009. Almost 2,000 historic Oregon
properties are now listed in the National Register, which is maintained
by the National Park Service under the authority of the National
Historic Preservation Act of 1966. 
 
More information about the National Register and recent Oregon listings
is online at www.oregonheritage.org ( http://www.oregonheritage.org/ )
(click on “National Register” at left of page).
************************************************
Ian P. Johnson, Historian
Oregon SHPO
725 Summer Street NE, Suite C
Salem, Oregon  97301
Ph: (503) 986-0678
Fax: (503) 986-0793
 
Visit our website: 
www.oregonheritage.org ( http://www.oregonheritage.org/ )
 ( http://www.oregonheritage.org/ ) 
Comments or suggestions:
Heritage.Programs at state.or.us (
mailto:Email.Heritage-Programs at state.or.us )
 
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