The information below is from the Utah Office of Historic Preservation’s Historic Site Form for the Emerald Lake Shelter.
The shelter’s construction was heavily supported by the community and was paid for by several sponsoring groups including Utah County, U.S. Forest Service, Provo City, Provo Chamber of Commerce and Brigham Young University (The Daily Herald 1960:3; The daily Herald 1959:5). Construction began in 1957 where “material, including sand, rock and cement hauled up by packhorse train” and “massive steel structures were toted up-trail on a two-wheels-in-tandem vehicle” (The Daily Herald 1959:5). In July 1960 the facility was dedicated and put to use offering “shelter to hikers caught in bad weather or those who might be injured, climbing the treacherous Timpanogos glacier” (The Daily Herald 1960:3; The Daily Herald 1959:5). It was estimated in 1960 that annually about “2000 people reach the summit while another 1000-1500 only reach the lake” (The Daily Herald 1960:3; The Daily Herald 1959:5).
The Emerald Lake Shelter has proved to save lives over the years, an example comes from two young hikers in 1977 that hiked to Emerald Lake to camp overnight and woke the next morning to a storm. Hikers C. R. Humphries and H. K. Weber explained to the Deseret News (1977:12) “the storm hit. ..there was two to four feet ofsnow…and the wind was whipping so bad we could see very little…we decided we were in trouble”, they proceeded to move their equipment into the shelter where they were snowed in for 4 days. The shelter and its fireplace helped to protect them from the elements; they collected wood to keep a fire going, heated rocks to put in their sleeping bags to stay warm, and melted snow for drinking water. The shelter continues to provide hikers protection from the elements and is used consistently by the Timpanogos Emergency Response Team (TERT) in order to provide hikers with necessary first aid and in some cases to stabilize seriously injured patients for evacuation.
In 1964 the Wilderness Act was passed, 20 years later the Utah Wilderness Act was passed and the Mount Timpanogos Wilderness was established in 1984. When defining wilderness, the Wilderness Act of 1964 states under Section 2(c)(4), “may contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.” The Emerald Lake Shelter and Glass House hold historical value, as they were constructed as landmarks for those making their annual Timpanogos Hike, the first provides a resting place and protection from the elements before hikers make the final ascent to the summit and the second serves as an overlook of the wilderness- urban interface of the Wasatch Front and Back. Many hikers in the Mount Timpanogos wilderness are there to experience the Wilderness with a goal in mind to reach one or both of these buildings. Originally both buildings served as milestones, drawing people into the Wilderness, but now these shelters have additional nostalgic meaning for hikers, as many have hiked the trail all their lives with their family and friends, resting at these buildings and often times taking photos of themselves with them.
The 1969 Timpanogos Hike put approximately 8,000 individuals on the mountain with approximately 3,500 reaching the summit (Thompson 1997:61). As a result, the Forest Service asked BYU to discontinue the group hike from Aspen Grove in an effort to reduce the environmental impacts. Once the Mount Timpanogos Wilderness was established in 1984 this continued the effort to preserve environmental quality, however inadvertently it made maintenance and preservation of the two historic buildings in the wilderness a dubious topic. Even with discontinuing the organized hike, several thousand individuals continued to hike Timpanogos each year and began writing their names, dates, etc. to document their hike on the deteriorating buildings. These buildings not only served as destination beacons but also as a visitor log of sorts. Efforts have been made to stop the graffiti through removal at the Emerald Lake Shelter and repainting the galvanized steel of the glass house, however these efforts have been unsuccessful in stopping this practice. The establishment of the Timpanogos Emergency Response Team (TERT) in 1983 provides a presence at the Emerald Lake Shelter which helps to abate graffiti when they are using the facility.
When the Mount Timpanogos Wilderness was established in 1984 the Glass House was already a historic building, as it was 56 years in age, and eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places (NHPA) under Criterion A for its association with the annual Timpanogos Hike which was a significant local historical event. At the time the Wilderness was established the Emerald Lake Shelter was only 24, but now is 57 years in age, and is therefore being assessed here for its eligibility to the NRHP.
National Register of Historic Places Eligibility Determination – Emerald Lake Shelter
The Historic Context provided here details the significant theme the Mount Timpanogos Hike holds with respect to social history as the Area ofSignificance used by the National Register ofHistoric Places. The Mount Timpanogos Hike is a significant local event to the community of northern Utah, representing a community tradition, which encouraged an appreciation for local community, recreation and the beauty of Mount Timpanogos. The formally organized, annual Mount Timpanogos Hike has a period o/significance starting in 1912 when it was fust organized to 1969 when it was discontinued. The Emerald Lake Shelter was built to support this local tradition both for the annual event as well as everyday hikers. It was used for the last 9 years of the annually organized Mount Timpanogos Hike, from the summer of 1960 when the building was dedicated to the summer of 1969 the last formally organized hike. After 1969, locals continued to hike Mount Timpanogos, as before, either individually or with family and friends, and continued the traditional use of the Emerald Lake Shelter as a place to aspire to reach, rest at and if needed to take necessary shelter from the elements. Hiking Mount Timpanogos is a local tradition, and although it started with the annually organized hike, it persists to this day with thousands of locals making the trek each year.
The integrity of the Emerald Lake Shelter has been mostly retained with respect to the seven aspects defined by the National Register of Historic Places. The location is retained, it was built just off the side of the Aspen Grove trail where it was and continues to be easily accessible by Mount Timpanogos hikers. The design as a whole has been altered due to the removal of the bathroom on the back of the building, however the primary portion of the building design, with exception of the back wall where the bathroom resided has remained unchanged. The setting has been retained, as the character of the geographic area is unchanged and the Emerald Lake Shelter still serves the same function to hikers, providing shelter along their journey. The materials are retained for the primary portion of the building, this includes the locally available stone for the masonry and the Quonset style roof, but the bathrooms which were constructed of wood siding were removed. The workmanship is retained with respect to the masonry work of the building, in addition the mortar, concrete and Quonset style roof remain a testament to the labor involved in hauling the need materials for its construction. The feeling is retained as the masonry walls and Quonset style roof are indicative of a post-World War II era Forest Service design. Lastly, the association is retained as the local populace continues to hike the Aspen Grove trail on Mount Timpanogos and continues to visit, rest and seek shelter in the Emerald Lake Shelter.
Based on this information it has been determined the Emerald Lake Shelter is eligible to the NRHP under Criterion A for its association with the Mount Timpanogos Hike, both organized and spontaneous, as the primary use of Mount Timpanogos is the local populace hiking it and is a character defining feature of this geographic area and of the Mount Timpanogos Wilderness
REFERENCES
The Daily Herald
1960 The Daily Herald, Provo, Utah. June 13, 1960. Page 3. 1959 The Daily Herald, Provo, Utah. September 1,1959. Page 5.
The Deseret News
1977 Shelter helped hikers stay alive. The Deseret News, January 5,1977. Page 12.
Holmes, Edward W.
1990 The Uinta National Forest: An Environmental History. A thesis presented to the Department of History,
Brigham Young University, Provo. Kelsey, Michael R.
1989 Climbing and Exploring Utah’s Mt. Timpanogos. Kelsey Publishing, Provo, Utah.
Olsen, Beth
2006 Pleasant Grove Sesquicentennial Hist01Y, American Fork Canyon, Pleasant Grove’s Back Yard, Volume lll.
Stevenson’s Supply. Page 95-97. Salt Lake Telegram
1937 Former B.Y.U. Coach Famed for Organization of Mass Hike. Salt Lake Telegram, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 11 , 1937. Page 16.
1936 ‘Theater ofPines’ to be Completed in Time for Timpanogos Hike Program. Salt Lake Telegram. Salt Lake City, Utah, July 17, 1936. Page 11.
1927 Observation Station for Mt. Timpanogos. Salt Lake Telegram, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 23,1927. Page 2.
1927 Thousands Make Annual Timpanogos Hike. Salt Lake Telegram, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 17, 1927. Page 6.
The Salt Lake Tribune
1935 Prehike Program Planned in New Theater of Pines. Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, Utah. July 8,1935.
Page 16.
1933 Throng Attends Pre-Hike Program. Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, Utah. July 30,1933. Page 16.
Richfield Reaper
1925 Fourteenth Annual Timpanogos Hike. Richfield Reaper, Richfield, Utah. July 9, 1925. Page 2.
Romaine, Jonathan N.
1984 Eugene Lusk Roberts – An Architect 0/Physical Education in the American West:1910-1950. Unpublished
Dissertation, Department of Physical Education, Brigham Young University.
Thompson, Charmaine
1997 L. Clark, S. Hall, R. Hirschi, P. Karp, B. Killpack, L. Murray, D. Tatman, C. Thompson, Edits by S. R.
Nelson. History o/the Uinta National Forest. A Century o/Stewardship.