Album: Denali NPP Headquarters Historic District, Alaska

Denali National Park and Preserve

The Park Headquarters Historic District in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, includes cultural features consisting of buildings, roads, paths, parking areas, and the surrounding natural environment. Located at Mile 3.4 on the Denali Park Road, the Headquarters District was established on park land specifically set aside in 1924 for an administration area and now occupies 11.91 acres. Between 1926 and 1941, the expansion of the Headquarters District occurred with the development of master plans designed by Thomas Vint (chief landscape architect of the NPS Western Office of Planning and Design), park labor, Alaska Road Commission (ARC) and the contributions of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1938 and 1939. The district currently provides administrative, maintenance, staff housing, and visitor facilities, along with spaces for the operation and use of the national park. The district also contains the only working sled dog kennel in the national park system. The sled dogs have been important to the park for so long that they have become a part of the resource and a cultural tradition worthy of protection. The dogs help patrol two-million acres of designated wilderness area within the park where mechanized vehicles are prohibited. They haul supplies, transport wildlife researchers, and contact visitors within the park. To learn more about these remarkable creatures, check out the Denali sled dog profiles at: www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/kennels.htm