Four new National Historic Landmarks designated

WASHINGTON, August 4, 2015 – Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis today announced the designation of four new national historic landmarks.  The designation recognizes the sites as places that possess exceptional value and quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States.

“Though very different from one another, these places reflect the creatively and ingenuity of the American spirit,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “National historic landmarks are an example of how the mission of the National Park Service extends beyond park boundaries to recognize additional places of national significance in communities throughout the country."

The four national historic landmarks announced today are:

• First Peoples Buffalo Jump, Cascade County, Mont.

Photo: stateparks.mt.gov

First Peoples Buffalo Jump is one of the oldest, largest, and best preserved bison cliff jump locations in North America.  Its monumental record of stone surface architecture, deeply stratified bison bone deposits, multiple tipi ring concentrations, and extensive evidence of ceremonies indicate that, for approximately 5,700 years, First Peoples Buffalo Jump held the paramount position in the Northern Plains “bison culture.”  This site holds the potential for defining the evolving sophistication of mass-procurement strategies of hunter-gatherer societies in the Northern Plains, and may also provide insights regarding cultural development of Precontact hunter-gatherer societies in the western United States.

• George Washington Masonic National Memorial, Alexandria, Va.

Photo: gwmemorial.org

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial stands among the most architecturally significant projects to honor George Washington and one of the boldest private efforts to memorialize him. The Grand Lodges of the states and territories, which usually operate independently, joined forces to build this national memorial. This eclectic building combines neoclassical architecture common to American memorials and civic buildings with a modern skyscraper design.

• Lafayette Park, Detroit, Mich.

Photo: nps.gov

Lafayette Park is one of the earliest planned and most fully-realized urban renewal projects of the mid-twentieth century.  It succeeded in creating an ethnically-diverse community that continues to thrive today and is generally regarded as one of the best and most successful examples of a residential urban renewal development in the nation.  It was a collaborative design endeavor between architect (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe), developer (Herbert Greenwald), planner (Ludwig Hilberseimer), and landscape architect (Alfred Caldwell).

• Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp, Jefferson County, Colo.

Photo: nps.gov

The outstanding architecture and landscape architecture of Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp illustrate the principles and practices of New Deal-era naturalistic park design and master planning in a metropolitan park as well as the use of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) labor to develop such a park. Mount Morrison CCC Camp is one of the few surviving camps in the nation that retains a high concentration of original resources. The amphitheater in the park is one of America’s best known performing arts venues, famous for its natural acoustics, design, and setting.

Take an amazing aerial tour of Black Canyon National Park

Enjoy a spectacular aerial tour of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, located near Montrose, Colo. David Bott, from OutsideOurBubble.com, shot this at a remote area of the park after obtaining permission from the only other guests in the area at the time. According to David’s explanation, it was a difficult location to videotape, so we’re fortunate to be able to view this breathtaking region from the air.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, America's other "Grand Canyon"

PhotoL: NPS/Lisa Lynch

At Black Canyon of the Gunnison in west-central Colorado you can explore one of the nation’s steepest, darkest and most rugged canyons in America, and its surrounding plateau as well.

Between Gunnison and Montrose, Colo., Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park protects a narrow, deep gorge carved by the Gunnison River, with sheer cliffs rising to heights over 2,000 feet. No other canyon in North America combines such a narrow opening, sheer walls and startling depths.

Evidence suggests use of the canyon rims by pre-historic peoples and the Utes consider it part of their homeland. Members of the 1873-74 Hayden expedition, the first white men to see the great chasm, pronounced the Black Canyon inaccessible.

These days, outdoor enthusiasts picnic on the rim, camp along the plateau and marvel at epic views and the abundance of plants and wildlife. The narrow, nearly vertical walls of the inner canyon draw hikers and expert climbers. The Gunnison River’s Gold Medal waters entice anglers to the canyon bottom for unparalleled fly-fishing experiences, particularly during the annual stonefly hatch.

Impressive from top to bottom, the Black Canyon is hidden treasure.