Curry Village Lounge and Registration Buildings

Location: Yosemite National Park, CA | Client: National Park Service

Below Glacier Point, Curry Village first opened in 1899 as a tented camp intended for visitors to sleep, cook, and dine. Architectural Resources Group led the rehabilitation of the historic lounge and registration buildings at the heart of the Village following extensive study of the site’s development over time. The scope of the project included complete rehabilitation of each building’s architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical systems. A new supervised fire protection system was also installed in each building.

BEHIND THE SCENES

When Curry Village first opened in 1899, it was known as “Camp Curry.” The current name, “Curry Village,” dates from 1970.

.…

The lounge building was originally the registration building for Camp Curry, and the current registration building was the first post office.

….

Before rehabilitation, the exposed wood trusses in the lounge were overloaded, especially during the winter’s snows. The rehabilitation included the addition of new structural members above the existing roof so that the exposed trusses could remain intact.

….

Steel plates were hidden within specific log beams at both buildings in order to strengthen them for the snow loads.