Glacier coffee shop dubbed landmark
WEST GLACIER —The Lake McDonald Lodge Coffee Shop, designed and constructed in 1965, is the most recent building in Glacier National Park to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an exceptional example of the National Park Service's Mission 66planning and development program.
Park officials announced Monday that the coffee shop was added to the National Register on Oct. 16. It is located just east of Lake McDonald Lodge, one of the park's six National Historic Landmarks.
The economic boom that followed World War II meant that more Americans were able to travel in personal automobiles. This increased mobility led to a dramatic increase in the number of visitors to national parks. NPS Director Conrad Wirth responded to the increase by conceptualizing and implementing the massive multiyear rehabilitation program dubbed Mission 66,designed to improve park facilities for visitors and employees before the 50th anniversary of the NPS in 1966.
"The Lake McDonald Lodge Coffee Shop is an exceptional representation of the Mission 66program from 1956 to 1966 that saw a significant change in NPS planning, management, and architecture," said park superintendent Chas Cartwright.
Like several other important Mission 66buildings in Glacier National Park, the coffee shop was designed by Burt L. Gewalt of the firm Brinkman and Lenon, Architects and Engineers, of Kalispell. Collins Construction Co. of Kalispell built the coffee shop at a cost of $140,130, and it opened to the public along with the Lake McDonald Lodge in 1966.
Montana biathlon course challenged
HELENA — Opponents of a plan to develop a military biathlon course on U.S. Forest Service land west of Helenahave filed a lawsuit saying the agency inadequately considered environmental effects.
The Helena Hunters and Anglers Association is among those who filed the suit yesterday in federal court.
The case says the biathlon course on MacDonald Pass about 15 miles from Helena stands to harm wildlife and violate Forest Service standards for soil protection.
Calls seeking comment Tuesday from the Forest Service were not returned immediately.
Plans call for a National Guard course that would be groomed and open to the public when not in military use. The sport of biathlon involves rigorous cross-country skiing and target shooting.
In-patient mental care planned
HELENA — St. Peter's Hospital in Helenasaid it has an agreement with a Texas company to open a mental-health wing in May.
Officials said the 24-bed unit to be operated by Horizon Behavioral Health Systems will offer in-patient services.
The Montana chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness said the plan will fill a critical gap in availability of mental care in Helena. St. Peter's cited a loss of psychiatrists when the hospital closed its in-patient mental health wing in 2002.
St. Peter's is to pay a management fee to Horizon, which will staff and manage the new unit. Horizon has a similar arrangement with more than 100 hospitals around the country.
