{"nrhp_refnum":"77000119","name":"Smithsonian Institution Shelter","other_names":["Mount Whitney Summit Shelter","Mount Whitney Shelter"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"W of Lone Pine in Sequoia National Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lone Pine","county":"Tulare County","state":"CA","lat":36.58023204700004,"lon":-118.29318742099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-03-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Science"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-room stone shelter on the summit plateau of Mount Whitney, at over 14,980 feet in Sequoia National Park, Tulare County, California, built in 1909 to a design by the firm Speiden and Speiden.","why_significant":"It was built to house visiting scientists studying solar radiation from the summit. It is described as a monument to the difficulty of high-altitude research before prolonged human flight was possible. It is considered regionally significant in the field of science.","narrative":"Perched on the summit plateau of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the 48 contiguous states, this small stone shelter sits at more than 14,980 feet. Built in 1909 of native granite with concrete mortar, it holds three rooms, measures about 31 by 11 feet, and has a corrugated iron roof riveted to a steel truss frame. The architectural firm Speiden and Speiden designed it. The shelter came out of a collaboration between astronomer W. W. Campbell of Lick Observatory and C. G. Abbot of the Smithsonian Institution, who wanted a base for observing Mars and studying solar radiation from the mountaintop. It was erected in late summer 1909 after the trail was improved enough for pack animals. Scientific use was brief, and hikers later used it as a refuge once modern trails reached the summit in 1930. The National Park Service gained title when Sequoia National Park was enlarged in 1926. Later correspondence argues for crediting builder Gustave F. Marsh.","period_of_significance":"1900-1999","architect_builder":"Speiden and Speiden (architects)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good and the property is unoccupied; it received only minor alteration since construction. After the summit trails were completed in 1930, hikers used it as a shelter.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.912922-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/77000119.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000119/e8684f9684-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000119/e8684f9684-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Justin Johnsen","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smithsonian_Hut_Whitney.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Justin Johnsen</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smithsonian_Hut_Whitney.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123862249","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution_Shelter","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7545610"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/tulare-county/smithsonian-institution-shelter-77000119/"}