{"nrhp_refnum":"77000148","name":"LeConte Memorial Lodge","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Curry Village","county":"Mariposa County","state":"CA","lat":37.73973227700006,"lon":-119.57939057074996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-03-08","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1987-05-28","areas_of_significance":["Conservation","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national","state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A granite meeting lodge in Yosemite Valley (Curry Village area), Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County, California. Designed by John White and first built by the Sierra Club in 1903, it was rebuilt on a second site in 1919.","why_significant":"The nomination argues regional significance in conservation as representative of the Sierra Club's long involvement in Yosemite. It also claims local significance in education, as the first center of naturalist activities for park visitors, and in architecture for its design, fine materials and craftsmanship.","narrative":"Built of rough-cut granite in a random ashlar bond, this lodge in Yosemite Valley was created by the Sierra Club as a library, information center and meeting place for park visitors. The first building, designed by architect John White, was completed in 1903 near the base of Glacier Point. By 1919 the commercial activity of nearby Camp Curry was crowding it, so the lodge was rebuilt on a quieter site, reusing the original roof structure. The steep shingled roof, Tudor-arched entrance, hexagonal stone terrace and interior hammer beam trusses on granite piers combine Tudor Revival and Rustic features. It also commemorates Joseph LeConte, a University of California geologist and Sierra Club charter member who died in Yosemite in 1901. The lodge hosted lectures and naturalist programs before National Park Service programs developed, and helped the Sierra Club educate the public and recruit members. Today it remains a Junior Nature Center and library.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John White, Architect (1903); Gutleben Bros., Contractors (1919)","architectural_style":"Tudor Revival and Rustic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the National Park Service and operated jointly with the Sierra Club under a special use permit; it serves as a Junior Nature Center, and the Sierra Club maintains a mountaineers' library and information bureau there. Condition listed as excellent.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.505063-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/77000148.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000148/b06b57f01b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000148/b06b57f01b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Almonroth","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LeConte_Memorial_Lodge-2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Almonroth</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LeConte_Memorial_Lodge-2.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"04001159","name":"Yosemite Valley","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/yosemite-valley-04001159/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859754","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeConte_Memorial_Lodge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1969613"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/mariposa-county/leconte-memorial-lodge-77000148/"}