{"nrhp_refnum":"79000280","name":"Jorgenson, Chris, Studio","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Pioneer Yosemite Historic Center","address_restricted":false,"city":"Yosemite National Park","county":"Mariposa County","state":"CA","lat":37.53873733700004,"lon":-119.65619691399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, one-room log studio built in 1904 by painter Chris Jorgenson in Yosemite Valley and moved in 1962 to the Pioneer Yosemite History Center at Wawona, Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County, California.","why_significant":"The studio is the remaining structure associated with Chris Jorgenson, a noted and prolific California painter of Yosemite scenes. It is considered locally significant in art. It also served as the first Yosemite Museum from 1920 and now forms part of the park's living history program.","narrative":"Built in 1904 by artist Chris Jorgenson in Yosemite Valley, this log studio measures 22 by 37 feet and has one room. It has a steep overhanging gable roof of wood shingles, peeled logs joined with V-notched corners, a rubble granite foundation, and a granite exterior chimney. The projecting front gable shelters a porch on five log posts and holds a small sleeping loft inside. An original stained glass window in a sunburst design survives on the facade. Jorgenson, a California painter and the first student of the California School of Fine Arts, kept a seasonal residence and studio in the valley for about twenty years. The National Park Service acquired the building in 1919, and it served as the first Yosemite Museum from 1920. It was moved to Wawona in 1962 when structures in the old village were removed. Its interior was restored as a studio, and park staff now portray Jorgenson and his wife there.","period_of_significance":"1899-1918","architect_builder":"Christian Jorgenson","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Moved in 1962 and restored on the interior as a studio; now used in the living history program at the Pioneer Yosemite History Center, with many of Jorgenson's canvases on display.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.203736-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/79000280.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000280/f116f6ba80-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000280/f116f6ba80-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Wearsunscreen","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jorgensen_Studio.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Wearsunscreen</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:Jorgensen_Studio.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859752","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Jorgensen_Studio","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5107046"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/mariposa-county/jorgenson-chris-studio-79000280/"}