{"nrhp_refnum":"94001372","name":"Camp Wapanachki","other_names":["Zen Mountain Monastery"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S. Plank Rd. (Old Co. Rt 28) at jct. with Miller Rd., Shandaken","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mt. Tremper","county":"Ulster County","state":"NY","lat":42.04837569400007,"lon":-74.27394343830963,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-11-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former Roman Catholic retreat house and chapel built of bluestone and wood frame on a 235-acre property on the south slope of Mount Tremper, in Shandaken (Mount Tremper), Ulster County, New York. It was built in two phases between ca. 1935 and ca. 1938 to designs credited to architect V.L.S. Haffner.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the retreat house embodies the Arts and Crafts aesthetic, blended with traditional Scandinavian design features. It cites the use of local natural materials, hand-worked ornament, the siting in a rural setting, and the interior plan. The building is also described as retaining a high degree of integrity.","narrative":"Camp Wapanachki is a large retreat house on the south slope of Mount Tremper in Shandaken, Ulster County, New York, overlooking the Esopus River valley. Built in two phases between about 1935 and 1938, it combines a four-story wood frame and stone main block with a two-story bluestone section holding a dining hall and chapel. Features include carved oak fascia, an undulating roof, chip-carved window sash, oversized plank doors with hand-wrought hardware showing local plants and animals, and an eleven-foot wooden statue of Christ set in a niche above an outdoor amphitheater. Father Joseph Scully, a Catholic priest, bought the land in 1921 and developed the retreat; V.L.S. Haffner is the architect named on the blueprints. After 1938 it became a boys' summer camp, later run by Lutheran and other groups, and since 1980 it has housed a Zen Buddhist monastery. It was listed for its Arts and Crafts design, natural materials, craftsmanship and setting.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1925-1938","architect_builder":"Haffner, V.L.S., Architect","architectural_style":"Arts and Crafts (with Scandinavian design features)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Currently used as a Zen Buddhist monastery (Zen Mountain Monastery); the property includes 17 non-contributing modern cabins and a non-contributing gazebo.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.053698-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/94001372.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94001372/c360879e86-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94001372/c360879e86-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zen_Mountain_Monastery_zendo_drum.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</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:Zen_Mountain_Monastery_zendo_drum.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322556","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Mountain_Monastery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8068957"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/ulster-county/camp-wapanachki-94001372/"}