Yellowstone National Park's Madison Museum designed by Herbert Maier, 1929

Herbert Maier, NPS Director of District III which included Texas, was an architect who defined his rustic designs as "freehand architecture." He promoted the use of rudimentary tools and indigenous building materials to blend structures with the landscape. The Madison Museum is considered one of the best examples of rustic architecture in the National Park System, and was used as a model for park buildings during the 1930s. Note the heavy log beams and tumbled boulders at this building's foundation. Such features are evident in CCC cabins and refectories throughout Texas, particularly in Bastrop, Palmetto, and Palo Duro Canyon State Parks.

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division