Merel Sager Sites

"Munson Valley Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 for its landscaping and eighteen of the buildings.  During the 1930’s and 1940’s, landscape architects Thomas Vint, Merel Sager, and Francis Lange oversaw the development of the rustic landscape around Munson Valley at almost every level.  The landscaping of Munson Valley no longer has much of the original work of Vint, Sager, Lange and the CCC, but the layout and natural placement of buildings still remains. Some of the historically significant buildings within the Munson Valley Historic District include: Administration Building Ranger Dormitory Superintendent's Residence (now housing part of...

"The ultimate direction of development in the parks became an important issue due to the increase in construction activity during the administration of President Herbert Hoover. To ensure that this activity was proceeding in an orderly fashion, long-term planning was essential. Serious work along this line began in FY 1931, and resulted in the preparation by Vint and Sager of a master plan program for the National Park Service. The first Service master plans were six-year ones to be revised each year as work was completed. Each landscape architect was responsible for developing plans for his particular field areas. By mid-1932...

"The year 1933 brought many significant changes into the National Park system. Up until that time President Herbert Hoover saw to it that the national parks received their allotment requests for park operations and development. Budgets and staff for the national parks had increased substantially during his administration (Tweed, 75). But the Depression changed all of this when, in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt and a new administration came on board. A variety of innovative and comprehensive relief programs were introduced to alleviate the nation’s growing unemployment crisis. These programs, instituted under the New Deal, provided work opportunities for the unemployed....