Gilbert Stanley Underwood

Who was Gilbert Stanley Underwood?

Gilbert Stanley Underwood was an American architect best known for his National Park lodges. Born in 1890, Underwood received his B.A. from Yale in 1920 and a M.A. from Harvard in 1923. After opening an office in Los Angeles that year, he became associated with Daniel Ray Hull of the National Park Service. This led to a commission with the Utah Parks Company of the Union Pacific Railroad which was developing the parks in hopes of producing destinations for travelers. During this time Underwood designed lodges for Cedar Breaks National Monument, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park. In addition, he was contracted to design Yosemite National Park's Ahwahnee Hotel, probably his greatest triumph in the rustic style.

Underwood also designed stations for the Union Pacific, culminating in the art deco style station in Omaha in 1929. Then in 1932, Underwood joined the Federal Architects Project. While working for the federal government, Underwood produced the preliminary designs for the Timberline Lodge, Mount Hood, Oregon, and went on to design more than 20 post offices, two major federal buildings, and the U.S. State Department Building. From 1947 to 1949, he was appointed as federal supervisory architect.