First Landscape Architect of the National Park Service During
World War I, Punchard's physical condition prevented from joining the military, but he was appointed in June 1917 as the Landscape Architect for the District of Columbia in the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds. While serving as the landscape architect for the national capital, Punchard worked with
Arno B. Cammerer and
Frederick Law Olmsted. Writing in
Landscape Architecture, Punchard described the new position as follows:"The problems of the Landscape Engineer of the National Park Service are many and embrace every detail which has to do with the appearance of the parks. He works in an advisory capacity to the superintendents and is responsible directly to the Director of the Service. He is a small fine arts commission in himself, for all plans of the concessioners must be submitted to him for approval as to architecture and location before they can be constructed, and he is responsible for the design of all structures of the Service the location of roads and other structures on the ground which will influence the appearance of the parks, ranger cabins, rest houses, checking stations, gateway structures, employees' cottages, comfort stations, forest improvement and vista thinning, the preservation of the timber along the park roads, the design of villages ..., the design and location of the automobile camps, and so on through the many ramifications of these problems."
Tour of the National Parks Punchard spent the last half of 1918 and first half of 1919 touring and studying the conditions at the national parks in the Western United States. McClelland notes that he "gave special attention to the entrance to parks, the location and design of park buildings, the layout of campgrounds, and the physical appearance of lakes and roadsides." , an example of the
National Park Service rustic architectural style Punchard advocated during his 1918–1919 study of the valley Punchard then traveled to
Yosemite National Park where he stayed for seven months at the end of 1918 and beginning of 1919 making a study of conditions in the Yosemite Valley. While at Yosemite, he recommended dredging silt that had built up in
Mirror Lake and trimming the trees on the valley floor to create better vistas. In the spring of 1919, Punchard visited
Grand Canyon National Park. He then traveled to Hawaii in May 1919 aboard the SS
Korea Maru, conducting an inspection of a new national park in Hawaii. Punchard also visited
Mount Rainier several times and made limited observations and recommendations there. He oversaw installation of water and sewer systems at the park's campgrounds. He favored the acquisition of
Longmire Springs and recommended that the springs be "walled up or confined in a neat, orderly way, and made more inviting."
Death In June 1920, as the condition of his lungs deteriorated, Punchard died at age 35 at his home in
Denver, Colorado.
Horace Albright, who later succeeded Mather as Director, wrote:"As a Landscape Engineer Mr. Punchard occupies a position of considerable responsibility and he is consulted on all problems dealing with architectural and landscape features of the various parks. ... He devotes himself exclusively to landscape planning and general architectural work. He has no administrative functions ... His advice on landscape matters, however, must be accepted by park superintendents and the general engineer, and in order that he may be able to give this advice on the ground we have him go from park to park as occasion arises for his assistance." In her book, "Building of the National Parks," Linda Flint McClelland noted Punchard's use of "naturalistic principles" and wrote of Punchard's contribution:"Punchard played a key role in translating the landscape policy of the National Park Service into practices that would influence the character and management of the parks. Experienced and well versed in the field, he closely studied each park and skillfully put into action plans that immediately improved its physical character. His reports and designs, furthermore, laid a solid ground, philosophically and functionally, for future landscape work." After his death,
Landscape Architecture magazine wrote that "the profession of Landscape Architecture has suffered a great loss in the untimely death of Charles P. Punchard." == See also ==