Headquarters District Historic Walking Tour

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, the Glacier National Park Headquarters Historic District is a complex of office buildings, trade shops, and employee residences ensconced in a forest environment. The buildings reflect the National Park Service's distinctive use of architectural styles, from a simple Craftsman style in 1917, to the development of Park Service Rustic in the 1920s and 1930s, to Park Service Modern during the Mission 66 era (1956-1966).

To learn more about the architecture and history of these buildings, you can listen to the audio files below. Click to hear students from Whitefish Independent High School relate how these cultural resources reflect not only the architecture of the time, but also the changing needs of the national park. The students researched and wrote the tour with the assistance of park staff in 2011 thanks to a Cultural and Aesthetics grant from the Montana Arts Council. Download the tour script (pdf file).

 
A map of the Glacier National Park Historic Headquarters Walking Tour Route, with 15 stops labelled, counter-clockwise in a loop: Administration building, american indians in glacier np, mission 66 housing, commissioner's residence, community building
Map of the HQ Historic Walking Tour Route.

If you come to the park, you can visit each stop. The tour is about a mile long and will take approximately 1 hour. For your safety, please walk on the left side of the road, facing traffic, and be aware of park personnel working and driving. Also, all of these structures are working facilities and many are private residences. Please be respectful of this and do not approach or enter structures. Enjoy your stroll back in time!

 
 
Front entrance to brick Headquarters building

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tribe flags over a mountain scene
 
 
Ranch style house

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Brown two story house

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Brown building with green roof

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long brown building abd 2 smaller tan colored ones among trees
Mess Hall (left), Dormitories (right)

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Bridge in distance arching over river

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Large house with porch

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Cabin like building with green roof

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Long ranch style house

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Tall wooden structure in the woods

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Long brown building with garage like doors

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Large white building with broad side

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Large barn-like structure with open garage door

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A line of brown garages

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Last updated: June 20, 2024

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Mailing Address:

PO Box 128
West Glacier, MT 59936

Phone:

406-888-7800

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