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June 17, 2016

After Hours: Rare Curtis photos of 1930s parks

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The photos show construction crews from the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration. Black and white images were color-tinted by hand.

OLYMPIA — A new exhibit at Mount St. Helens Visitor Center is on display until Sept. 15 with rare 1930s-era photos by Asahel Curtis.

The exhibit is called “Washington State Parks Through the Lens of Asahel Curtis.” The center is at 3029 Spirit Lake Highway in Castle Rock, just across from Seaquest State Park.

The photographs were taken during the Great Depression and capture the early days of the state park system. They show parks under construction by crews employed through federal programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration.

Curtis lived from 1874 to 1941 and spent more than 40 years documenting the rapid changes in this state during his lifetime. The state parks department said in a press release that his photos are one of the most complete historic records of that era.

His images are “lantern slides.” The black and white photos were color-tinted by hand in Curtis's Seattle studio. They recently have been digitized.

The Visitor Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Information is at http://parks.state.wa.us under Mount-St-Helens.



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