Pine Mountain Lodge (est. 1930's)
The lodge at Pine Mountain has a rich history of construction and renovation. The original lodge was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the Rustic style, which sought to integrate structures into the natural landscape and emphasized the use of regional materials and hand labor. The lodge had a lobby, dining room, and kitchen, while guests stayed in the ten cabins also built by the CCC.
In the 1960s, Lexington architect Robert McMeekin designed additions to the lodge, including 30 guest rooms, a new reception lobby, and dining room. These additions were built with load-bearing concrete masonry walls faced with vertical board-and-batten cedar veneer, with a small amount of stone typically on foundation walls. The Middlesboro, KY firm of Vaughn and Melton Engineers and Architects designed a meeting room addition in 1992, and a comprehensive renovation was designed by the Lexington architecture firm of Chrisman Miller Woodford, Inc. in 1996.
Despite the many changes made to the lodge over the years, one feature has remained intact and can still be enjoyed as it was originally designed: the porch and terrace along the lobby. As National Park Service architect Albert H. Good wrote in Park and Recreation Structures, “In most localities porches and terraces in connection with lodges will be much used. Guests are in the park presumably to enjoy the out-of-doors, and porches and terraces are a means to that end." The porch and terrace at Pine Mountain continue to offer a beautiful view of the surrounding parkland, regardless of the season, and will continue to do so for generations to come.
An interesting fact about the lodge's architect, Robert McMeekin, is that he also designed the original wood grandstand at Keeneland Race Course in 1935.
In the 1960s, Lexington architect Robert McMeekin designed additions to the lodge, including 30 guest rooms, a new reception lobby, and dining room. These additions were built with load-bearing concrete masonry walls faced with vertical board-and-batten cedar veneer, with a small amount of stone typically on foundation walls. The Middlesboro, KY firm of Vaughn and Melton Engineers and Architects designed a meeting room addition in 1992, and a comprehensive renovation was designed by the Lexington architecture firm of Chrisman Miller Woodford, Inc. in 1996.
Despite the many changes made to the lodge over the years, one feature has remained intact and can still be enjoyed as it was originally designed: the porch and terrace along the lobby. As National Park Service architect Albert H. Good wrote in Park and Recreation Structures, “In most localities porches and terraces in connection with lodges will be much used. Guests are in the park presumably to enjoy the out-of-doors, and porches and terraces are a means to that end." The porch and terrace at Pine Mountain continue to offer a beautiful view of the surrounding parkland, regardless of the season, and will continue to do so for generations to come.
An interesting fact about the lodge's architect, Robert McMeekin, is that he also designed the original wood grandstand at Keeneland Race Course in 1935.