millionaire businessman who was an enthusiastabout the era of steam power onthe nation's railroads. As railroadsturned to diesel and electric power, hebought old steam engines to save themfrom being cut up for scrap.Today visitors to Steamtown hopaboard a classic old railway passengercar while a smoke-belching steamlocomotive pulls the train 13 miles intothe mountainous countryside and backon a two-hour excursion ride.The Scranton site joins two other <strong>National</strong><strong>Park</strong> <strong>Service</strong> areas that reflectU.S. railroad history. Allegheny PortageRailroad NHS in western Pennsylvaniapreserves the traces of an incline-planerailway that hoisted canal boats over themountains to link with rivers leading tothe west. Golden Spike NHS in Utahpreserves the site of the completion ofthe first transcontinental railroad in theU.S., and invites visitors to see replicasof the locomotives that first chuggedacross the nation."At Steamtown, our initial task willbe to prepare a general managementplan for the site," said Regional DirectorJames W. Coleman, Jr. "Our planningteam will build on an earlier plan thathas been done by the Foundation."Early consideration will undoubtedlybe given to whether to restore the oldroundhouse, built in 1902. The originalturntable was sold by Conrail after thegovernment corporation ceased operationsat the yard, but Foundation officialssay they know of another turntablethat might be donated.After restoration of the turntable andrehabilitation of the structure, thelocomotives and rolling stock could beprotected from the weather in its stalls.How many of the yard's other structures—locomotiverepair shops, sandpits, tracks and switches, coal tipple,switch tower, water tower and storehouses—would be restored will awaitthe decisions of the planners."A number of those on our staff andat the Denver <strong>Service</strong> Center will be involvedin planning this new area," Colemansaid.Just down the track, but not part ofthe new park area, stands a magnificentrailroad station. Built in 1907, the stationhas been converted to a first-classhotel. It was rehabilitated in 1984 as a$9 million project under the EconomicRecovery Tax Act of 1981 and was certifiedas a historic preservation projectby Tax Act specialists of the <strong>Park</strong> <strong>Service</strong>'sMid-Atlantic office.Arnold Embleton, a trainman for 35 years with the Lebanon Valley Railroad, stands beside adiesel locomotive at Steamtown. Photo by Art Miller.Director Mott at the throttle of Repton.Photo by Ike Refice, Scranton Times.8<strong>COURIER</strong>/May 1987
Arts for the <strong>Park</strong>s: Interpreting American Landscape in the 1980s"In 1872 Thomas Moran created thispainting of Yellowstone <strong>National</strong> <strong>Park</strong>.Congress brought it for $10,000. Todayyour original painting of a national parkcould be worth $100,000."So begins the flyer announcing thefirst annual Arts for the <strong>Park</strong>s competition.Supported by the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Park</strong>Foundation and the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Park</strong>Academy of the Arts, it is one of thoserare events that benefits everyone—theartist, the art lover, and the nationalparks. For the artist, there is the incentiveof a substantial prize, plus the opportunityto contribute to a long-standing artistictradition; for the art lover, there is thesatisfaction that only a well-renderedpainting can inspire; and for the nationalparks there is the hope that the contestwill produce contributions to the <strong>National</strong><strong>Park</strong> Foundation to support NPSprojects. Seldom if ever, in the 1980s,has there been a contest of such magnitude."If we pull it off," says PattiBoyd, Vice-President of the Academy andco-founder with Phil Nethercott of thecontest idea, "we will have generatedpublicity for American art as well as forthe national parks."With more than 13,000 inquires todate, the odds appear good that they willdo just that. The contest requires a $50fee for each painting entered. A portionof the total collected will go to the <strong>National</strong><strong>Park</strong> Foundation to support nationalpark projects. Another portion willbe set aside as seed money for next year'scontest. "Each year we hope the benefitsto the parks and the artists will grow,"Boyd says. "Right now we only have alot of potential; the artists will be theultimate deciding factor."Boyd hopes to interest a broad base ofpainters from throughout the country. Topromote this, the contest rules encouragea range of media and surface choices(paper, canvas, canvas board, oil, watercolor,acrylic, tempera, etc). Likewise, animpressive collection of individuals hasagreed to judge the submissions; ThomasBuechner, former director of theBrooklyn Museum, the Corning Museumof Glass, and the Rockwell Museum;Martha Hill, picture editor for Audubonmagazine; Wilson Hurley, a renownedWestern painter; and Jeremy Strick, assistantcurator for 20th century art at the<strong>National</strong> Gallery. They will choose 33paintings from each of three regions, thenreview this selection until three regionaland one first-place winner are chosen.The announcement of the winner will bemade public at an awards banquetSeptember 18, kicking off the JacksonHole, WY, Fall Arts Festival.In separate conversations, JohnBryant, President of the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Park</strong>Foundation, and Patti Boyd took the timeto discuss the Arts for the <strong>Park</strong>s contestand the philosophy behind it.Q: Mr. Bryant, I understand thatphilosophically the Arts for the <strong>Park</strong>scontest is rooted in a rather extraordinaryartistic tradition. Would you care to comment?A: We owe a great deal to the landscapepainters and photographers of thenineteenth century because it was theirvision of the natural wonders of thewestern United States that laid the foundationfor our national park system, settingaside these special places for preservationand enjoyment. While travel tonational park areas today is far lessrigorous, the role of the artist in helpingus see our national park system in aspecial way is still important. I hope thatthe Arts for the <strong>Park</strong>s contest will encouragemany people to translate theirfeelings about national parks to canvasand enable many more people to enjoyour national park heritage through theeyes of these artists.Q. Do you think today's artists aredealing with a wholly different image ofthe American landscape than they werein the 1870s?A: I think the same grandeur is there.It is our collective vision that haschanged through direct contact with theparks. But an artist does not play our visionback to us. A work of art is shapedby the artist's own experience, by his or<strong>COURIER</strong>/May 1987 9
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