UC Berkeley Graduate Gets Historic Designation For John Muir Hut

BERKELEY, CA -- A hut built in honor of preservationist John Muir has been named historic by the National Park Service thanks to a UC Berkeley graduate. The university said the structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places after Doug Harnsberger discovered it during a recent hike.

Harnsberger, who graduated from Berkeley in 1997, hiked Kings Canyon National Park and found the memorial shelter along the Muir Pass, the university said.

After doing some research, Harnsberger discovered the "original 1930 blueprint for the building by Henry Gutterson, a 1905 graduate of Berkeley who was commissioned to build the hut by the Sierra Club. It was originally called the John Muir Memorial Shelter," the university said.

After getting a historic designation for the hut, Harnsberger plans to lobby leaders to name it as a National Historic Landmark.

The university wrote "Recognizing the hut as a landmark would honor Muir, who is generally considered to be the father of the National Park System, and protect the hut and trail for generations to come, Harnsberger said."

--Photo courtesy of UC Berkeley