Acadia National Park

While Acadia National Park had been established some years earlier, the Olmsted Brothers were hired in 1929 to design a scenic driving route through the landscape. Ultimately 27 miles long, the loop was designed to “be one of extraordinary scenic beauty and grandeur”. The firm’s plan included a formal entrance into the park and stated that “The motor road now being planned will be in its entirety ten or fifteen miles in length. For two or three miles it will run along the most beautiful portions of the rugged seacoast of the island, portions as grand and as inspiring as any on the island. The new road will be coupled with the existing motor road, five miles in length, which runs through some of the most important mountains in the park and passes by three of its most attractive lakes.” In order to implement the drive, the plan included extensive infrastructure such as walls and bridges, detailed with specific craftsmanship. (See plan 9138A-124-sh2)