The Lewis and Clark Caverns Park Entrance Building stood here as a simple A-frame that welcomed visitors for more than fifty years. Plans for a greeting center and caretaker residence at the park entrance began in 1939, but were delayed when the park closed during the latter half of World War II. In 1948, the State Parks Commission hired architect Burt Gewalt to begin work on an entrance building, and it was completed in 1950. Gewalt also worked in Glacier National Park at Lake McDonald. The building became Montana's first park visitor entrance building, and its A-frame design was strongly influenced by Civilian Conservation Corps architecture of the Great Depression, reflected in its rock work, drinking fountain, flagstaff, sidewalks, parking spaces, signs, and landscaping.