Ash River Maintenance Storage Facility
Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota
U.S. National Park Service
This remote facility is used for provisioning maintenance operations in the Kabatogma Lake and Namakan Lake
regions of Voyageurs National Park. David Driapsa produced the master plan to organize bulk storage, circulation,
parking, boat launching and fueling docks within the site. David designed the architectural plans and construction specifications for site development, and for the bulk storage building and the bulk storage bin at the shoreline.
The facility was developed by the National Park Service on the site of the 1937 Levin Lakeside Summer Cottage in
the Ash River Developed Area of Voyageurs National Park in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Original development
of the maintenance facility replaced a small cabin with garage, a small workshop, a small guest cabin, docks, privies,
footpaths and associated landscape features and preserved the main seasonal residence, known as the Levin Cabin,
and its associated half acre portion of the original 55 acre historic site. The half acre site includes the cottage, water
tank, views, rock out crops, garden remnants, and surrounding woodland. A non-contributing vault toilet is located
within the tree line to the southwest of the cottage.
The objective of the master was to buffer and protect the remaining half acre historic site from visual and physical intrusion from the maintenance facility. The Rustic style cottage is situated upon a rock outcrop on the highest point of the site sand built into the hillside creating a feeling of an indigenous structure nestled in the pines. The setting of the cottage is integral to the significance of the building itself. The cottage was carefully placed on the rock outcrop for maximum views of the lake and the privacy afforded by the surrounding forest. This new site plan preserves the historic character of the remote location and enhances the rustic appeal of the cottage.