The enthusiasm, talent, and dedication of Benjamin F. Loomis helped bring a national park into existence. His legacy started with the photographs he took, which today still spark understanding and awe of Lassen Peak's historic eruptive events. In 1926 he published the Pictorial History of the Lassen Volcano, to "give the sightseer a clearer idea of what has occurred." And in 1927, in memory of their daughter, he and his wife Estella built the Mae Loomis Memorial Museum and Seismographic Station (the two buildings standing here) to showcase Benjamin's photographic records and monitor ongoing volcanic activity.
In 1914...I climbed to the top of Lassen Peak six times...taking pictures...I realized that if the mountain should blow off while I was looking into...the crater, I would not be here to tell the tale. But for all that I never experienced the feeling of fear. For I was there to take pictures, and the pictures were the principal object of my thought.
B.F. Loomis
Comments 0 comments