During the cave trips at this time everyone carried a box lunch, for a full scale trip below required the best part of a day. With the increasing attendance the government decided an underground lunchroom would be an added convenience for the visitors.
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Accordingly, in 1927, a suitable room over 700 feet below was selected for this purpose, one of the guiding factors being that it was located approximately at the point where the visitors passed at noon-day.
Picnic tables were set up and box lunches provided cafeteria style to the hungry travelers whose appetites were heightened by the brisk journey in the ever-cool atmosphere.
As interest in the Caverns continued to increase, the Government realized the site was worthy of more than simply a monument rating. The matter was taken up before Congress two years later, and on May 14, 1930, Congress voted to make the area a National Park.
It is also significant that it was at this time that the official name became the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, the big caves being named for the town of the same name some 28 miles northeast and which has always served as the chief supply point for the vicinity.
The surface area was also enlarged at this time and was extended to include several more acres. On February 21, 1933, it was enlarged to include more than 10,000 acres.
It was at this time that the greatest improvement yet to be made at the Caverns was undertaken. This was the installation of the elevator, which was completed in 1932. The lift is 754 feet and shortens the walk-in trip by about one and three-quarter hours. The elevator lets its passengers out at a point adjacent to the Big Room and the lunchroom. Installation of the elevator made it possible for elderly people and those who were not physically capable of walking in through the natural tunnel corridor to view the magic wonders of the great subterranean fairyland. As soon as it was completed, a great many more people came to see the great Caverns.
Walking into the Caverns is a thrill within itself and, since the trail is downhill, few people find it much of a chore. Going out is something else again, and the great majority of people who walk in are glad for the opportunity of taking the elevator up to the surface 754 feet above them.