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Yellowstone National Park (4)
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Old Faithful Inn
There are a number of hotels and lodges within the confines of Yellowstone National Park. Perhaps the most well known of these hotels is the venerable Old Faithful Inn, which is likely the most famous of all the lodges in the entire national park system. This facility has been called a "masterpiece of stone and log" (Road Guide). Its style has been characterized as "lodgepole gothic" (Yellowstone Country).
Old Faithful Inn was originally built in 1903-1904, when it was believed at the time to be the world's largest log structure. It was designed by a 30 year old architect from Seattle named Robert Reamer, who also designed the gateway arch located at the park's north entrance.
The lodge was largely constructed of native materials so that the building would fit in with the natural surroundings. The foundation of the building was built of rhyolite, a type of volcanic rock which is relatively rare but abundant in Yellowstone, and the walls were constructed of lodgepole pine logs cut from a nearby forest. Nothing in the national park system, or perhaps even the world, compares with this unique and magnificent structure.
The original lodge--the central part of the building--is known as "Old House." It contained 140 very rustic rooms for guests. Additions were later made to the structure. In 1913-1914 the east wing was added, adding 100 rooms to the hotel. In 1927-8, adding 150 rooms. The building currently contains 325 guest rooms. By 1929, the Inn housed 32,000 guests in one year. The central section of the lodge is shown below.
The celling of the lobby of the Inn is 84 feet high. The lodge itself is about 7 stories tall. The 4-sided fireplace, pictured below, was created by 500 tons of rough cut stone obtained locally. The lobby also features lovely ironwork.
Another view of the lobby is shown below. Interestingly, the lights at Old Faithful Inn were electric from the very beginning of the lodge.
Some damage to the lodge was sustained as a result of the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake. The lodge was restored in 1978-1988. Particular attention was paid during the renovation to preserving the historical accuracy of the original structure.
Before 1900, rules in place in national parks prohibited the construction of buildings closer to a natural object of interest than 1/4 mile. In 1901, this was changed to 1/8 of a mile, enabling the site of the Inn near Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin.
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