National Park Lodges, Architecture for the Ages
Lodge Design in Three of the Most-Visited National Parks in the U.S.
Jul 20, 2009
National Parks in the United States draw millions of visitors each year for their unique wildlife and scenery. One of the most overlooked highlights of these parks is the architecture displayed in the historic lodges built within the last century.
Yellowstone National Park: Old Faithful Inn
This massive building is located within the Old Faithful Geyser area of the park. The inn features an exposed log and wood-frame structure of rustic design and gigantic proportions. Nearly 700 feet in length, it boasts a central core seven stories high. Its construction was planned in three major phases: the 1903 original section with the gable roof, dining room and kitchen wings, and guest-room wings; the 1913-14 east wing; and the 1927 west wing.
Like the Ahwahnee after it, many aspects of the inn reflect the early California arts and crafts movement. Emphasis was placed on artistic handiwork, and the use of local motifs and building materials. Construction began in 1902–03, with the lobby being built first to provide winter shelter for laborers. Most of the timbers used are lodge pole pine, harvested just eight miles south of the inn. Odd pieces of gnarled wood were hand-selected by the architect for use as decorative accents.
Old Faithful Inn is among the largest log hotels in the world and was designed by Robert Charles Reamer (1873–1938), who was just 29 at the time. Reamer was also one of the first national park architects to design his building to complement the landscape. This self-taught architect set off a trend in American 'park-itecture' that continues today. Reamer also designed a variety of other structures for the Yellowstone Park Company including: Roosevelt Arch, Fishing Bridge Visitor Center and Mammoth Springs Hotel.
Grand Canyon National Park: El Tovar
El Tovar opened in 1905 and was renovated in 2005 in celebration of its 100th anniversary. This historic hotel has hosted such luminaries as Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Zane Grey, and many others. Located on the southern rim of the canyon, the hotel is a Registered National Historic Landmark.
El Tovar came into being when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway decided to promote the canyon as a tourist destination and needed to provide accommodations. Featuring eclectic architecture, the primary style is slightly Swiss and somewhat Scandinavian, yet rustic. Constructed primarily of large Douglas fir timbers and rubble masonry, the use of local rock allowed the structure to blend in with the landscape.
The chief architect was Charles Whittlesey (1867–1941), whose idea it was to structure the hotel in a step-like fashion, which successfully merged the hotel with its surroundings.
Yosemite National Park: Ahwahnee
Located at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley, the Ahwahnee is an enormous luxury hotel commissioned in 1925. Despite the building's large scale, it blends well with the breathtaking beauty of the sheer granite cliffs above. The hotel features a six-story central block and wings containing three stories created in a y-layout. The hip and gable roofs are finished with green slate and break up the building's form. The hotel features balconies and terraces at several different levels.
The 150,000-square-foot structure was built to resist fire in an area where fires were difficult to battle. Instead of using real wood, concrete was formed within milled timbers, and then dyed to resemble redwood. The architecture was greatly influenced by the early California arts and crafts movement. The huge structure parallels the scale of the setting, but never competes with it. Even the asymmetrical tiers and irregular rooflines were carefully planned to merge with the environment.
The primary architect commissioned to design the Ahwahnee was Gilbert Stanley Underwood (1890-1960). Educated at Yale and Harvard, he was already a respected architect by 1925. The Ahwahnee remains his greatest work.
Significant architecture and history abound in the many lodgings and hotels found in national parks in the United States.
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