Yellowstone National Park

Old Faithful Inn

The interior contains four stories of balconies.

The Old Faithful Inn is a hotel located in Yellowstone National Park, with a clear view of the renowned Old Faithful Geyser. The inn's architect was Robert Reamer. With its spectacular log and limb lobby and massive stone fireplace, the inn is a prime example of the "Golden Age" of rustic resort architecture, a style which is also known as National Park Service Rustic. It is also unique in that it is one of the few log hotels still standing in the United States.

Initial construction was carried out over the winter of 1903-1904, largely using locally-obtained materials including lodgepole pine and rhyolite stone. When the Old Faithful Inn first opened in the Spring of 1904, it boasted electric lights and steam heat.

The Inn has been expanded and modified several times over the years. In 1913 the East Wing was added, and in 1922 the dining room was enlarged. In 1927-1928 the West Wing was built, and the front of the main building was extended. All of these modifications were carried out under the supervision of the original architect, Robert Reamer.

The facility was closed for the duration of the Second World War (along with all other hotels in the park) and the park was unprepared for the huge number of visitors in 1946.

On August 17, 1959 the Old Faithful Inn was shaken by a massive earthquake which collapsed the dining room fireplace chimney, and also damaged the huge lobby fireplace, reducing the number of usable hearths from eight to two. The building was partially shaken loose from its foundations, and access to some of the upper levels had to be restricted for safety reasons. There were no deaths or serious injuries at the Inn as a result of the earthquake. The dining room fireplace was rebuilt, but the outside portion of the lobby fireplace chimney was replaced with a single steel pipe, visible in the above photo.

It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. In 1988 the inn was seriously threatened by the massive North Fork Fire, but was saved by the actions of firefighters, volunteers, and a sprinkler system which was installed on the roof the previous year.

The high-range rooms in this establishment were renovated in 1998 and 1999. The Inn is now over 100 years old, and celebrated its centennial in 2004. In the same year, a massive, multi-million dollar renovation project was begun, scheduled to last into 2008. When finished, the building will meet current seismic codes, and will have completely new wiring, plumbing, and heating systems. Leftover damage from the 1959 earthquake will finally be repaired, and floors and roofing will be replaced. The floor surrounding the large fireplace in the main lobby will be lowered by nearly a foot to bring it back to Reamer's earlier design. Wherever possible, appearances and layouts will be restored to their original configurations.

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