Old Faithful Inn Photo Pages
Please click images to enlarge.
| The original solid entrance doors, still in use today, were painted red--an international sign of welcome. The elaborate iron work was done at the time of construction by the on-site blacksmith. In the early days, the small, caged windows allowed the doorkeeper to safely peer out before allowing unexpected guests to enter. |
| The massive fireplace (left) provides a central support for the rest of the lobby. In all probability it was also useful for providing warmth during winter 1903-1904 interior work, a cooking fire for construction workers, as well as an on-site forge for making nails and metal detail work. |
| Even the back of the Inn (left) was carefully designed by architect Reamer. The "widow's walk" observation area at the top of the building was built to provide tourists with a raven's-eye view of Old Faithful and surroundings. Following the 1959 earthquake, it was deemed unsafe for daily visitor use, and though strengthened during the renovation of the 2000s, it remains a restricted area because it was not built to accommodate today's volume of guests. |
| Although one might expect the Old Faithful Inn to face its famous namesake, architect Robert Reamer intentionally turned the building away from the geyser, instead placing it at a direction that would allow incoming stages to have a direct view of Old Faithful as guests arrived under the Inn's front portico. |
| For more on the Inn's 2004 Centennial Celebration and photos of May 7 Opening Day Ceremonies Click Here |
| In the summer of 2004 banners througout the lobby proclaimed the Inn's 100 anniversary, as seen in this photo taken the evening of May 7, 2004, opening day of the Old Faithful Inn's centennial season. |
All photographs on this and the following pages (c) Frank Markley
| A major 3-year renovation of the Old Faithful Inn has helped to prepare the historic building for future generations. This photo from the summer of 2005 shows exterior work in progress. |
| For more on the Old Faithful Inn restoration, including photos and text Click Here |
| By fall of 2008 the renovation of the Old Faithful Inn was nearly complete. In this photo taken from the Old Faithful observation area in early September, the scaffolding is gone, the exterior and roof are reshingled and restained, the widow's walk rebuilt, and a small crew of painters in the yellow lift near the center of the photo adds a finishing trim around the windows. |
| (left) Guests of the early 20th century would have had a similar view of the Old Faithful Inn as they approached from the west on a summer evening. |
| (left) In 1987 the Old Faithful Inn was added as a National Historic Landmark. Today, fewer than 2,500 historic places bear this national distinction. The following statement of significance describes the Old Faithful Inn's qualification for this status: "This Landmark was the first building in a National Park constructed in an architectural style harmonious with the grandeur of the surrounding landscape. Old Faithful Inn reflects Adirondack Rustic architectural idiom, but blown up to enormous proportions. Its seven-story high log lobby is unique in American architecture. Created with gnarled logs and rough sawn wood for the Northern Pacific Railroad, it has a sense of place as identifiable as the Park itself." (Click here for floorplan of the Old Faithful Inn as submitted on the application for the National Register of Historic Places.) |
GPS Coordinates to Old Faithful Inn check in: N 44 27.606 W 110 49.823
| Although one might expect the Old Faithful Inn to face its famous namesake, architect Robert Reamer intentionally turned the building away from the geyser, instead placing it at a direction that would allow incoming stages to have a direct view of Old Faithful as guests arrived under the Inn's front portico. |