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Old Faithful Inn was built to capture the wild, unruly essence of nature.
Even if you can’t stay overnight, be sure to visit Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone,
one of the most beloved of all national park historic accommodations. Its soaring
92-foot-high lobby, erected in 1904, is a marvelous thatch-work of gnarled and knotted
tree trunks, evoking the sensation of being inside the primeval forest of Yellowstone.
Its architect, Robert C. Reamer, wanted to capture the wild, unruly essence of nature,
arguing that the Inn should look as if it actually grew on the spot. (“I built it
in keeping with the place where it stands,” Reamer wrote. “To try to improve upon
it would be an impertinence.”)
Today, the Inn’s older rooms still have their original raw pinewood walls, marble
sinks, and claw-foot cast-iron baths. On cooler nights, the wind can sometimes whistle
through old logs that make up the exterior walls. In 1959, an earthquake caused
some structural damage, and its famous gabled roof is now, sadly, off-limits to
the public—except for two individuals who are permitted to accompany a staff member
raising and lowering the flags every dawn and dusk. (Not surprisingly, the ritual
is hugely popular and booked up a year in advance, although it is worth asking at
the reservation desk if someone has canceled). Would-be roof-climbers should be
aware that it’s not a trip for those leery of heights. Starting from the lobby,
one ascends a series of rickety old stairs that seem to be suspended in mid-air
as they sway underfoot like trapeze ropes. These pass by the precarious Crow’s Nest,
a treehouse for adults where in the early 1900s a small musical ensemble would gather
after dinner to serenade the guests dancing below in formal dress. But for those
lucky few visitors who make the climb, the view from the roof across the steaming
fumaroles of the Upper Geyser Basin is magical.
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