National Historic Landmark

Old Faithful Inn

West Thumb, Teton County, Wyoming
Listed
July 22, 1973
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
73000226

About this property

The Old Faithful Inn is a hotel in the western United States with a view of the Old Faithful Geyser, located in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The Inn has a multi-story log lobby, flanked by long frame wings containing guest rooms. In the western portion of the park, it sits at an approximate elevation of 7,350 feet (2,240 m) above sea level. With its log and limb lobby and massive (500-short-ton or 450-metric-ton, 85-foot or 26-meter) stone fireplace, the inn is an example of the "Golden Age" of rustic resort architecture, a style which is also known as National Park Service Rustic. It is one of the few log hotels still standing in the United States, and was the first of the great park lodges of the American west. 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 structure is the largest log hotel in the world; possibly even the largest log building in the world. In 2007 the American Institute of Architects conducted a survey to determine the 150 favorite buildings in America; the Old Faithful Inn ranked 36th. The Inn, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987, is itself part of the Old Faithful Historic District. Old Faithful Inn is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Location

West Thumb, Teton County, Wyoming
44.45972, -110.83107

Categories

CONSERVATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Old Faithful Historic District
Listed
0.5 mi
Queen's Laundry Bath House
Industrial
7.4 mi
Madison Museum
Civil War
12.7 mi
Norris, Madison, and Fishing Bridge Museums
Industrial
16.4 mi
Norris Museum/Norris Comfort Station
Industrial
19.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Old Faithful Inn listed on the National Register?

Old Faithful Inn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 22, 1973.

What type of historic resource is Old Faithful Inn?

Old Faithful Inn is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Old Faithful Inn a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Old Faithful Inn has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Old Faithful Inn?

The period of significance for Old Faithful Inn is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Old Faithful Inn?

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