Lewis Glacier Hotel - Glacier National Park - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

"Lake McDonald Lodge is one of the finest examples of a Swiss Chalet hotel remaining in the United States. Others of that category include the remaining two hotels and chalets in and near Glacier National Park. On a local level of significance the construction of the Lodge played a major role in the development of facilities on the park's west side.

Lake McDonald Lodge, also known as the Lewis Glacier Hotel, is the second hotel on its site. The first, the Glacier Hotel built by George Snyder, was constructed in 1895. In 1913 a land speculator named John E. Lewis of Columbia Falls, Montana, who had acquired the property in 1906, hired the architectural firm of Kirtland, Cutter, and Malmgren out of Spokane, Washington, to design a new hotel that, in his words, was "something worthy of the park."

The architectural firm, responsible for a number of hotels and commercial buildings in the Spokane vicinity, drew upon the same architectural sources as had the designers for the Great Northern Railroad: the Swiss Chalet style tempered with rugged natural materials that contributed to a frontier feeling in the architecture. The Great Northern Railroad between 1910 and 1915 was in the process of building a series of hotels and backcountry chalets in and around the newly-created (1910) park. John Lewis saw the need for a major hostelry on the shores of Lake McDonald, the largest lake in the park, and built one to rival the Great Northern buildings elsewhere in the park. The design for the hotel was patterned after a large Swiss Chalet, with a stone ground floor, and wood frame construction above. The Swiss detailing on the interior and exterior were quite evident. The lobby contained the enormous log columns and multi-story balconies, similar in thought to the Glacier Park and Many Glacier Hotels constructed about the same time. In a larger sense all of those hotel designs harkened back to the Northern Pacific's Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone in terms of the enormous multi-storied lobbies and the heavy use of natural materials, although the spaces created were extremely different.

At the time the Lake McDonald Lodge was constructed, private developers such as Lewis, and large railroads like the Northern Pacific; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; and the Great Northern were beginning to construct "destination resorts" in areas of exceptional scenic value--areas that were national parks or that were proposed as parks. The railroads saw the venture on a strictly commercial basis. They wanted to lure American tourists back from Europe by providing resorts of equivalent comfort in areas of spectacular American scenery.

Through time the railroads greatly increased revenues from passenger traffic by supporting developments like Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone, or El Tovar at the Grand Canyon. The designers for the railroads became quite adept at creating in their architecture the "image" the railroads needed to provide distinction to the resorts. After all, the railroads wanted to create places worthy of "writing home about"--places where the hotels were nearly as memorable as the scenery. In the instance of Glacier National Park the architects leaned heavily on the Swiss alpine traditions for inspiration. They considered the chalet style appropriate for this mountainous area so similar in scenic values to the Swiss Alps.

Private developers such as John Lewis had to provide accommodations of equivalent luxury to stay in business. In this instance the private developer also competed with the railroad in terms of style.

The concrete and stone foundations of the Lodge were completed before the winter of 1913, and work proceeded for ten months on the building. Building materials were transported to the site by boat during the summer months and skidded across the ice during the harsh winter. Quite naturally the building's most important elevation was at the west and faced the lake, since visitors arrived at the area by boat until 1920 when the road was constructed. The building was sited on a small rise above the water near the north end of Lake McDonald. Creating a suitable architectural entrance for the east elevation was never done, giving visitors even today the gnawing feeling that they are entering the rear of the structure, rather than the front.

The hotel opened for business in June, 1914. In 1930 the Glacier Park Hotel Company, a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railway, acquired the concessions~ rights to the structure. The Great Northern's acquisition of the concession rights of the hotel not only completed their monopoly of all major lodging at Glacier National Park, but it also fit the Swiss alpine image they worked so hard to create. The name was changed to Lake McDonald Lodge in 1957.

Today the building's lakeside elevation remains as picturesque as it was when the building first opened. The exterior retains its heavy European character. The remarkable lobby contains a strong American feeling where "frontier" materials were worked into a space of high-quality of craftsmanship and rustic design unique to the American west." ~ statement of significance for National Historic Landmarks nomination.

Street address: N of West Glacier West Glacier, Montana County / Borough / Parish: Flathead County Year listed: 1978 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event Periods of significance: 1900-1924 Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic Current function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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