Editing Old Faithful Inn (section)

==History==
The Old Faithful Inn replaced the Upper Geyser Basin Hotel, also known as the "Shack Hotel", which had burned down. The Northern Pacific Railroad, in the form of the Yellowstone Park Association operating company, was required by the terms of its concession to build a new hotel no closer than 1/8 mile of Old Faithful, a stipulation the Yellowstone Park Association observed to the letter. An initial design was prepared by architect A.W. Spalding in 1898, producing a design typical of the time, a turreted Queen Anne style hotel. The design was approved by the Park Service, but construction never started.<ref name=barnes1>{{cite book|last=Barnes|first=Christine|title=Great Lodges of the West|year=1997|publisher=W.W. West|location=Bend, Oregon|isbn=0-9653924-1-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/greatlodgesofwes0000barn/page/11 11–21]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/greatlodgesofwes0000barn/page/11}}</ref> Child instead hired Reamer to design a much more radical building with antecedents in the rustic camps of the [[Adirondacks]]. Design work took place in 1902, and construction started in 1903, with work continuing through the winter to open in 1904.<ref name=kaiser1>{{cite book|last=Kaiser|first=Harvey H.|title=Landmarks in the Landscape: Historic Architecture in the National Parks of the West|year=1997|publisher=Chronicle Books|isbn=0-8118-1854-3|pages=139–142}}</ref> The original cost of the Inn was about $140,000, using materials gathered from within the park. The hotel was furnished for another $25,000.<ref name=archinpark1/> Most of the logs came from a location about {{convert|8|mi|km}} south of Old Faithful, where a temporary sawmill produced boards as needed. Stone came from the [[Black Sand Basin]] and from a site along the road to [[Craig Pass]] about {{convert|5|mi|km|0|spell=in}} to the east. The unusually-shaped log brackets were collected from the surrounding forests.<ref name=kaiser1/>

[[File:-134 - Old Faithful Inn, northeast aspect (15752410444).jpg|thumb|left|The inn in 1914]]
The Inn has been expanded and modified several times. In 1913 the East Wing was added to the 120-room original structure, and in 1922 the dining room was enlarged. In 1927–1928, the West Wing was built, and the front of the main building extended. All of these modifications were carried out under the supervision of the original architect, Robert Reamer. A 1927 addition to the dining room has since become home to the Bear Pit Lounge. Installed in 1936 just off the lobby, the first Bear Pit featured carved and inlaid wood panels with humorous scenes involving bears, created at Reamer's suggestion. When the lounge was converted to a coffee shop, the lounge was relocated to the dining room extension and the panels were replicated in etched glass in 1988. Some of the original panels remain in the snack bar.<ref name=barnes1/> In 1940 the interior logs were peeled, revealing patterns created by bark beetles, and in 1966 the logs were cleaned and varnished. An automatic fire sprinkler system was added in 1948, together with fire doors in the wings.<ref name=archinpark1/>

Some of the original furnishings remain, while care has been taken with newer pieces to remain compatible with the rustic design. Some furniture at the Old Faithful Inn was salvaged from the [[Canyon Hotel]] before it was demolished, particularly the Limbert chairs in the dining room extension and some of the reading desks on the balcony.<ref name=barnes1/>

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.

Late on August 17, 1959, the Old Faithful Inn was shaken by the [[1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake|Hebgen Lake earthquake]], which collapsed the dining room fireplace chimney and 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 due to safety concerns. There were no deaths or serious injuries at the Inn as a result of the earthquake. The dining room fireplace was finally rebuilt in 1985, but the outside portion of the lobby fireplace chimney was replaced with a single steel pipe, visible in many exterior photos.<ref name=archinpark1/>

[[Image:Firefighters at Old Faithful Inn.jpg|thumb|150px|A firefighter sprays water on the roof as a precaution during the 1988 fires]]
In 1988, the inn was threatened by the [[Yellowstone fires of 1988#North Fork Fire|North Fork Fire]], in which approximately 36 percent of the park was affected.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Turner |first1=Monica |title=1988 Fires |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/1988-fires.htm#:~:text=1988%20Fires%20in%20Yellowstone&text=42%20fires%20caused%20by%20lightning,4%20mule%20deer%2C%202%20moose. |website=nps.gov |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=2023-01-17}}</ref> It was saved by the actions of firefighters, volunteers, and a rooftop sprinkler system installed the previous year.<ref>Fanselow, Julie. "[http://americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2004/2/2004_2_54.shtml Still Faithful] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201164750/http://americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2004/2/2004_2_54.shtml |date=2008-12-01 }}" ''[[American Heritage (magazine)|American Heritage]]'', April/May 2004.</ref>

The high-range rooms in the East and West wing additions were renovated in 1993 and 1994. In celebration of the Inn's centennial in 2004, a major renovation project of the original "Old House" started construction, with completion in 2008. The project brought the Inn to current building codes and installed new electrical, plumbing, and heating systems, as well as structural upgrades. Finishes were cleaned and restored, maintaining as much of the historic material as possible. Wood and wool floor finishes, bathroom tile and fixtures, new replica historic hardware, and an interpretation of the original lavatory stands and basins by [[Charles Limbert]] were installed. Original elements including the recessing of the floor and hearth of the large fireplace in the main lobby and reconstruction of log walls removed in the lobby corrected modifications and changes over the years and brought the Inn back to match more closely Reamer's original design.<ref name="npsofhd1">{{cite web |title=Old Faithful Historic District |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/oldfaithfuldistrict.htm |website=Yellowstone National Park |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=25 February 2023}}</ref>

===Presidential visitors===
Its notable visitors are numerous, even preceding its construction. [[Chester A. Arthur]] camped outside the East Wing area in 1883, [[Theodore Roosevelt]] visited the site in 1903, [[Warren Harding]] stayed in 1923, [[Calvin Coolidge]] in 1927, and [[Franklin Roosevelt]] in the fall of 1937.

===Christmas in August===
According to park lore, a freak blizzard struck the Old Faithful Inn on August 25 sometime in the early twentieth century. Rather than lament the fact that they were isolated, the guests were said to have taken the opportunity to celebrate [[Christmas in August (Yellowstone)|Christmas in August]].<ref name = "savage">{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/YS9%283%29.pdf|title=Savage Christmas: "...the best of times"|work= Yellowstone Science: A quarterly publication devoted to the natural and cultural resources Volume 9 Issue 3|last=Quinn|first=Leslie|date = Summer 2001|access-date = April 15, 2009}}</ref>