Watercolors by Henry Sorensen, Graphics by Shaila Sorensen, Layout by Gayle Burgess, Editing by Gail

Slemmer
This page: Historic photos courtesy Minnesota Historical

Society and Glacier National Park Archives

This document is dedicated

to each and every one who has a story about the

Many Glacier Hotel.

From the Hills ñ both father and son ñ who had the

vision and commitment to build this monumental

hotel, to the railway and construction workers who

weathered the harsh winter of 1914 constructing

ìMany.î

From the millions of park visitors who sought to

experience some of Glacier National Parkís

most beautiful wilderness offered from the hotelís

doorstep, to the thousands of Many Glacier Hotel

employees who could never get enough of the hotel and

her surrounding natural beauty.

But mostly, this document is dedicated to the caretakers

of our nationís historic treasures

who have struggled to save this

grand hotel, her story and the significant role

of ìManyî in the history of the

National Park Service,

the Great Northern Railway, and

the western United States.

The National Park Service, who values its role

to protect cultural resources,

wishes to thank the organizations,

support groups, and individuals

who have partnered to save this

National Historic Landmark.

Special appreciation is given to

the National Trust for Historic Preservation,

who awarded the grant that initiated the generation of

this document.

The preparation of this document

and associated research has served to support and

enhance several preservation projects

ongoing and proposed in the near future

at Many Glacier Hotel.

Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

v

CONTENTS

PART ONE: DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY

PROJECT BACKGROUND AND GOALS..................................................................................................1

1 CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE...........................................................................................................5

HISTORICAL CONTEXT...............................................................................................................................................................................5

NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MANY GLACIER HOTEL ..................................................................................................................7

HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT ....................................................................................................................................................................9

CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT........................................................................................................................................................11

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY.....................................................................................................................................................................14

2 HOTEL ARCHITECTURE AND CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES..................................................15

BUILDING EXTERIOR................................................................................................................................................................................15

INTERIOR SPACES....................................................................................................................................................................................21

Main Building .......................................................................................................................................................21

Annex 1 ...............................................................................................................................................................30

North Bridge ........................................................................................................................................................32

Kitchen/Dining Wing ............................................................................................................................................33

Employee Dining/Support Wing...........................................................................................................................36

South Bridge........................................................................................................................................................36

Annex 2 ...............................................................................................................................................................37

ARCHITECTURAL EVALUATION ..............................................................................................................................................................38

Exterior Features .................................................................................................................................................38

Interior Features ..................................................................................................................................................39

3 EXISTING CONDITIONS...................................................................................................................42

STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS AND EXTERIOR SURFACES .........................................................................................................................42

LIFE-SAFETY SYSTEMS ...........................................................................................................................................................................46

MECHANICAL SYSTEMS...........................................................................................................................................................................46

ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS............................................................................................................................................................................46

INTERIOR SPACES AND FINISHES .........................................................................................................................................................47

Main Building .......................................................................................................................................................47

Annex 1 ...............................................................................................................................................................47

North Bridge ........................................................................................................................................................47

Kitchen/Dining Wing ............................................................................................................................................47

Employee Dining/Support Wing...........................................................................................................................47

South Bridge........................................................................................................................................................47

Annex 2 ...............................................................................................................................................................48
vi

PART TWO: TREATMENT AND USE

4 ULTIMATE TREATMENT AND USE ...................................................................................................51

BROAD DIRECTION FOR TREATMENT AND USE..................................................................................................................................51

STANDARDS FOR TREATMENT ..............................................................................................................................................................52

SPECIFIC TREATMENT STRATEGIES.....................................................................................................................................................53

5 REQUIREMENTS FOR TREATMENT ..................................................................................................54

TREATMENTS REQUIRED FOR BUILDING STABILIZATION..................................................................................................................54

TREATMENTS REQUIRED FOR RESTORATION OF CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES ................................................................56

TREATMENTS REQUIRED TO MEET BUILDING CODES AND FEDERAL REGULATIONS..................................................................57

Weather Protection Systems ñ Building Envelope...............................................................................................57

Structural Framing Systems ................................................................................................................................59

Lateral Resistance Reinforcement Systems ........................................................................................................59

Electrical Systems ...............................................................................................................................................60

Mechanical/Plumbing Systems............................................................................................................................60

Accessibility Requirements..................................................................................................................................60

Hazardous Materials And Other Health And Safety Risks ...................................................................................60

VISITOR AMENITY ISSUES.......................................................................................................................................................................61

OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND EMPLOYEE WELFARE AND SUPPORT ISSUES ...........................................................................61

6 ALTERNATIVES AND IMPACTS.........................................................................................................63

ALTERNATIVES RELATED TO BUILDING STABILIZATION AND PRESERVATION/RESTORATION OF CHARACTER-DEFINING

FEATURES .................................................................................................................................................................................................63

Emergency Stabilization Of The East Foundation Wall, Annex 1 (South)............................................................63

Reconstruction Of The South Bridge ...................................................................................................................65

Reconstruction of Exterior Balconies...................................................................................................................65

ALTERNATIVES RELATED TO MEETING BUILDING CODES AND OTHER LEGAL REQUIREMENTS................................................66

ALTERNATIVES RELATED TO VISITOR AMENITIES..............................................................................................................................66

ALTERNATIVES RELATED TO OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND EMPLOYEE SUPPORT.................................................................67

GLOSSARY ..........................................................................................................................................69

BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................................................71
1

PROJECT

BACKGROUND AND

GOALS

In 1996 the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed Glacier National Park on its list of ìAmericaís

eleven most endangered places.î The Many Glacier Hotel, built between 1914 and 1917, is part of that listing

because the infrastructure of the eighty-five-year-old National Historic Landmark is decaying from the

inside out, with failing foundations, rotting framework, defective mechanical and electrical systems, and

declining integrity.

In an effort to save and restore this National Historic Landmark hotel for future generations, the National

Park Service has been working with Glacier Park, Inc., the concessioner for five major historic

accommodations in the park, to develop a financially sound restoration plan for the Many Glacier Hotel. The

plan will serve as a prototype for preserving the parkís remaining historic accommodations.

A financially sound restoration plan for the Many Glacier Hotel will have to address many factors: the

identification and protection of those features that contribute to the hotelís historical and architectural

significance; compliance with the current building codes; the provision of an appropriate level of services to

park visitors; and fiscal responsibility to public taxpayers and to the private investors who support the

hotelís operation as a park concession.

To facilitate the initiation and development of the restoration plan, Glacier National Park applied for a grant

from the Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation. The Johanna Favrot Fund, administered by the

National Trust for Historic Preservation, was created to help save historic places across the country. It

approved a grant of $8,000 to Glacier National Park for development of a restoration concept and

rehabilitation plan for the Many Glacier Hotel. The Many Glacier Hotel was one of eight projects selected for

assistance in May of 1997. This initial edition of what will become an incrementally more complete Historic

Structures Report is a product of that grant.

This Historic Structures Report focuses on the value of the Many Glacier Hotel as a National Historic

Landmark and on the treatments and actions needed to preserve and maintain the hotelís historical and

architectural significance. Part one, ìDevelopmental Historyî describes the hotelís original architecture,

major changes, and character-defining features. Part one also includes a summary of the most recent

architectural and engineering studies conducted to document the condition of the structure and the many

discrepancies with modern building codes. Part two, ìTreatment and Use,î identifies the treatments that

would be required or desirable to support the buildingís long-term preservation and use as a National

Historic Landmark hotel. Part two also analyzes those treatment and use alternatives currently under

consideration, for their consistency with the long-term preservation of the buildingsí integrity as a National

Historic Landmark.

Decisions about the ultimate treatment and use of the Many Glacier Hotel will be informed by a number of

studies and documents. In addition to this document, they include
1 Project Background and Goals

2

General Management Plan, Glacier National Park (NPS 2000a): This plan establishes the ultimate

treatment and use of the building as a National Historic Landmark hotel.

Commercial Services Plan for Glacier National Park (NPS 2001a): This plan, currently in preparation,

defines the appropriate type and number of commercial services to be provided in each developed

area of the park, and what role the Many Glacier Hotel should play in providing appropriate and

necessary services. These recommendations are based on the information provided in this Historic

Structures Report, the Condition Assessment, the Structural Integrity Assessment, and additional

investigative studies.

Condition Assessment, Many Glacier Hotel, prepared for the National Park Service by Architectural

Research Consultants, Inc. (NPS 2001b): This study addresses compliance with life-safety and

building codes and the requirements for universal access. It also presents a general overall

investigative accounting and evaluation of plumbing and electrical systems and fixtures, and of the

existing condition of architectural finish treatments.

Structural Integrity Assessment, Many Glacier Hotel, prepared for the National Park Service by

Architectural Research Consultants, Inc. (NPS 2001f): This study, normally a part of the condition

assessment, was conducted as a discrete study to analyze the buildingís extensive structural

problems and to recommend actions for emergency stabilization and eventual structural code

compliance. It compiles structural information gathered through site visits, reviews of existing

drawings, conversations with maintenance personnel, and the numerous geotechnical, architectural,

and structural reports conducted over the past fifteen years. The loading and performance criteria

used to evaluate code compliance are based on the 1997 Uniform Building Code.

Emergency Stabilization Project, Many Glacier Hotel, prepared for the National Park Service by

Architectural Research Consultants, Inc. (NPS 2001d): This study presents emergency stabilizations

alternatives for areas of extreme structural concern: the foundations at annexes 1 and 2, the balconies

of annexes 1 and 2, and the south bridge.

The long-term preservation of the Many Glacier Hotel as a National Historic Landmark and internationally

famous visitor destination will depend on finding solutions that respect the buildingsí historic integrity

while meeting modern standards of safety and visitor service, and while generating the fiscal resources to

make the undertaking feasible.

As a critical part of that effort, this Historic Structures Report fulfills the goals of

(1) documenting those features that define the hotelís character and contribute to its architectural

and historical significance as a National Historic Landmark

(2) identifying the treatments necessary to ensure the long-term preservation and use of the structure

as a grand hotel

(3) ensuring that all alternatives under consideration adequately consider the protection and longterm preservation of the hotelís character-defining features

Data collected for preparation of this report did not include original research. Due to funding and staffing

limitations, as well as readily available research data on the hotel, this report consolidates past and ongoing

research information for presenting recommendations regarding treatments and further study. This report

will be amended as information is gathered to support future treatments.
PART ONE:

DEVELOPMENTAL

HISTORY OF THE

MANY GLACIER

HOTEL

5

1 CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The Historical Development Of Glacier National Park Into One Of The Westís Great Destination Resorts

[Sources: Much of the information specific to the Many Glacier Hotel included in this section is from the

National Register nomination forms for the Many Glacier Historic District and Hotel (NPS 1975, 1986a, and

1995). Additional information has been provided from the Historic Preservation Architectural Guide, Many

Glacier Hotel, prepared for the National Park Service by James R. McDonald Architects (NPS 1986b). This

guide contains many historic photographs, which should be useful in considering alternatives for

rehabilitation. This document also contains floor plan drawings with maintenance problems identified on

them.]

Glacier National Park, established in 1910, was pushed through the legislative process under the

considerable influence of the president of the Great Northern Railway, Louis Hill. Hillís railroad ran along

what became the southern edge of the new park. Scrutinizing the pattern set by the Northern Pacific in

Yellowstone and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe at Grand Canyon, Hill knew that the creation of a

destination resort at this park would tremendously increase revenues from passenger traffic on his main

lines.

During the early development of the National Park System most of the large natural parks in the West were

isolated to the extent that accommodations such as meals and lodging were essentially unavailable. The

sheer size of these parks and the time required to traverse them necessitated the establishment of lodging

and food service within park boundaries. The Northern Pacific had begun building Yellowstoneís overnight

accommodations in 1883-84 with the National Hotel at Mammoth, and by 1903 they had commissioned the

Old Faithful Inn, with its archetypal rustic architecture by Robert Reamer. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa

Fe had financed the southwestern versions of grand hotels, El Tovar, Hopi House, and Hermitsí Rest,

introducing architect Mary Colterís work at Grand Canyon. What both of those railroads had done, and

what Hill wanted to accomplish, was to build resorts in architectural styles that would create imagesó

buildings that would be noteworthy and memorable in their own right. Distinctive architecture contributed

to the sense of place, and these attractive places could be reached in comfort only by rail.

While working to establish Glacier as a national park, Hill promoted the area as the ìAmerican Alps.î To

him, it was only logical that the single architectural theme befitting the new park was the Swiss chalet style.

Between 1910 and 1915, the Great Northern Railway and its wholly owned subsidiary, the Glacier Park Hotel

Company, constructed two enormous luxury hotels and a series of backcountry chalets and tent camps. The

two major hotels, the Glacier Park Hotel and the Many Glacier Hotel, were the core structures. The chalets,

of log and stone construction, and the informal tent camps were placed in the backcountry within an easy

dayís horseback ride or hike of either one of the major hotels or of each other.

Courtesy Minnesota Historical Ssociety
1 Context and Significance

6

The historic Belton Chalet (also a National Historic Landmark), developed at Belton (present day West

Glacier) was the western point of departure for park guests who began their park adventure from the

western side of Glacier National Park. A carriage ride from Belton would take visitors to a boat launch at

Apgar. From Apgar, visitors traveled over the pristine, glacial blue waters of Lake McDonald to arrive at

Lake McDonald Lodge, a Swiss Alpine lodge designed by Kirtland Cutter, an architect commissioned by

John Lewis in 1912. (Cutter prepared the original drawings for the Many Glacier Hotel.)

The stylistic unity of the Glacier National Park development distinguished it from the development at

Yellowstone, which included an eclectic mix of Victorian and classical revival structures along with its

archetypal rustic architecture at Old Faithful. The development at Grand Canyon was similarly diverse,

although it, too, included highly significant archetypal styles.

Following the European manner of chalet development, the Glacier Park Hotel Company and the original

hotelier who built the Lewis Glacier Lodge (Lake McDonald Lodge) at Lake McDonald added a new

dimension to railroad development in national parks by combining opportunities for luxury with

opportunities for overnight ìwildernessî experiences. (By comparison Yellowstone and Grand Canyon

offered first-class overnight hotels, from which the great majority of the more adventurous visitors took only

day trips, returning to their hotels at night.) After a long cross-country train ride to Glacier National Park,

most visitors liked to spend several nights at one of the grand hotels. There, entertainment at cabarets and

fine dining were the norms, and boat and horseback rides could be arranged. Adventuresome guests could

then string together a number of catered backcountry treks that allowed them to traverse the Continental

Divide between the east and west districts and to use the high country chalets for more spartan overnight

stays.

Until the Going-to-the-Sun Road was completed in 1932, horseback trips along backcountry trails were the

only assisted means of traveling from the parkís east district to the west. Eight chalet developments were

constructed in the backcountry, spaced within a dayís horseback ride (10 to 18 miles) of a hotel or another

chalet. The locations followed three tour routes known as the outside, inside, and north circle routes. Tours

using the outside route set out from Glacier Park Lodge and proceeded to the Two Medicine, Cutbank, and

St. Mary Chalets before heading west to the Going-to-the-Sun Chalets. Tours using the inside route used the

Gunsight Chalets then went over Lincoln Pass to the stone-walled Sperry Chalets and finally ended at the

Lewis Glacier Hotel, where the guests were reunited with their luggage after the two-week-long trek. The

north circle route usually took guests from the Many Glacier Hotel to the Many Glacier Chalets (which

predated the grand hotel), the Granite Park Chalets, and on to Waterton Lakes. The St. Mary Chalets were

used as an overnight transfer point for going from the east to either the west or the north. They were

centered between the Glacier Park Lodge and the Many Glacier Hotel at the parkís east entrance.

A typical chalet development consisted of sleeping cabins, dining halls, and perhaps kitchen and employee

dormitory cabins. Tent camps along the 10-18 mile treks between the chalets made it possible for saddle-sore

guests to have meals and respite during the day.

Many celebrity guests were noted as having been booked on these trips, including Charlie Russell. The

renowned western artist stayed at the short-lived Gunsight Chalets before going on to the Sperry Chalets

and two weeks later arriving at the Lewis Glacier Hotel. Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt made the Two

Medicine Chalets their headquarters in Glacier. Hoover had his Summer White House there in 1930. FDR

stayed there during his 1934 ëThe Year of the National Parks Tour.í During his famous Fireside Chat made

from the chalets, FDR told his radio audience about the park, ìPerhaps I can best express to you my thrill

and delight by saying that I wish every American, old and young, could have been with me today. The great

mountains, the glaciers, the lakes and the trees make me long to stay here for all the rest of the summerÖ

There is nothing so American as our national parks.î He was entertained by the Civilian Conservation Corps

(CCC) and received at powwows, where he was named the ìBig Chiefî and inducted into the Blackfeet

Tribe.
1 Context and Significance

7

The Going-to-the-Sun and St. Mary Chalets could be accessed by horse, boat, or hiking. The Going-to-theSun Chalets were the showiest of the lot. They operated until 1940, were closed for the war years, and were

removed in 1949 because the National Park Service deemed them beyond economical repair. The St. Mary

Chalets were closed in 1944, the Cutbank Chalets were razed in 1949, and the Two Medicine Chalets were

closed in 1942 and razed in 1953, leaving only the dining hall as the present camp store. Other chalets

succumbed to the destructive forces of avalanches (Gunsight in 1914) and fires (Many Glacier in 1936),

leaving only two.

 Hillís choice of one architectural theme and extensive backcountry development to encourage visitors to

temporarily leave the luxury of the enormous hotels and experience the ìAmerican Alpsî by more rustic

means created a new paradigm for American national park tourism. It also gave an architectural unity and a

sense of place to an entire region of immense proportions.

The remaining buildings of this elaborate front- and backcountry systemóthe Many Glacier Hotel, the

Sperry and Granite Park Chalets, and the award winning restoration of the Belton and the Two Medicine

Campstore at Lake McDonaldóare exceptional examples of the parkís historic architecture and powerfully

evoke the classic western national park character for present-day guests. All of these remaining structures

are registered National Historic Landmarks. Those facilities that have been removedóthe Two Medicine,

Cutbank, St. Mary, Going-to-the-Sun, Gunsight, and Many Glacier Chaletsówould have completed the

necklace of accommodations that draped gracefully over the vast wilderness.

NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MANY GLACIER HOTEL

[Sources: The ìMany Glacier Hotel Historic District National Register Nominationî (NPS 1975) and the

ìGreat Northern Railway Buildings National Historic Landmark, National Register Nominationî (NPS 1986)

identify specific features contributing to the hotelís National Historic Landmark status. The addendum to the

Many Glacier Historic District nomination found in ìInventory and Evaluation of Historical Buildings and

Structures Within Glacier National Parkî (NPS 1995) expands the boundaries of the historic district,

describes the interiors and exteriors of contributing buildings, and describes the grounds, the bridges, and

other historic features within the district, but it does not directly address the contributing features of the

hotel.]

The Many Glacier Hotel was first listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as the centerpiece

of the Many Glacier Hotel Historic District. In 1987 it became a National Historic Landmark, recognizing its

status as one of the major structures left from the Great Northern Railway development within Glacier

National Park. The Many Glacier Hotel is registered as a ìworld class accommodation.î The registration

requirements for eligibility as a world class accommodation are addressed in ìHistoric Context and National

Register Guidelines for Concession Operations, Glacier National Park, Montanaî (NPS n.d.)

The hotel meets the National Register criteria for both historical and architectural value, as noted in the

nomination forms:

ìThe primary value of these structures is associative (eligible under National Register criterion A)--

in that they can establish a cognitive link between past policy and events. Individual properties may

also be considered significant for their architectural values (eligible under National Register criterion

C). The parkís large hotels appear to represent excellent examples of rustic, monumental architecture,

including what has been previously informally identified as ìSwiss chaletî styleÖ.The development

funded by the Great Northern Railway in Glacier National Park is unique in National Park

architecture.î
1 Context and Significance

8

Today the Many Glacier Hotel remains a visitor lodging

facility, retaining much of its original character while striving

to meet the needs and requirements of contemporary park

visitors. The 1984 national landmark nomination noted that

ìthe hotel boasts a true Swiss atmosphere from the Alpine

beauty which surrounds the building to the decor of the

striking lobby. Placemats on the tables in the large dining

room still promote this ëAlpine hostelryÖ in the Switzerland

of North America.íî

Looking east down Swiftcurrent Valley and Swiftcurrent

Lake, with Many Glacier Hotel seen at far side of lake.

Courtesy Glacier National Park Archives
1 Context and Significance

9

Main lobby structure, east elevation, under construction. Note honeycombed pattern

of asbestos cement roofing shingles. Same shingles appear as wainscoting on west

elevation, lake level exterior walls.

Porte Cochere developed at

main entry to hotel to protect

guests from ìthe elements.î

Courtesy Glacier National

Park Archives

HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT

Great Northern Railway President Louis Hill picked the Many Glacier Hotel site in 1909. The hotel was

constructed between 1914 and 1918, at a time when travel to Glacier National Park was still primitive, when

visiting the park was a true adventure, and when a park visitor was a wilderness traveler.

The hotel rests adjacent to

Swiftcurrent Lake, which had to be

artificially raised to create this

natural looking setting at the end of

a twelve-mile road through

Swiftcurrent Valley. The hotelís

imposing scale is humbled only by

the backdrop of the glacial lake,

massive glaciated peaks, and walls

of jagged rock. The hotel is a grand

gateway to the unsurpassed beauty

of the Swiftcurrent and Grinnell

Valleys, which meet at its doorstep.

The final hotel design was created

by St. Paul, Minnesota Architect

Thomas D. McMahon and built at a

total cost of $500,000. The

construction of the hotel was an

impressive operation. A road from

St. Mary was built to support the construction effort; and a quarry and sawmill were developed locally to

obtain stone and lumber. Four hundred men under the direction of contractor E.G. Evensta were employed

by the railroad during the two working seasons it took to complete the main structures (range of pay $0.30 to

$1.65 per hour). Window sash glass and other materials were transported to the site by freight wagons,

which left every morning for the five-day trip from Midvale (East Glacier).

The Many Glacier Hotel site began changing when a larger number of guests began to travel to the hotel in

their own automobiles in the late 1920s. This new means of transportation resulted in development of vehicle

parking and site design to separate horse and vehicle traffic. An entrance porch to the lobby was added in

1932, and in 1957 a porte cochere was added to provide a protected drop-off zone for visitors arriving by

automobile and bus.
1 Context and Significance

10

A major rehabilitation of the interior of the hotel occurred during the 1950s. The bathrooms were changed so

that private baths were provided for each guestroom; the kitchen was upgraded, the circular stairway

leading from the grand lobby to the lower lake level was removed, and the lobby was altered to include a

larger gift shop. Sprinkler systems were introduced for fire suppression, and the fire escape balconies were

strengthened.

A second major rehabilitation of the historic fabric occurred in the early 1980s. Guestrooms were

refurbished. The gift shop was expanded further into the lobby. The former pool area was retrofitted for use

as employee quarters. The exterior was painted. The dining room windows, which dated to the 1950s, were

replaced, and the dining room ceilings were suspended below the trusses.

Above left: Original dining

hall with exposed roof

trusses. Note pergola and

decorative Oriental umbrellas

left, Blackfeet pictographs

right, and evergreen trees at

stone fireplace. Furniture

included 36 hardwood chairs,

122 Japanese wicker chairs,

square homemade tables,

round tables, homemade

sideboards, tray stands,

Japanese lanterns, blue

willow ware china and one tea

tray wagon. Left: Following

50ís remodel, dining hall after

ceiling was dropped below

bottom of trusses, wood floor

covered with linoleum.

Courtesy Glacier National

Park Archives
1 Context and Significance

11

Upgrades to the hotel continue annually as funding allows. In the winter of 2000-2001, work began to

improve the life-safety features of the hotel for the benefit of the guests. The steam heat system was

abandoned and replaced with electric heat, which required the installation of new wiring. The hotel will no

longer use propane, natural gas, or heating oil fuels, the delivery of which was expensive. In addition, the

fire alarm/smoke detection system was upgraded.

During the 2001-2002 construction season, emergency stabilization work began on the hotel. Work included

rightening and stabilization of the foundation for the south section of annex 1, balcony reconstruction at the

south end of annex 2, and associated work. Phases II and III, to begin in the fall of 2002, will serve to

upgrade the building envelope including remaining balcony stabilization, window and door repair, siding,

and roofing.

CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT

Throughout the hotelís history, modifications to the building have been necessary to enhance operating

efficiency, improve service to guests, and bring the building up to current health and life-safety codes. Many

of these modifications are listed below in a timeline which has been largely copied from the Historic

Preservation Architectural Guide (NPS 1986) and supplemented from original research by Tessie Bundick,

Historian, Glacier Park Foundation.

1915

• Main lodge, annex 1, and kitchen construction

completed

1917

• Annex 2, south bridge, indoor plunge pool, laundry,

and waterline constructed

1926

• Stair removed in southeast corner of lobby to allow

for expansion of the entrance to the bridge

1928

• Original green stain on dining room walls renewed

1932

• Entrance porch to lobby added

1933

• Metal bands put on checked lobby columns

• Fireplace removed from Grill Room (St Mortiz)

1934

• Heating system revised

• Lecture hall (Lucerne Room) enlarged and Grill

Room remodeled

• Grill fireplace removed

• Cocktail lounge developed

Annex 2, left, and connecting south bridge with spired

cupola constructed in 1917. The spire was likely inspired

by the first set of drawings submitted by Kirtland Cutter

but rejected by Louis Hill. Courtesy Glacier National Park

Archives
1 Context and Significance

12

1937

• New drop ceiling added to dining room

• Pool and dressing rooms rebuilt

1939

• Half of balconies rebuilt and several doors on the lakeside permanently closed

• New furnishings (rugs, runners, chairs, dressers, blankets, stoves, etc.) provided to lobby and guest

room

1940

• Grill Room remodeled (again)

1941

• Laundry extension added

• Employee pub added

1943

• Exterior repairs and painting (split siding replaced, repairs to porches, balcony floors and railings,

exterior stairways, skylights, and roof

1948

• New water supply and reservoir constructed

1950

• Iron hangers added to strengthen balconies

1952

• Bathrooms added and remodeled in main building and annex 1

• Building paper added to west and south sides of hotel by removing siding and window trim

1953

• New transportation counter added

• Kitchen ventilation system added

1956

• Bathrooms added and remodeled in annex 2

• All balconies on west side of hotel removed and repaired

• Eaves on west side boxed

• Four chimneys below rooflines removed

• Asbestos cement roof shingles replaced with wood

shingles

1957

• Bus platform and entrance canopy added (porte

cochere topped with spire)

• Wall added to separate cocktail lounge from bridge

• New guestrooms added above gift shop

• Compressor room added

• Convention hall and womenís toilet added

• Reservation desk and office built

• Green linoleum laid down on lobby floor

• Steel supports added to Lucerne Room

• New bathrooms installed in rooms 115 and 315

• Boiler room piping added

• Spiral stairway from lobby to basement removed and

Porte Cochere added in 1957 to protect arriving and

departing guests from the weather. Courtesy of Glacier

National Park Archives
1 Context and Significance

13

gift sales area expanded over the infill floor

1959

• Steel supports added to St. Moritz Room

• Kitchen remodeled

1960s

• Steel angles added to shore up failing balconies

1964

• Water system repaired after damage by flood

1970s

• Additional supports added to balconies

1982-4

• Rooms remodeled (paint, carpet, tile, etc.), and refurnished

• Corridor and lobbies repainted and recarpeted

• Fire detection system installed

• Some rooms and bathrooms made accessible to mobility-impaired visitors

• New fire stair installed

• Kitchen remodeled and updated to meet codes

• New banners and carpet installed in dining room

• Exterior siding and trim painted

• Exterior windows painted and screens reworked

• Balconies reconstructed on the west side of annex 2 and the east side of annex 1

• Balcony balusters replaced

• Gift shop extended into lobby space

• Transoms and windows covered in lobby

• Additional exit constructed at ground level, mid-annex 2

• Annex 2 freight elevator shaft blocked

• Annex 2 north stairway enclosed and remodeled

• Stairway in southeast corner of lobby extended to ground floor and enclosed

• Former pool area remodeled for employee quarters

• Smoke doors added to corridors in annexes 1 and 2

1990

• Carpet removed and underlayment replaced on exterior lakeside deck

• Door at gift shop changed from vinyl bifold to roll-up grill

• Nonhistoric pendant lights in Lucerne Room replaced with ceiling fans

• Exterior deck covering replaced

• Basement-level light fixtures replaced

• Sackett replaced with drywall

• Corridor annex painted as others (light camisole)

• Roof reshingled

1991

• New carpet installed in hotel rooms

• Swiss Lounge remodeled (lounge previously remodeled in 1957); no description of work

• Ventilation fans installed in two employee restrooms adjacent to the kitchen

• Carpet installed in approximately 80 guest rooms

• Sagging, damaged Sackett wallboard replaced in rooms with drywall (rooms not listed)
1 Context and Significance

14

1993

• Old bakery remodeled for employee recreation room (includes new exterior door)

1994

• Air-door blower installed on the exterior entry door to the St. Moritz Room

1997

• New transformers and electrical wiring installed

1998

• Lobby gift shop remodeled

2000

• Wood support posts attached to failing balconies in emergency effort to open guestrooms

2001-2002

• Annex 1 south (Stagger Alley section) stabilized (emergency stabilization and rightening) and

extraneous structural fixes (e.g., steel angles, tension cables, wood supports) removed

• Annex 2 south balconies reconstructed with steel structural members

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

The Great Northern Railway constructed the Many Glacier Hotel and operated it until 1960. In 1960, Many

Glacier Hotel, along with the rest of the chain, was sold to Don Hummel from Arizona. Hummel formed

Glacier Park, Inc., and ran the Many Glacier Hotel and other Glacier National Park hotels for twenty years.

He sold the operation to The Dial Corp in 1981. Today, the National Park Service owns fee title to the Many

Glacier Hotel complex. Glacier Park, Inc., a subsidiary of Viad Corp (formerly The Dial Corp) has a

compensable interest in the facilities and owns the furnishings.
15

2 HOTEL ARCHITECTURE AND

CHARACTER-DEFINING

FEATURES

[Sources: Most of the information about the original architecture and major changes is from the Historic

Preservation Architectural Guide. Some information, especially regarding changes that occurred after 1986 is

from the Condition Assessment. Other information has been furnished by Tessie Bundick, Historian for the

Glacier Park Foundation, who completed archival research at the Minnesota Historical Society. The

determinations of character-defining features are based on National Register nomination forms and

subsequent consultations with NPS cultural resource specialists and the Montana State Historic Preservation

Office.]

BUILDING EXTERIOR

Original Architecture

The largest structure of the entire group of Great Northern Railway Buildings, the enormous Many Glacier

Hotel was constructed on a north-south axis conforming to the shoreline of Swiftcurrent Lake on the west

and an exposed upthrust shelf of bedrock on the east. The main entrance to the hotel was on the east side of

the building, with access to the lake from a west-side walkout on the lower level. The original plans included

the main lobby building with surrounding guestrooms, an annex with additional guestrooms, and a kitchen

and dining wing connected to the annex by a bridge. These buildings were completed between 1914 and

1915. An enclosed swimming pool was added to the kitchen and dining wing in 1917, and construction of a

second wing of guestrooms was begun due to high demand.

The wood-frame structures ranged from one to four-and-one-half stories in height and were constructed on

stone rubble foundations with walkouts to the west lake side. The foundations, the fireplace at the entrance,

and the waterfront terrace with arched windows and doors were constructed from native stone quarried

close to the hotel. The walls were covered with wood clapboard siding that may have been originally painted

or stained. (Completion of paint analysis will verify original surface treatments and colors.)

The wood double-hung windows, and the trim around the doors and fixed windows, had a decorative

jigsaw pattern that was painted white and yellow (exact colors to be determined from paint analysis). The

oversized windows surrounding the lobby were detailed in color and striping with colors beyond the

standard trim specifications. Exterior balconies with jigsaw-cut balustrades extended from the guestrooms

on all sides of the structure. The cuts in the balustrades created a cloverleaf pattern. Square asbestos cement

shingles laid out in a honeycomb (diamond) pattern were used extensively on both roofs and basement

walls.

The stone segments creating the arched windows were

constructed from locally quarried stone. Courtesy of

Minnesota Historical Society
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

16

The roof design was characterized by interesting angular rooflines, such as truncated or clipped gable roofs

(also referred to as jerkerhead roofs), with gabled roof eave dormers and eave gables projected over jigsaw

cut outlookers.

The following exterior features are mentioned in the hotelís nomination forms for NHL status, written by

Laura Souliere. These features contribute to those qualities of the hotelís architecture that made it eligible to

be listed as a National Historic Landmark.

• Structure is largest of all of the extant Great Northern Railway developments.

• Enormous building with its multiple wings and additions stretches a great distance along lakeshore

• Building is up to four stories in height and designed as a series of chalets.

• Principal building materials are stone for foundations and the basement walls of the original wing,

with wood frame superstructures.

• Of special note are the stone basement walls of the original portion

• Rugged texture of the rough rubble masonry and the segmentally arched openings add considerable

interest to the structure.

• Exterior walls are finished with brown painted wood siding.

• Windows are framed with moldings cut in Swiss jigsaw designs. Principal moldings and window

frames are painted white with yellow jigsaw detailing.

• Roofline has considerable variation; the gable roofs often have clipped-gable ends. Multiple dormers

and hip roofs add further interest to the rooflines. The roofs are all finished with wood shingles.

• Each of the annexes has balconies. Balcony balustrades are wood, sawn in jigsaw patterns found in

chalet architecture.

Major Changes

The exterior balconies have required extensive repair and reinforcement. As early as 1919, props were being

placed under the balconies in the winter to prevent breaking from the heavy winter snow. In 1921 Hill began

documenting his concern that structural bracing of balconies was of great concern ìas they were weak and a

personís weight could be enough to make them fall.î Fifty percent of the balconies were noted to have been

rebuilt in 1939, and several doors were permanently closed on the lakeside, resulting in narrow decorative

facsimiles of balconies.

In 1950 a system of steel cables, rods, and brackets was installed to shore up the failing balconies. In 1956 all

the balconies on the west side (lakeside) of the hotel were removed and repaired, with steel supports added.

In the 1960s steel double angle columns were added on the fronts to some balconies, followed in the early

1970s by additional steel angles attempting to mimic the column/angle detail at the back. The columns were

attached to the balconies at the steel cable bracket locations. Vertical angles and cable supports were added

to the remaining balconies in the mid 1970s. The balconies on the west side of annex 2 and the east side of

annex 1 were reconstructed in 1982-84. Wood support posts were attached as an emergency measure to

further stabilize failing balcony locations in the summer of 2000 (failure noted during initial Condition

Assessment inspection by the structural engineer).

In 1984, several balcony balusters were replaced and the old balusters were thrown away. Some of the jigsaw

cut diamond and cloverleaf pattern balustrades on the balconies were replaced with a simpler diamond and

oval shaped pattern. The balustrade top rail was repainted a bright yellow, whereas originally, it was

believed to be more cream in color.

In the spring of 1956, the Glacier Park Company was granted approval to replace the asbestos cement

roofing shingles with wood shingles, ìas thick as you can get them and we believe that the large Canadian
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

17

shinglesÖ will be suitableî (March 20, 1956, letter from Glacier National Park Superintendent J.W. Emmert

to Mr. J.S. Jeffries, Vice President of Glacier Park Company).

In 1957 a porte cochere was added to provide a visitor drop-off zone at the east entrance. The spire-topped

cupola on the porte cochere was designed to reflect the one over the north bridge and may be found

historically significant in its own right due to its association with an NPS major building boom called

Mission 66.

Other changes to the exterior appearance have included boxing of the eaves on the west side (1956), removal

of four chimneys that were below the roof line (1956), and construction of an additional exit at ground level

in mid annex 2 (1982-1984). Mechanical ventilation equipment has been added to the large sloping roof that

sets over the dining hall and kitchen.

Building Exterior Character-Defining Features

The following list expands upon the original National Historic Landmark National Register nomination list

of features. This comprehensive list identifies all features determined critical to the hotelís historic character.

If the structure were to lose some of these features over time, then the cumulative effect could result in the

denigration of its status as a National Historic Landmark. (*Denotes features that have been altered or

removed.)

• Massive scale

• Location

• Honeycomb (diamond pattern) roof shingles*

• Honeycomb (diamond pattern) shingles for wainscoting at lower level, lake side

• Clipped-gable (jerkerhead) roofs with gabled dormers along eaves

• Eaves with jigsaw-cut outlookers and knee braces

• Decorative pendants

• Hierarchical tiering of balconies

• Flag poles with decoratively carved supporting brackets and poles with

ìpointed starsî ends*

• Stone chimney at entrance to lobby

• Stone rubble foundation

• Built-in bench seats along lobby porch and lake level pergola entry*

• Decorative jigsaw-cut window and door trim and paint scheme (trim

varies between bath and sleeping room windows on the upper levels;

lower lake level rooms have square cut trim onlyósimilar to interior

detailing)

• Wood windows (six-over-one double hung)

• Spire-topped cupola over the south bridge

• Weathervane atop cupola over south bridge*

• Pattern of the fenestration spacing, both horizontally and vertically

• Both gable and flat pergola covered entries to lake level St. Moritz Room

(Grill Room) *

Decorative knee braces and

pendants. Artwork Shaila

Sorensen 1999

Main lobby windows.

Artwork: Shaila Sorensen

1999
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

18

East side of hotel with tourists waiting to board the

"Old White" touring buses. 1920 Note stone chimney

at entry, flag pole supports, and balconies without

extensive ìadd-onî supports (steel angles, cables,

wood posts). Courtesy Glacier National Park Archives

Photograph displays siting of Many Glacier Hotel.

Note porte cochere spire attempting to mimic lower

spire over original south bridge to left. Courtesy

Glacier National Park Archives

Site of Many Glacier Hotel along the banks of

Swiftcurrent Lake, 1940. Courtesy Glacier National

Park Archives

Note flagpoles and weather vane atop south bridge cupola,

1932. Courtesy Glacier National Park Archives
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

19

Visitors on front veranda off of

lobby, 1933. Mt. Gould in

distance. Note original gablecovered entry (no longer

exists) to lower level Grill

Room (original Soda Fountain

was next to this entryway).

Courtesy Glacier National Park

Archives

South end of Many Glacier

Hotel. Annex 2 in background

with spired South Bridge in

middle of photo connecting

the annex and main lobby

building to right. Note

flagpole supports. Courtesy

Glacier National Park

Archives

View of many glacier hotel

from west side of

Swiftcurrent Lake. Note

pergola over entry to lake

level of main building (no

longer exists), original water

tower (foundation remains

today), fence along walk

between hotel and lake.

Courtesy Glacier National

Park Archives
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

20

Photo taken from boat dock.

1975. Note different wall

treatments over lower levels --

stone at main building,

honeycomb pattern asbestos

cement tiles over framed annex

building. Both buildings have

clapboard siding above. Also

note grand windows at lobby,

clipped ñ ìjerkerheadî ñ gables.

Pergola covered entry to lake

level main building no longer

present. Courtesy Glacier

National Park Archives

South end of main building.

Note arched window and doors

heads composed of segments

of locally quarried stone.

Courtesy Glacier National Park

Archives

Built-in seating and deck

chairs for lobby porch

overlooking swiftcurrent lake ñ

west. Courtesy minnesota

Historical Society
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

21

INTERIOR SPACES

For purposes of analysis of the hotel interior, the hotel has been divided into six units: main lobby building

(including the porte cochere), annex 1, annex 2, north bridge, south bridge, kitchen and dining wing, and

employee services wing (employee dining room and pub) (see figure 1).

Main Building

Original Architecture

 The main building encompassed an atrium-like four-and-one-half-story hotel lobby, surrounded by

overlooking balconies and guest chambers, and a lower level, historically accessed by a central staircase. The

exposed interior structural system was constructed of massive 30- to 36-inch diameter logs (believed to be

old growth Douglas-fir, as detailed at East Glacier Park Lodge) that rose from basement to roof level. The

characteristic log members were repeated and sized proportionally for columns, roof framing, and stair rails

throughout the building.

The buildingís rustic Swiss chalet architecture was reinforced by details including Swiss designs in the

jigsaw-cut balusters along the overlooking balconies and connecting stairways, and by five-foot-high rough

wood wainscot topped by Sackett board and ceilings broken into squares by a wood-batten trim, which was

painted the color of the wainscot. The guest chambers were accessed by panel doors with ìXî-patterned

Figure 1: Plan of Many Glacier Hotel (modified plan sheet from Commercial Services Plan report, ARC/ Dekker/ Perich/ Sabatini,

Albuquerque, NM, 2001)
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

22

wooden battens and embellished with red-and-white Swiss crosses on each door identifying the room

number.

The lobby was the central focus for the hotel, providing a spatial quality much like the ìnaosî space (inner

cell) of a Greek Temple, except rustic in materials and finishes. The neoclassical revival design was

developed through the layout of oversized columns, as adaptations in log of Greek Doric column styles, in a

classical colonnade. This plan is believed to be rooted in the Oregon Forestry Building presented in the 1905

Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland.

A skylight in the ceiling directed light into the main lobby space. A large, copper-hooded, open fire pit

dominated the north end of the lobby. At the south end a large spiral staircase led to the lake level. The

staircase was laid out with double helical curves forming two opposing complete circles

Base of original log columns set in main building. The typical peeled log column measured approximately 36 inches at its base and

reduced to approximately 30 inches at its peak. This photo shows the floor of the Grill Room opened for repair work to bad concrete

bases under log columns in 1952. Courtesy Glacier National Park Archives
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

23

around a fountain that rested on the lower level and was overlooked from an ornate circular handrail on the

main floor. Large windows on the west side overlooked Swiftcurrent Lake and the mountain valley. The

main lobby was decorated with a vast array of motifs including bear skins, buffalo heads, a huge 180-foot

canvas mural painted by Medicine Owl and other Blackfeet Chiefs, which told the history of the Blackfeet

Indian Nation, and totem poles imported from the Pacific Northwest. Japanese lanterns advertised the

afternoon teas and filled the air with a festive atmosphere.

Chamber guestrooms with special features, such as fireplaces, historic plumbing fixtures, and doors to the

exterior balconies, encircled the lobby. Adjoining rooms shared baths. Fourth-floor chambers were typically

employee quarters offering lavatories, and two of these units had fireplaces. The ceilings in the fourth-floor

rooms reflected the hotelís historic rooflines.

The lake level basement was divided into the Grill Room (present-day St. Moritz Room) and the Lucerne

Room. The Grill Room, also sometimes referred to as the Bamboo Room and often referred to by Hill as the

Casino, had a hardwood floor for dancing, an accompanying orchestra platform, a soda fountain, and a

small kitchen. The Lucerne Room was designed as a lecture hall. A large stone fireplace was incorporated

into the east stone foundation, and a second, metal-covered ìcampfireî fireplace was located more centrally

in the Grill Room. After a day of outdoor adventure, guests were treated with a socializing space that

included entertainment and evening programs for education.

Many interior building elements were mentioned in the NHL nomination by Laura Souliere. These salient

features, listed below, contribute to those qualities of the hotelís architecture that made it eligible to be listed

as a National Historic Landmark.

• Balconies with railings patterned with Swiss designs

• Enormous peeled logs supporting the balconies and portions of the roof structure

• Capitals atop log columns

• Round copper fireplace w/painted metal chimney

• Board-and-batten wainscoting w/painted wall finish (fiberboard) battened in rectangles above

• Guest room doors w/îXî-patterned wood slats

• Red-and-white Swiss crosses on each door

• DÈcor, e.g., placemats in dining hall

Major Changes

Interior spaces usually receive the most attention and as a result change more often for a variety of reasons.

The major changes in the lobby have been the removal of the spiral staircase (1957) and the expansion of the

gift shop (1984), which has taken over about one-third of the lobby space. The expansion of the gift shop

space has greatly diminished the original openness of the lobby, and because of fire code regulations, a wood

framework has been constructed over the shop to give support for sprinkler lines and lighting. The sales

displays in the gift shop further cut down on the natural lighting afforded the lobby because they encroach

upon and obscure the windows in the south end.

The stairway in the southeast corner of the lobby was removed in 1926, and the entrance to the south bridge

leading to annex 2 was expanded in that location.

The wood batten on the walls and ceiling in the lobby has been repainted to match the background color,

with a resulting loss of its original character. In the 1950s, green linoleum was laid down on the lobby floor.

New lighting fixtures, a new color scheme, and the introduction of carpet have further altered the character

of the lobby. The existing furnishings are contemporary and offer no flavor of the historic period.
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

24

The major changes to the guest rooms surrounding the lobby on the second and third floors have been the

addition and remodeling of bathrooms in 1952 and 1957, and new paint, carpet, and tile in 1982-84. New

guestrooms were added above the gift shop (before it was expanded into the lobby) in 1957. The employee

rooms on the fourth floor remain nearly in original condition, with the exception that the wood surfaces

have been painted.

In 1934, the Grill Room on the lower level was redesigned to include a cocktail lounge along the east side of

the room. The original drawings had planned for a small cocktail lounge at the west side of the Grill Room

with seven-foot-high partition walls. While no evidence of the partition walls remains, the existing log

columns still reveal traces of the built-in tables that were shown in original drawings.

The original character of the former Grill Room, present St. Moritz Room, has slowly been changed with the

addition of new materials. The former wood dance floor has been covered with sheet goods, perhaps

linoleum. The campfire stove was removed between 1934 and 1935. In 1934, the lecture hall was enlarged to

seat 300, along with other actions that included relocating partitions to the next tier of posts towards the soda

fountain and expanding the soda fountain further into the Grill Room. Steel plumbing supports were added

to both the St. Moritz and Lucerne Rooms in the 1950s. In 1957, the former photographer room was

remodeled into a restroom.

Additional changes to the main building have included the installation of metal bands around the large

columns in the lobby after is was observed that the columns were checking (1933), the addition of a new

transportation counter (1953), the addition of a reservation desk and office (1957), and the extension of the

stairway in the southeast corner of the lobby to the ground floor and enclosure of the stairway (1982-84).

Main Building Character-Defining Features

If the structure were to lose some of these features over time, then the cumulative effect could result in the

denigration of its status as a National Historic Landmark. (* Denotes a feature that has been altered or

removed.)

Lobby and interior balconies:

• Four-story atrium-like lobby enclosed by massive log columns

• Openness*

• Views up from lobby floor*

• Views from the surrounding balconies into the lobby*

• Log capitals atop log columns

• Decorative balustrades including profile and height of top rail

• Spiral staircase to lower level*

• Stone hearth, fireplace, and chimney

• Stone fireplace at entry

• Light fixtures

• Skylight

• Large windows on west side of lobby overlooking the lake

• Windows at north and south ends of lobby area*

• Registration area plan and space*

• Interior stairs with their newel posts, balusters, and handrails

• Exposed structural system consisting of the columns, beams, roof rafters, roof purlins, cross ties, and

exposed tongue-in-groove sheathing.
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

25

Lake-level spaces:

• Large peeled log columns

• Stone walls along eastern wall

• Stone hearth and chimney

• Exposed stone foundation and arched doorways and

windows to the lakefront

• Board-and-batten wainscoting topped by painted Sackett

board walls and ceilings battened in rectangles above,

with the battens painted the color of the wainscot*

• Hardwood dance floor*

• Orchestra platform

• Soda fountain*

• Original stone fireplace*

Main building guest rooms

• Floor plans*

• Board-and-batten wainscoting and battened Sackett board walls and ceiling above*

• Period plumbing fixtures*

Above: Interior balcony log columns and

balustrades

Below: Log column capital typical in lobby
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

26

Grill Room fireplace removed in

1935. Note the bamboo poles

tied around the log columns. Hill

wished the Grill Room to have a

Polynesian feeling. Courtesy

Minnesota Historical Society

Original Lucerne Room conference

center, lake level of main lobby

building. Note arched windows,

beams, light fixtures, and

furnishings. Courtesy Minnesota

Historical Society

Lake level view of spiral staircase

connecting main and lake level of

main lobby building (removed

1957). Courtesy Glacier National

Park Archives
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

27

The fireplace hood was

designed after the Sibley hood

that the U.S. Army used in tents.

It was made out of cast iron and

was raised and lowered with

counterweights. Courtesy

Minnesota Historical Society

Right and below: Hotel interior as it appeared

in 1915. The dÈcor was very eclectic,

consisting of Oriental paper lanterns, bearskin

rugs over balconies, Blackfeet pictographs,

Navajo rugs, railroad items, wicker furniture,

Windsor chairs, homemade tables, bison

heads (both real and plaster of Paris), painting

by John Fery and totem poles from the

Northwest. Courtesy Minnesota Historical

Society
2 Hotel Architecture and Character-Defining Features

28

Many Glacier Hotel lobby, 1930. Note top of spiral

staircase, fountain filled with plants, Chinese lanterns

and bear skins decorating the surrounding area.

Courtesy Glacier National Park Archives

Hotel lobby looking south towards

gift shop, circa 1920. Note lights,

bear skin rugs, staircase, smaller

gift shop, furnishings. Courtesy

Glacier National Park Archives

The fountain and staircase

descended to the basement

floor, present day St. Moritz

Room. At night, the water of the

fountain was colored with

electric lights for effect.

Oriental lantern, 1931.

Courtesy Glacier

National Park Archives
29

Painting of interior log structure: log

columns with capitals, log beams and

trusses. Original crafted balustrades.

Patterned batten boards over Sackett

board above wood wainscoting.

Artwork Henry Sorensen 1999

Original gift shop at one end of the lobby

selling such items as cigars, clothing, and

toilet water. Courtesy Minnesota Historical

Society

Original lobby window overlooking

Swiftcurrent Lake. Courtesy

Minnesota Historical Society
30

Annex 1

Original Architecture

Annex 1, constructed with the main building, displayed similar architectural detailing. The corridors had the

same six- to eight- foot wainscots (dependent upon floor level) topped by battened Sackett board walls and

ceilings.

Low windows in the walls between interior hallways and guestrooms, along with transom windows above

the guestroom entry doors, offered increased ventilation and natural lighting into the hallways. The

intentional use of windows in an interior hallway for guests may have been inspired by the sleeping car

accommodations aboard trains. Guestroom doors in the annex were the same style wood batten construction

as those in the main building and decorated with the Swiss cross room numbering.

A light well extended from the second floor hallway through to the roof, allowing for a naturally lit social

seating space. Wood burning stoves may have been used at one of the social nodes on the second floor of the

annexís north end.

Annex 1 included 162 guestrooms with steam heat, hot and cold running water, electric lights and

telephones. Eight corner suites came with private stone fireplaces. Other original amenities included a

shoeshine stand, tailor and barbershop, beauty shop, dispensary, firemanís room, telephone and telegraph

services, and a transportation desk.

Major Changes

Much of the original architectural detailing in the interior hallways remains intact, even though

inappropriate color choices and the covering of windows have compromised the original character.

When new fire safety regulations were adopted, glass in the low hallway windows, and in the transom

windows above the guestroom doors, no longer met the new regulations. Rather than comply with

appropriate glass replacements, the windows were sealed The high transom windows have been covered

from the hallway side using beveled tongue-and-groove boards, and the low windows in the walls have

been fully enclosed on both sides with fiberboard. The telltale impressions of the window openings remain

as irregular surfaces.

The original shared bathrooms were rehabilitated to provide private baths for all guestrooms in 1952.

All the guestrooms and hallways were refurbished with new paint, carpet, and tile in 1982-84. In all rooms

the chair rail was painted to match the carpet (a turquoise green), and the wood battens on the walls above

were painted to match the adjacent surfaces rather than the original accent color. The choice of colors

contrasts adversely with the originally used palette of finishes. As part of this refurbishment the rooms were

fitted with furniture selected by interior designer Marian Van Tress to be compatible with rustic styles and

the materials on the walls and floors. Her designs for the drapes and bedspreads were meant to be Swiss in

character.
3 Existing Conditions

31

The hallway ceilings ñ especially in the lake

level corridor, also nicknamed ìStagger

Alleyîóhave been all but obscured by pipes,

sprinklers, and electrical conduits. The utility

clutter, in addition to contemporary light

fixtures, distracts significantly from the visitor

experience.

Automatically closing smoke doors were

added to the corridors in 1982-84. These doors

are compatible with the rest of the structure.

Some service and support room entries, along

with public restroom doors, have been

replaced with flush panel doors that are not in

keeping with the buildingís character.

Five guestrooms at the north end of annex 1

were remodeled in the 1950s to provide a

lounge ñ the Swiss Lounge. The Swiss Lounge, constructed

adjacent to the north bridge of annex 1 between 1953 and

1954, presented architectural detailing with less rustic and

more Swiss motif. Details included a lowered ceiling

resting on dimensional wood beams supported by highly

decorative columns and corbels.

Annex 1 Character-Defining Features

(*Denotes a feature that has been altered or removed.)

Standard rooms and corridors:

• Board-and-batten wainscoting and chair rail*

• Painted Sackett walls and ceilings battened in

rectangles, with the battens painted to match the color

of the wainscot*

• Low windows in walls between corridors and guest rooms and high transoms over guest room

corridor entry doors *

• Vertical ìVî board panel doors with îXî-patterned wood battens (some have been removed*)

• Red-and-white Swiss crosses on each guestroom entry door

• Medicine cabinets over sinks (*some)

• Wood trim at doors, windows, and base in rooms and corridors (*some)

• Light well from second floor hallway through to roof (*altered)

Interior Swiss Lounge, 2001. Courtesy Glacier National Park

Corner fireplace in Deluxe Guestrooms. Note

obtrusive contemporary light fixture. 2001 Courtesy

Glacier National Park
3 Existing Conditions

32

Deluxe guest rooms:

• Stone fireplaces, corner rooms

• Interior and exterior doors (*some)

• Steam heater registers (*some lost)

• Specific plumbing and electrical fixtures, including footed tubs*

• Fourth-floor rooms that reflect the roof ridges and valleys

• Milled wood trim

North Bridge

Original Architecture

The connector between the main dining room and annex 1 was a three-story multi-use area. The lower level

plan identified two rooms and a barbershop (original location) on the lake side. These spaces contained

oversized window assemblies composed of three mullioned elements: (1) across the top a horizontal

rectangular fixed pane running the full width of the assembly, (2) a fixed center pane, and (3) two-over-two

double hung windows at both sides of the central window. When the swimming pool house was

constructed, these decorative windows were mostly lost in its shadow.

The main level of the north bridge offered an open-space lounge (referred to as the Interlaken Lounge) until

the Swiss Lounge (annex 1) was constructed in the 1950s. The finishes in the Interlaken Lounge were similar

to other finishes throughout the hotel with the wainscot and battened walls and ceilings. Banks of oversized

fixed plate glass windows provided a sunny open area. Divided light French doors exited to an exterior

stairway on the lakeside.

The second floor plan for the bridge provided six chamber rooms with two shared baths with details typical

of other guestrooms.

Major Changes

The lake level rooms were changed to service areas for the hotelís maintenance and housekeeping staffs

(date unknown). This change, coupled with the changes to the pool house structure, has removed a positive

visitor experience from this section of the hotel, both inside and out.

Doors and glazing in the windows of the Interlaken Lounge, on the main level of the north bridge, have been

altered. A low wall (assumed to be constructed as part of the 1950s remodel work), has not significantly

changed the open space feeling. A cashierís counter at the northeast end of the bridge distracts from the

openness that existed prior to its placement.

North Bridge Character-Defining Features

(*Denotes a feature that has been altered or removed.)

• Board-and-batten wainscoting topped by painted Sackett walls and ceilings battened in rectangles,

with the battens matching the color of the wainscot*

• Low windows and high transoms along guest room corridors*

• Vertical ìVî board panel doors with îXî-patterned wood battens (some have been removed*)

• Red-and-white Swiss crosses on each guestroom entry door
3 Existing Conditions

33

• Medicine cabinets in rooms

• Wood trim around doors, windows, and base

• Multi-light French windows at end of hallway

• Lavatories in each room

• 10-light French doors off of main level to stairway leading to lake

• Exposed log columns and wood beams

• Stone fireplace in Interlaken Lounge; exposed stone chimney in hall above with stovepipe thimble

• Windows in Interlaken Lounge*

Kitchen/Dining Wing

Original Architecture

The original dining hall, accessed at the end of the north bridge through multi-light French doors, was

designed as a large open space that revealed a high ceiling with exposed trusses. Original construction

included four wood posts aligned with the western edge of the hearth supporting a pergola that extended

seventeen feet into the dining room. A huge stone fireplace anchored the space at the far north end of the

room. Double skylights helped illuminate this grand hall.

Both the east and west walls contained oversized, highly decorative window assemblies, including picture

windows and operable double-hungs. The west wall (lake side) included seven assemblies, while the east

wall held only one. The finishes in the dining room were similar to other areas, with the wainscot and

battened walls and ceilings. An original painting, commissioned by Hill, and pictographs adorned the

interior walls of the dining hall.

Below the dining hall were the boiler room and the womenís and menís dressing rooms, which adjoined the

swimming pool. The swimming pool house included multi-light double-hung and fixed windows and two

skylights in the shed roof. The original pool was constructed of 6x6 and 6x8 log sections covered on both

sides in 1x6 tongue and groove. The rehabilitation included a concrete-faced tank. The roof material used for

the pool house was J. M. transite shingles, as opposed to the asbestos cement shingles used on the main

lodge.

The kitchen layout included a bakery, meat refrigerator, dairy and fruit refrigerators, and a storeroom. The

kitchen had two large skylights and a roof assembly to house the mechanical devices.

Major Changes

The kitchen/dining wing has been drastically altered over the past eight-five years. These changes reflect

changes in health codes, amenity needs in the dining room (including the need to remove flies, improve the

fenestration, and restrict bat flights), closure of the heated indoor swimming pool area, and expansion of the

maintenance group.

A drop ceiling was added to the dining room in 1937, and the pergola was removed. The finish on the new

ceiling was similar to other battened ceilings throughout the building. The architectural detailing in the

dining room has not changed since, but the rustic character has been lost due to the painting out of details

such as the battens on the walls and ceiling. Windows were replaced in 1984 based on the 1950s designs.

The dining room was recarpeted in 1982-84, and large flags were hung from the ceiling. The new flags,

although appropriate to the theme, seem to overpower the room, and thus the simpler detailing has been

lost. A waitress station was developed near the kitchen passage doors, which infringes upon the open space.
3 Existing Conditions

34

In 1936 high water levels in Swiftcurrent Lake caused water seepage into the swimming pool. The pool and

dressing rooms were rebuilt in 1937, but the seepage problems were never adequately solved. The pool was

closed in the 1960s. In 1982-84 the concrete pool was filled, and the area was remodeled for housekeeping

and employee dorm space. The adjoining dressing rooms have been remodeled to house the shop,

housekeeping offices, and some dorm space.

A kitchen ventilation system was added in 1953, and the kitchen was rehabilitated in 1959 and again in 1982-

84. Reflective film was adhered to the oversized lake windows to help minimize the overheating that

occurred from these large glazed areas.

In 2000-2001, a mechanical cooling system was installed after substantial bat abatement was completed in the

attic space above the dining hall and kitchen.

Kitchen-Dining Wing Character-Defining Features

(*Denotes a feature that has been altered or removed.)

• Massive stone fireplace

• Board-and-batten wainscoting topped by painted Sackett walls above with the battens painted to

match the color of the wainscot*

• Large picture windows with highly decorative trim details *

• Open floor plan of the dining hall*

• Exposed roof trusses*

• Oil painting of the hotel commissioned by Hill

• Original exposed truss ceilings*
3 Existing Conditions

35

Many Glacier Hotel dining room, CIRCA 1940. Note fireplace on far end of room, tables prepared for guests. Chinese lanterns

light the room. In 1949, a typical dinner menu consisted of baked Columbian River salmon, tartar sauce, fried half spring

chicken a la Maryland, braised loin of pork dressed, applesauce, omelet, escalloped potatoes, snow potatoes, buttered string

beans, cauliflower in cheese sauce, angel food cake, chocolate sundae, and chilled cantaloupe. Courtesy Glacier National Park

Archives.

Dining area below pergola seen in above photo at left. Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society
3 Existing Conditions

36

Employee Dining/Support Wing

Original Architecture

The employeesí dining room displayed similar construction detailing to the rest of the structure. The walls

had the same five-foot wainscot topped by battened Sackett walls. However, the ceiling was open, exposing

the truss structural system and displaying the 2-inch thick by 4-inch wide tongue-and-groove roof boards.

Double-hung windows were ganged into pairs and placed around the space. The laundry in the basement

had a concrete floor and walls covered with transite panels.

Major Changes

The employee dining area remains much as it was originally. The isolation of the hotel may have led to the

addition of a self-contained post office structure at the far southeastern corner of the dining hall. In 1941 an

employee pub area was added. The pub has been expanded to meet the staffís need to socialize outside the

dorms. The social areas of the dorms have been removed. The remainder of the old laundry is a plumbing

storage area/shop with a carved-out office for security and secure storage for the pub. There is no spare

space for housekeeping or maintenance or the social welfare of the employees.

The basement interiors in this wing have been modified extensively over the years. The original laundry was

housed here until the function was moved to the East Glacier Lodge. Today the only vestige of the laundry

function is a sterile corridor-like space for employee washers and dryers.

In 2001-2002, the original boilers were removed from the boiler room beneath the dining hall. This space is

presently being remodeled to serve as a maintenance support work area.

Employee Dining/Support Wing Character-Defining Features

(*Denotes a feature that has been altered or removed.)

• Tongue-and-groove exposed sloped ceiling and roof structure

• Board-and-batten wainscoting topped by painted Sackett walls battened in rectangles, with the

battens painted to match the color of the wainscot*

• Double-hung windows with divided lights

• Open floor plan of the dining hall

• Vertical ìVî board panel doors with decorative boards and divided lights between the employee area

and the kitchen

South Bridge

Original Architecture

The south bridge, built in 1917 with annex 2 was a single-story solarium-type transition building between

the main building and annex 2. The cupola was topped with a spire accented by a weathervane. The roof

was covered in red shingles.

Like the rest of the hotel public areas, it had a six-foot wainscot with battened Sackett wallboard above and

on the ceilings. The walls were lined with oversized picture windows that afforded views to the lake and to

the east.
3 Existing Conditions

37

Major Changes

The batten boards have been painted to match the adjacent wall surfaces. The floor has been carpeted, and

contemporary lighting fixtures with surface-mounted conduit have been installed. The weathervane is no

longer present and double doors have been replaced with singles.

South Bridge Character-Defining Features

(*Denotes a feature that has been altered or removed.)

• Interior floor plan with its openness and connection to main building

• Fenestration pattern and size

• Wood trim

• Cupola*

• Vertical wood panel double doors with lights*

Annex 2

Original Architecture

Eighty-room annex 2 was completed in 1917 to meet the demand for rooms at Many Glacier. Constructed

two years after the main building, annex 1 and the dining hall were completed, annex 2 varied slightly from

the original structures. It was a four-and-one-half-story structure with a simple double-loaded corridor

system and reliance on external fire-exiting stairs off the balconies. Annex 2, like annex 1, incorporated

shared baths.

The same as annex 1 and the main building, the corridors of this annex had six- to eight-foot rough sawn

wainscot topped by battened Sackett wallboard ceilings throughout the corridors and guestrooms. The

corridors of annex 2, like annex 1, included high and low windows to augment the lighting and ventilation.

The hallway doors matched those of the rest of the facility with vertical ìVî grooved panel doors with ìXî

patterned battens, and room numbered placed upon decorative Swiss crosses.

Major Changes

Individual bathrooms were constructed in the 1950s. Room surfaces have been modified in this annex more

than anywhere else has in the hotel. Most of these surface changes have created a more 1960s-1970s motel

feel, with laminate wood paneling and glue-on fiberboard wall and ceiling panels. Some of the rooms have

had their wood floors refinished, a change that visually improved the rooms, but generally the floors are

carpeted. The hallway wainscot remains a dark stained color versus the white to cream color that annex 1

displays. The low windows in the guest room walls and the transom windows above the doors were closed

for fire protection, as in annex 1, however, locations and sizes of original hallway windows are more readily

identifiable in this annex because their frames are delineated with trim.

The freight elevator shaft was blocked in 1982-84, and the north stairway was enclosed at that same time.

Annex 2 Character-Defining Features

(*Denotes a feature that has been altered or removed.)
3 Existing Conditions

38

• Board-and-batten wainscoting topped by painted Sackett walls and ceilings battened in rectangles,

with the battens painted to match the color of the wainscot

• Low windows and high transoms*

• Vertical ìVî board panel doors with îXî-patterned wood battens (some have been removed*)

• Red-and-white Swiss crosses on each guestroom entry door

• Medicine cabinets in rooms

• Wood trim

• Multi-light French windows at end of hallway

• Carvings on cap of newel posts in stairway

• Watchmanís boxes

• Lake level private decks for southwest end and corner rooms facing Grinnell Glacier

ARCHITECTURAL EVALUATION

An in-depth survey of the hotelís architectural details is not within the scope of this initial study. However,

the information that is known is included as a starting place for further research. This section of the report

will be expanded as information is gathered to support future preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration

projects.

Exterior Features

Salient features of the interior, such as the hierarchy of window types and sizes, skylights, masonry

chimneys and archways, dormers, and penthouses, have been exposed as architectonic elements of the

exterior facades. The exterior balconies also contribute to an interesting three-dimensional-looking faÁade

that is distinctive in each of the elevations and varies from wing to wing.

The exterior would lack its Swiss architectural influence if the hotelís exterior appearance no longer included

the many wooden features such as the door and window head, sill, and side trim; the verge or barge boards

along the rake of the roof, eaves and decorative pendants, and roofline fascia; and the balustrades, brackets,

and finials of the balconies, fire escapes, and observation decks. The typology of the Swiss style trim

requires complete documentation prior to any work that may disturb or replace these assemblies.

Careful recordation of the hierarchical assemblies of windows, for instance, is needed to preserve the

historically consistent use of head trim, which features jigsaw patterns of rounded cuts topped with a band

of dentils capped with a drip molding and flashing. All of these highly ordered assemblies are believed to

painted yellow or some variance of yellow or cream. The suggested yellow paint was used sparingly and

denotes a special horizontal feature like the above-described head trim, the handrails on balconies, the frieze

boards over the main entrance, or the horizontal band at the roofline to mark the edge between dormers and

walls.

Window side trim steps down in size and complexity of jigsaw curves with the importance of the opening.

View windows from guestrooms are taller and have more curves symmetrically placed on the outer edge

than do the bathroom windows, which have a stepped straight board arrangement. Doors leading to

balconies have the largest side trim with more elaboration, compared to the windows. All sideboards are

painted white.
3 Existing Conditions

39

At the highly detailed grand lobby and dining

hall windows, patterns as well as colors were

incorporated into the trim design to further

impose importance on these spaces.

The balusters of the outdoor railing assemblies

are less elaborate than the lobby balcony

treatment. They are made of 1x wood boards

painted dark brown with straight cuts that step

out wider and narrower four times in each

vertical piece. This creates an interest in pattern

of negative and positive geometries that

emphasizes the transparency of the railing

assembly. This does not mean they are not

without interest. Instead, they offer a view

through them that has the interplay of light and

dark crafted fretwork and a consistency from

wing to wing that unifies the expansive sweep

of the sprawling structure along the lakeshore.

A challenge of the rehabilitation will be to

maintain the Many Glacier Hotel character, and

in some instances restoring the character where

lost, when new materials and methods must be

incorporated due to changes in technologies,

environmental concerns, building code

upgrades, and loss of availability to historic

fabrics.

Interior Features

Columns and Capitals

Several types of columns and capitals exist

throughout the hotel, built at different times in

certain public spaces.

Doric-like columns and capitals are found in

the lobby of the main building and the Interlaken Lounge. These columns are full heights high, unfluted, and

without bases, giving them an unbroken verticality. They are constructed of natural bark-off log with a stain

varnish or shellac finish. The wooden components that form the echinus and abacus blocks are curve-edged

and mitered square blocks of increasing size laid on top of the columns with a neck transition. The larger

upper blocks support the round log beams that surround the atrium-like space of the lobby.

Columns with Ionic-like capital detailing are found in the uniquely designed Interlaken Lounge. The capitals

are comprised of two scroll- or volute-like elements made of short smooth logs on either side of the rounded

echinus blocks that sit atop the columns. The abacus blocks are curved edge square blocks, similar to those of

the lobby capitals, and support the major beams. The squared beams of this lounge intersect at angles that

are formed at the transition between the annex building and the dining hall.

The Swiss Lounge that adjoins the Interlaken Lounge has highly decorative columns and corbels compared

Lobby window. Note diagonal striping on vertical trim. Cut-out

circles in perimeter trim were originally designed and in fact

believed to be painted blue in color. Courtesy of Glacier National

Park Archives
3 Existing Conditions

40

with the other column types. The columns support wood-trimmed beams that are exposed below the ceiling.

Floral painted designs adorn the square posts, and the corbels are shaped with curves that step out and

complement the Ionic-like capitals of the adjacent Interlaken Lounge.

Typical log columns found in other public spaces have no capitals. In the basement, where large diameter

logs support the deep, heavy timber beams of the lobby, the low ceiling height makes these columns appear

to be stout or squat like the heavy early Doric columns of ancient Greek architecture.

Stairways

Open stairways leading to the upper levels rise along the perimeter of the lobbyís open, four-story-high

atrium. More formal stairs built with nominal lumber connect the lower floors, while the highest stairs are

part of the characteristic log work of the structural log post-and-beam system The balusters along the

balcony railing are highly crafted jigsaw- cut boards with rounded cutouts alternating with straight spindles.

In annex 1 (north) the public stairway connecting the floors at the north ends of the corridors is situated just

off an interior open space where the annex meets the north bridge. The stairway exits to the outside at the

lake level. The stairs are made of logs, have handrails, and the newel posts have handcrafted texturing.

The stairway in annex 1 (south) is located mid corridor, without any specially designed or sized social space

attached. This stairway is more utilitarian, serving as access to all floors, and exits to the outside on the

uphill east side.

Elevators

The elevator in annex 1, no longer used, has characteristic doors facing the corridors that have simpler

detailing than the guest room doors.

The elevator shaft of annex 2 was blocked in 1982-84. Some of the shaftway footprint on the upper floors has

been claimed for ice machines or housekeeping support.

Both elevators have a penthouse structure that rises above the roofline.

Wall Finishes

The wainscoting found throughout the hotel consists of rough sawn 1x10 vertical boards with 1x2 wood trim

battens over the joints. A chair rail composed of three trim pieces caps the wainscoting. The effect is a threedimensional pattern covering two thirds of the wainscoted walls. The top third of these walls and the ceiling

is gypsum wallboard, referred to as Sackett wallboard because of the original specification. The Sackett

wallboard is accented with a regular pattern of 1x2-batten strips whose color historically matched the

wainscot. The spacing of the batten strips responds to scale of the space (e.g. dining hall battens are spaced

further apart than the guestroom battens).

Fireplaces and Chimneys

Rustic architecture, often referred to as ìParkitecture,î in National Park Service structures, is classically

displayed in the fireplaces and the exposed stonework used in the chimneys, window arches, and basement

retaining walls. Along with the massiveness of the common open spaces and the towering majesty of the
3 Existing Conditions

41

huge log columns, the stonework contributes impressively to the sense of old world craftsmanship using

naturally occurring building materials.

The giant fire pit, with its copper hood over the raised stone hearth, dominates the lobby and seeks to bring

the outdoors inside with its reference to outdoor fire pits. A secondary but still large fireplace just inside the

east main entrance promises a cozy reception by a warm hearth. Its stone chimney is an attractive part of the

buildingís front faÁade A third fireplace in the basement, just below the second, is capable of heating the

large theater hall. Its stone work combines with the surrounding stone masonry of the lower level retaining

wall.

The dining hall fireplace is majestically located at the center of the north end wall and is the focus of

attention with its chimney stonework rising vertically to the ridge of the gable end. This chimney, like all the

other extant chimney masonry, extends into the exterior walls and through the eave or roof plane.

Lesser fireplaces and chimneys are found in the lounges, the hallway openings, and the luxury guestrooms.

However, many of the smaller fireplaces and their chimneys have been removed over time. A comparison of

the historic photos of the east faÁade with that faÁade today reveals the regrettable decrease of a feature that

was not only functional but an essential part of the designerís palette for using native materials and old

world masonsí craftsmanship.

The arch shape of the fireplaces and the exterior lakeside basement windows is another salient feature. The

arches are shallow in the relationship between the rise and the span, which emphasizes their role of

supporting a long horizontal expanse of masonry that is expressed inside and out along the lakeside wall.

An observation deck with a log rail and balustrade rings the top of the masonsí robust-looking walls below.

The voussoirs and keystones of the arches are large vertically laid stones that project beyond the

surrounding masonry wall plane. They have not been cut, thus emphasizing the stonesí deep texture and

massiveness over the elegant rounded fenestration framed below with fanlight-like mullions. The low profile

public meeting spaces in the Lucerne and St. Moritz Rooms are enhanced by these solid-looking walls with

their rhythmic pattern of masonry piers alternating with large picture-window openings to the lake.
42

3 EXISTING CONDITIONS

Various projects have been completed over its eighty-five-year lifetime to maintain the hotel and to meet the

demands of visitation and the changes in life-safety and other building codes. However, the short seasons of

use coupled with long harsh winters have pushed the limits of the building structurally, aesthetically, and

functionally.

STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS AND EXTERIOR SURFACES

[Sources: Most of the information in this section is summarized from The Many Glacier Hotel Structural

Integrity Assessment. The assessment was undertaken as a discrete component of the Condition Assessment of

the Many Glacier Hotel and was conducted with an emphasis on resolving many of the hotelís urgent

structural needs. The report identifies visually observable deterioration of structure-related materials,

weaknesses in structural members and connections, and settlement and foundation problems. The report

also estimates whether the building has adequate capacity to withstand structural criteria in conformance

with the 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC) and criteria adopted by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Information about the condition of exterior surfaces is summarized from the Condition Assessment.]

Following five years of monitoring, study and investigation by various engineering consultants, the

consensus of opinion is to stabilize the severely deteriorated structural elements threatening to fail. A Phase I

Emergency Stabilization construction contract has initiated the stabilization work of the most severely

threatened section, the annex 1 foundation.

The westerly rotation of the east foundation wall in annex 1 was the most threatening symptom of the failing

structural integrity. The leaning of this basement wall has been reported many times over the past fifty years,

including in the 1984 guide by James McDonald. As a result of the deferred maintenance, the leaning

condition had worsened until everyone became uncomfortably accustomed to it. The name originally given

to this lake level hallway ñ ìStagger Alleyî ñ because of staggering guests leaving the adjacent cocktail

lounge, gained additional meaning as the hallway walls themselves began to ìstagger.î

The 2001 Structural Integrity Assessment summarized comprehensive research completed over time by

various professionals and identified the issues that have combined to cause the condition of this wall. The

list focused on the lateral pressures caused by drifted snow pack on the uphill east side of the hotel and the

saturation of backfilled soils during spring thaw. The assessment document includes two alternatives for

emergency stabilization of the wall and the structural members it supports (see ìAlternatives and Impactsî

in part two of this report for a summary of those alternatives).

Springtime snow conditions at Many Glacier, 1956. Courtesy Glacier

National Park Archives
3 Existing Conditions

43

A second structural concern was the failing balconies. The exterior balconies were noted as early as 1921 to

be in questionable condition.

ìAt Many Glacier Hotel the bracing of balconies is important. . . The present condition is almost dangerous as

a person sitting on the balcony could probably push it out and go over . . . This should be remedied.î

(Excerpt from letter to A.H. Hageland from Louis Hill dated September 18, 1921)

Over time, the exterior balconies have weathered many winters and sustained unusually heavy snow

loading, which has exacerbated the problems with the originally undersized and underdetailed structural

support system. Most of the balconies were built with stout wooden members that could cantilever quite a

distance for a long time under the best of weather conditions. In this northern remote area, the balconiesí

decks, exterior stairs, balustrades, railings, joists, beams, brackets, and decking have gone through several

life cycles and are now physically and functionally exhausted. Several ìfixesî over time have been

undertaken in an attempt to keep the balconies stable for occupancy including the addition of double steel

angles, steel cables and wood posts. Some balconies were entirely removed with exterior doors bolted and

nailed shut.

Final recommendations to stabilize the foundation in annex 1 and to provide structurally sound balconies

were used to package the Emergency Stabilization Construction Package completed over the 2001-2002

construction season.

The condition of the remainder of the hotelís structural systems and exterior surfaces is summarized in table

1.

Table 1. Condition of Structural Systems and Exterior Surfaces, 2001

Unit Feature Condition

Main Building Balconies Balconies are in poor repair; reinforced with steel cables

anchored to framing in attic.

Roof Rafters are undersized for code-determined design snow

loads. Outrigger framing is grossly undersized.

Floor joists Floor joists are undersized and overstressed. Interior

balconies are OK.

Lake level Timber girders rest on grade. Inspection of 30-inch

timber column footings is recommended.

Lateral system 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floor walls lack shear reinforcement.

Exterior

surfaces

Exterior surfaces are severely weathered: wood door and

window frames have deep fissures, exterior doors have

deep cracks and lower area deterioration, all screen

frames are in poor condition, most windows are in poor

condition, and the roof has areas of missing and very

brittle cupped wood shingles. Some areas of the plank

siding have joints with deteriorating foam sealant. The

skylights or the flashing leak from the wind-driven rain.

The terrace is in good condition.

Porte cochere OK

Annex 1 South Balconies Steel columns have been added to the outside faces of the

balconies to support cantilevered timber beams.

Roof Rafters are grossly undersized for code-determined

design snow load.
3 Existing Conditions

44

Table 1. Condition of Structural Systems and Exterior Surfaces, 2001

Unit Feature Condition

Floor joists No problems on 2nd, 3rd, or 4th floors.

1st floor Bearing wall has shifted 24 inches between 1st floor and

basement.

Lake Level East-side stone masonry basement wall has rotated

towards the lake, causing a large amount of displacement

of the lake level and 1st floors.

Lateral system Walls lack shear reinforcement.

Exterior

surfaces

Exterior surfaces are severely weathered, similar to the

main building.

Annex 1 North Balconies Balconies are joined by a tension cable, which is probably

inadequate. Emergency shoring has been installed.

Roof Rafters and roof girders are grossly undersized for codedetermined design snow load.

Floor joists 1st floor joists in corridor are grossly undersized. On other

floors the joists in the light well area are undersized.

Timber girders are undersized by 100 percent (have 50

percent of required capacity).

3rd floor The mortar in the stone masonry chimney on the third

floor is severely deteriorated.

Lake level Floor girder is rotted.

Lateral system Walls lack shear reinforcement.

Exterior

surfaces

Exterior surfaces are severely weathered, similar to the

main building.

Annex 2 Balconies Timber blocking for reinforcing angle supports is

inadequate. 4th floor balconies OK. 3rd floor balcony

supports pulling away from building.

Roof Rafters grossly undersized for code-determined design

snow load.

Floor joists Floor joists are undersized by about 20 percent for

loading of 40 psf.

Lake level Concrete slab in trunk room has failed. A subsidence in

the northeast quadrant of the footing system has caused

the building to begin to sag at about its one-third point

when moving from north to south down any corridor.

Lateral system Walls lack shear reinforcement.

Exterior

surfaces

Exterior surfaces are severely weathered, similar to the

main building.

North Bridge Roof Rafters are grossly undersized for the code-determined

design snow load.

Floor joists Corridor floor joists are slightly overstressed.

Lake level Timber beam has failed; already has new concrete footing

and timber post. A short section of exterior stone masonry

footing lacks backfill. West stairway is in advanced stage

of deterioration.
3 Existing Conditions

45

Table 1. Condition of Structural Systems and Exterior Surfaces, 2001

Unit Feature Condition

Exterior

surfaces

Exterior surfaces are severely weathered, similar to the

main building.

South Bridge Roof Rafters are grossly undersized for code-determined

design snow load. Some rafters are broken. One area of

the roof is collapsing from ice falling from the main

building.

1st floor Settlement is extreme. Structural damage in the crawl

space is causing the floor system and west window wall

to sag. This situation breaks glazing in the large plate

windows each year.

Kitchen/Dining Roof Roof trusses are grossly undersized.

Wing 1st floor OK

Lake Level Mechanical equipment lacks anchor bolts.

Lateral system Walls lack shear reinforcement.

Exterior

surfaces

Exterior surfaces are severely weathered, similar to the

main building.

Kitchen Roof Roof trusses are grossly undersized and lack

reinforcement. The change to mechanical ventilation

affected the kitchenís east elevation, and patching has not

always been successful. Wood shingle roofing is in brittle

and damaged condition on the west side of the building.

The east-facing roof was recently replaced.

1st floor The exterior stair on the lakeside has deteriorated

severely.

Lateral system Walls lack shear reinforcement.

Exterior

surfaces

Exterior surfaces are severely weathered, similar to the

main building. Much of the exterior surface is in poor

condition due to the west-facing elevation, the large glass

areas creating wall movement, and heat damage to the

frames and sills.

Roof Roof rafters do not meet code-determined design snow

load.

Employee

Dining/Support

Wing 1st floor The exterior stair to grade is in poor condition.

Lake Level Drainage is inadequate. Untreated wood sills have rotted.

Lateral system The exterior walls and the wall separating the kitchen and

the employee dining area lack shear reinforcement.

Exterior

surfaces

Exterior surfaces are severely weathered, similar to the

main building.

Employee Pub Roof The rafters are grossly undersized for the codedetermined design snow load and lack reinforcement.

Lake level The roof gutter system no longer protects the stone

masonry wall. Lower storage area is in poor condition

with multiple code violations.
3 Existing Conditions

46

LIFE-SAFETY SYSTEMS

[Source: The following information is from the Condition Assessment.]

The Condition Assessment found two deficiencies definable as ìimminent hazardî or ìhaving a condition that

could cause serious or life-threatening injury or death at any time.î These deficiencies are the poor structural

condition of some exterior balconies and the height of all exterior balcony guardrails (about 28 inches). It is

the opinion of the condition assessment group that the building does not qualify for ìUnsafe Buildingî

status per section 206 of the UCBC (and sections 102 and 302 of the Uniform Building Code.)

 Special fire protection issues exist in annex 2 and the north bridge. Unlike annex 1, annex 2 requires use of

the balconies for fire exits from the building. The failing status of the balconies makes this a critical issue. The

poor condition of the remaining balcony stair units still needs to be addressed. The second-floor rooms in the

north bridge are on a dead-end corridor. During an emergency this will exasperate the required egress route

called for in the current life-safety codes.

MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

[Source: The following information is from the Condition Assessment.]

The water and wastewater distribution systems do not meet current standards. The wastewater piping has a

varied installation history, some of it is eightyófive years old, while some is only a few years old. The

concern is that the piping under the hotel is generally beyond its life expectancy, especially since the ground

is prone to saturation from periodic flooding and weeping of water under the floor system of annex 1. The

pipes are currently rusting and suffering from pinhole leaks. The required winterizing procedure of yearly

drain and fill has exacerbated the corrosive rusting of the pipe interiors.

With the abandonment of the steam heating system in the winter of 2000-20001, the pipe for that system

remains as hazardous material threatening occupantsí health.

Air conditioning units were recently added in the interstitial space between the drop ceiling and the attic

over the kitchen and dining area. (Most of the small windows in the dining area are malfunctioning due to

settling of walls or other problems with old window hardware and fit.)

Additional changes are needed to meet code in the kitchen. They are described in the project sheets in the

appendix to the Condition Assessment.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

[Source: The following information is from the Condition Assessment.]

All secondary electrical panels and power distribution systems need to be upgraded. About 80 percent of the

wiring is either knob-and-tube or early paper-wrapped romex. The design for a power system upgrade

needs to continue from the new primary main distribution panel locations to the secondary panels.

Illumination levels are inadequate. Fixture selection has not always been compatible with the historic period.

Electrical service is inadequate in the employee dining/support wing. Additional information on the code

deficiencies in the kitchen are described in the project sheets in the appendix to the Condition Assessment.
3 Existing Conditions

47

INTERIOR SPACES AND FINISHES

[Source: The following information is from the Condition Assessment.]

Main Building

The interior of the lobby is constantly upgraded to make it visually appealing and comfortable to guests. It is

in good condition, but the overall design vocabulary needs to be studied. The guestrooms surrounding the

lobby have a mix of design styles.

Annex 1

The interior condition ranges from very poor to good. The lake level has serious moisture problems from the

weeping foundation wall in the crawl space area.

Completion of the Phase I Emergency Stabilization Project during the 2001-2202 construction season will

eliminate any water seepage into the lake level crawl space. Also, because completion of the stabilization

work required removal of all wall and ceiling treatments in guestrooms lining this corridor, several lost

historical finish treatments were restored (e.g. wood wainscoting with wood chair rail and battens above,

vertical panel doors to private baths that had been flush panel).

North Bridge

Interiors vary from poor in the basement employee quarters/laundry processing area, to good on the Swiss

Lounge level, to fair in the second-floor guestroom area.

Kitchen/Dining Wing

Other than the housekeeping offices, the remainder of the lower floor has seen major wear and tear due to

high use. Although some upgrades to the exhaust system in the kitchen have occurred recently, the overall

kitchen needs to be evaluated with present day standards.

Employee Dining/Support Wing

All spaces show signs of deterioration. This wing has high use impact and needs continuous interior

maintenance. The food serving, dry storage/office, and restroom spaces are currently inadequate to meet the

needs of the number of people using the spaces.

South Bridge

The carpet is worn and will have to be lifted for anticipated repairs to sloping floors. The wall and ceiling

treatments are not consistent with a uniform design that has been contemplated for the interior finishes.

Work under the Many Glacier Phase I Emergency Stabilization Project included stabilization of floors beams

and supports, replacement of failing roof rafters at north end of bridge, and replacement of excessively

deteriorated window sills and jambs.
3 Existing Conditions

48

Annex 2

Most interior areas are in good to fair condition. The hall carpeting is beginning to fail in places. Room

carpeting varies in condition. The masonite-like bathroom wainscot surfaces show a lot of wear and

scratches.

The scope of work under the Phase I Emergency Stabilization Project completed 2001-2002 construction

season included reconstruction of egress stairway and associated balconies at south end of annex.
Courtesy Glacier National Park Archives

PART TWO:

TREATMENT

AND USE

51

4 ULTIMATE

TREATMENT AND USE

The ultimate treatment and use for the Many Glacier Hotel is to preserve the historic structure, its context in

the Swiftcurrent Valley, and its traditional uses. The Many Glacier Hotel provides the opportunity for todayís

visitors to continue to experience the Many Glacier /Swiftcurrent area like the first overnight guests. The

existing landscape provides essentially the same scenery as was viewed from the hotel lobby in 1915.

BROAD DIRECTION FOR TREATMENT AND USE

The General Management Plan for Glacier National Park specifies that

ìNationally significant historic resources [in the Many Glacier area] would be preserved and managed

to maintain the grand hotel and family lodge traditions.î (NPS 2000a)

Acknowledging that ìfunding the preservation work at the hotel is at the heart of the matter,î the National

Park Service considered several alternatives to the traditional use of the Many Glacier Hotel as a summeronly concessioner-operated grand hotel. The following alternatives were considered but rejected at the general

management planning stage:

• Use of the structures for purposes other than lodging

• Extending the operating season beyond May-October

• Purchase and operation by a nonprofit organization

• Private funding that would demand additional development that is beyond the needs necessary to

serve visitor needs

Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society
4 Ultimate Treatment and Use

52

STANDARDS FOR TREATMENT

Decisions regarding the treatment of historic properties are governed by a number of federal laws, executive

orders, and regulations, notably Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires the

identification, evaluation, and consideration of cultural resources as part of the decision making for all

federal projects, and the Secretary of the Interiorís ìStandards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.î The

Secretaryís Standards were promulgated with the intention of maximum retention of a cultural resourceís

existing form, features, and detailing. Over the years these Standards have been made more elaborate so that

they apply to most types of resources, not only buildings. They now also cover in detail any of the primary

treatment types available to a resourceís owner, which are preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, or

reconstruction. These distinctive, but closely related, treatments are defined as follows:

• Preservation focuses on the maintenance and repair of existing historic materials and the retention of a

propertyís form as it has evolved over time.

• Rehabilitation acknowledges the need to alter or add to a historic property to meet continuing or

changing uses, while retaining the propertyís historic character.

• Restoration is undertaken to depict a property at a particular period of time in its history, while

removing evidence of other periods.

• Reconstruction recreates vanished or non-surviving portions of a property for interpretive purposes.

The Secretaryís Standards have been fine tuned to ensure that under any of these four approaches, the

protection, maintenance, and repair of existing historic fabric is emphasized, while replacement of extant

components is minimized and when absolutely necessary follows the prescription of replacement-in -kind.

National Park Service Directorís Order DO-28 expands on the Secretaryís Standards with guidelines and

methodologies that have proven effective and compliant with the National Historic Preservation Act. These

guidelines and methodologies include some ìdoís and doníts,î and some ìrecommended versus not

recommended applications.î

The design/preservation professionals working for the National Park Service (whether as employees or

under contract) must be knowledgeable of and utilize all of these guidelines, standards, and laws, along with

the applicable building codes, when analyzing and implementing alternative treatments. When park

managers approve a certain treatment for a cultural resource, they are in effect certifying its compliance with

resource protection guidelines, standards, and laws as spelled out in a programmatic memorandum of

agreement between the National Park Service and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
4 Ultimate Treatment and Use

53

SPECIFIC TREATMENT STRATEGIES

The Many Glacier Hotelís diverse needs for treatment will require layers of treatment strategies to carry out

the direction of the General Management Plan.

The recommendations for treatment presented in the next chapters (ìRequirements for Treatment,î and

ìAlternatives and Impactsî) represent the outcome of the careful consideration and weighing of the needs of

the historic fabric of the landmark hotel and the needs of its usersóvisitors, employees, and those who are

charged with the perpetual care and management of this resource for all stakeholders. The proposed work

will involve the use of three of the preservation approaches described under the Secretaryís Standards: The

use of preservation techniques will be primary; however, resolving the buildingís many life-safety and

accessibility issues and meeting mechanical and electrical system codes will require rehabilitation; also some

limited restoration of salient features will be recommended. For the operational phase following the

preservation/ rehabilitation/ restoration work, the programs for facility management, preventive

maintenance, daily housekeeping, and the annual cycle of closing for winter and reopening in spring will

adhere to the standards for preservation, using post-construction guides and manuals

As the work proceeds and more historic fabric is uncovered, decisions about specific approaches and

treatments will continue on a case-by-case basis. The implementation teamís guidance will continue to come

from the criteria that helped the buildingís managers and the authors of this initial study evaluate the hotelís

historic significance, physical condition, proposed use, and intended interpretation.

The restoration standards require procedures for decision-making and compliance with section 106 of the

National Historic Preservation Act beyond the scope of this initial study. A more complete Historic Structures

Report documenting additional research and investigation will be required before undertaking work to

reintroduce period appearances. The relevant HSR additions could be produced incrementally as the work

unfolds so that each essential feature is permitted to be restored authentically.

Although reconstruction techniques are not applicable at this time, since the hotel has survived with enough

of its original and significant form to allow for its treatment using less intervention, it could someday

conceivably become imperative because of the catastrophic loss of an entire wing of the hotel due to severe

winter storm damage or fire. Reconstruction standards are the most rigorous and would not be

contemplated if a lesser intervention, such as restoration, would suffice. In the rare case when it might be

desirable to reconstruct a major element, the action would require approval from the director of the National

Park Service following exhaustive documentation and a full NHPA Section 106 compliance review.

.
54

5 REQUIREMENTS FOR

TREATMENT

The preservation and use of the Many Glacier Hotel in its grand hotel tradition will involve treatments that

fall within four categories of consideration: (1) those treatments that would be required to stabilize the

National Historic Landmark structure and to preserve or restore its character-defining features, (2) those

treatments needed to comply with applicable building codes, (3) those treatments that may be desirable to

make the structure more functional and attractive to the majority of park visitors, and (4) those treatments

needed to increase operational efficiency and to meet standards of employee welfare and support.

Treatments in each of these categories are discussed separately, below. However, the packaging of

treatments as funding becomes available may include a mixture of elements from each category, such as

elements needed to stabilize the structure along with elements needed to update electrical and mechanical

systems to conform with current building codes.

Generally preservation/rehabilitation efforts will be packaged to correct as many deficiencies as

possible, including

• Deteriorating structural components, such as foundations, exterior balconies, walls, and floors

• Life-safety code deficiencies (e.g., inadequate fire suppression systems, excessive travel distances or

dead ends blocking emergency egress, lack of fire doors)

• Electrical systems that do not meet current codes or that cannot respond to the demand placed upon

them (e.g., knob-and-tube wiring)

• Inadequate and inefficient heating systems

• Asbestos hazards and pest infestations and related health concerns, (e.g., hantavirus, bats)

• Inadequate utility systems (e.g., inadequate wastewater treatment)

• Poor pedestrian circulation and service vehicle conflicts

• Limited access for visitors with disabilities

• No operable elevators for accessibility or service functions

Many of these items are potential threats to health, life and safety, and universal access and were addressed

in the 2001 Condition Assessment.

TREATMENTS REQUIRED FOR BUILDING STABILIZATION

 Numerous problems found by past investigations are associated with deterioration of structure-related

materials, weaknesses in structural members and connections, and settlement and foundation problems.

Further investigation of structural conditions is recommended and should be appended to this document as

the findings and treatment plans advance.

Courtesy Glacier National Park Archives
5 Requirements for Treatment

55

Table 2 lists the recommended treatments included in the Structural Integrity Assessment, along with

additional interventions identified by the HSR team to arrest serious deterioration or to keep latent defects

from further damaging the integrity of the hotel. In order of magnitude the treatments range from the

emergency stabilization work required immediately to reduce lateral pressures on the masonry foundation,

to maintenance factors of a more mundane nature.

Table 2. Recommended Stabilization Treatments

Unit Feature Recommended Treatment

Main Building Balconies Completely reconstruct balconies.

Lake level Inspect 30-inch timber columns; replace if necessary.

Replace rotted girders (currently resting on grade) on

concrete footings.

Annex 1 South Balconies Completely reconstruct the balconies.

Roof Install new 2x12 rafters.

1st floor Install new timber beams, columns, and footings in the

basement under the 1st floor corridor east wall.

Lake Level Immediately conduct emergency stabilization.

Annex 1 North Balconies Completely reconstruct balconies.

3rd floor Repoint the mortar in the stone masonry chimney.

Lake level Replace rotted floor girder.

Annex 2 Balconies Shore up balconies to their original position and provide

adequate blocking.

Lake level Remove and replace concrete slab in trunk room. Replace

one footing and timber column.

North Bridge Lake level Replace failed timber beam. (Concrete footing and timber

post have already been replaced). Add concrete backfill to

a short section of exterior stone masonry footing.

Replace the west stairway.

South Bridge Roof Completely reconstruct the roof.

1st floor Install new concrete footings and timber posts.

Repair damage to floor systems caused by settlement

problems.

Kitchen/Dining Roof Reinforce roof trusses.

Wing Lake Level Install anchor bolts on mechanical equipment..

Kitchen Roof Reinforce roof trusses.

1st floor Remove and rebuild the exterior stair on the lakeside.

Install new concrete footings at the bases of the stub posts

in the crawlspace.

Employee

Dining/Support

Wing

Roof Double the existing rafters.
5 Requirements for Treatment

56

Table 2. Recommended Stabilization Treatments

Unit Feature Recommended Treatment

1st floor Rebuild or replace the exterior stair to grade.

Employee Pub Roof Reinforce the rafters.

Lake level Repair or replace the roof gutter system to protect

masonry.

TREATMENTS REQUIRED FOR RESTORATION OF CHARACTERDEFINING FEATURES

Restoring those features that define the character of the Many Glacier Hotel as a National Historic Landmark

would require the treatments listed in table 3. Decisions to undertake these treatments will require

additional substantive study and consultations with stakeholders.

The benefits of restoring the lobby interior would be considerable. The lobby is the entry space, important

architecturally and because it provides visitorsí first impressions of the hotel. It is a transitional space,

introducing visitors to the hotelís traditional historic uses, as well as the way the building functions today. It

is a necessary and important space for visitor orientation to the natural setting that surrounds the hotel and

for social interaction, travel planning, and relaxation. The lower level spaces are less significant than the

main floor lobby; however, the interconnection that existed between the floors when the original spiral

staircase was in place provided an important link, and the restoration of that feature would upgrade the

lower levelís significance in the overall hotel.

Additional studies would be required to support restoration work. In addition to studies required for

restoring specific elements, a general furnishings study should be completed with a priority on electrical and

plumbing fixtures, and a fabric analysis of all finish treatments should be completed with a priority on wall

wainscoting and battens.

Table 3. Recommended Restoration Treatments

Unit Feature Recommended Treatment

Main Building Exterior

balconies

Remove extraneous structural additions (steel cables, steel

angles, 2x framing support additions) during or after

stabilizing and rebuilding the extant balconies.

Porte cochere Explore alternatives to link the porte cochere architecture

with that of the main structure.

Lobby Relocate the enclosed gift shop.

Restore the circular stair from the lobby to the lower level.

Explore alternative locations for the registration area to

regain the historical character of the bank of windows

that are now behind it.

Repaint interior upper walls and ceilings to restore the

rustic color scheme.
5 Requirements for Treatment

57

Table 3. Recommended Restoration Treatments

Unit Feature Recommended Treatment

Lower level Restore the fountain at the base of the stair leading from

the lobby to the lower level.

Restore an appropriate layout based on a reevaluation of

the original spatial relationships between the snack

bar/gift shop, kitchen, and St. Moritz Room.

Restore the hardwood dance floor in the St. Moritz Room.

Kitchen/Dining

Wing

Repaint interior upper walls and ceilings in dining room

to restore the rustic color scheme.

Annex 1 Exterior

balconies

Replace missing east-side balconies.

Remove extraneous structural additions during or after

stabilizing and rebuilding the extant balconies

Interior

hallways

Repaint interior upper walls and ceilings to restore the

rustic color scheme.

Repaint/stain the five-foot wainscot.

Annex 2 Exterior

balconies

Remove extraneous structural additions during or after

stabilizing and rebuilding the extant balconies

Interior

hallways

Repaint interior upper walls and ceilings to restore the

rustic color scheme.

Repaint/stain the five-foot wainscot.

All units Lighting,

plumbing,

finishes,

furnishings

After careful research and development of a universal

theme for lighting and plumbing, surfacing materials,

finishes, and furnishings, replace these interior elements.

Doors Replace randomly placed flush panel doors with

historically compatible doors

TREATMENTS REQUIRED TO MEET BUILDING CODES AND

FEDERAL REGULATIONS

The treatments required to meet building codes and federal regulations have been organized into the

following systems: weather protection, structural framing, electrical/ mechanical/ plumbing, accessibility,

and hazardous materials and other health and safety risks.

Weather Protection Systems ñ Building Envelope

Exterior Walls and Fenestration

All exterior surfaces exhibit severe weathering that will need periodic or cyclical maintenance to extend the

serviceable life of building materials such as wooden doors, window frames, screen frames, plank siding,

and skylights. Regularly scheduled applications of preservation maintenance treatments will not only

sustain the useful life of the materials, saving cultural resources, but will also be more economical than a
5 Requirements for Treatment

58

major removal and replacement project. Weatherstripping, re-insulating, caulking, reglazing, scraping and

painting, sealing and flashing, and oiling and tightening hardware are all necessary routines that are

permitted under a routine Programmatic Memorandum of Agreement with the State Historic Preservation

Officer and can be covered by various funding sources. West-facing elevations are the most severely

weathered. The kitchenís large glassed areas experience wall movement, and the frames sustain high

temperature damage. Use of epoxy repair systems by experienced technicians may add some time before

replacement-in-kind is mandatory.

Roof

The recommended treatments for roofing and structural supports are listed in table 4. The south bridge is in

need of immediate emergency reroofing. In all areas, the grossly undersized rafters need to be reinforced.

Gutter and eaves troughing needs to be replaced following the historic profiles as much as possible.

Repair and replacement of roofing shingles requires a study of alternatives to identify a replacement-in-kind

material without asbestos. Extensive research has been completed and continues in an attempt to bring back

the texture and pattern of the original honeycomb pattern asbestos cement shingles that were installed

originally. Consultation continues between the designers, Glacier National Parkís Cultural Resource

Specialist and Historical Architect, as well as the State Historic Preservation Officer.

Table 4. Recommended Treatments for Roofing and Structural Supports

Unit Feature Recommended Treatment

Main building Roof Reinforce rafters and outriggers to meet code-determined

snow loads whenever reroofing is scheduled.

Annex 1 South Roof Install new 2x12 rafters to meet code-determined snow

load.

Annex 1 North Roof Reinforce rafters and girders to meet code-determined

snow loads.

Annex 2 Roof Reinforce rafters to meet code-determined snow loads.

North Bridge Roof Reinforce rafters to meet code-determined snow loads.

South Bridge Roof Reroof and reinforce undersized and broken rafters.

Kitchen/Dining

Wing

Roof Reinforce roof trusses.

Employee Dining Roof Double existing rafters to meet code-determined snow

load.

Employee Pub Roof Reinforce rafters to meet code-determined snow load.
5 Requirements for Treatment

59

Structural Framing Systems

The ìsomewhat undersized floor joistsî may be kept in place and strengthened by sistering up with

reinforcement lumber.

The annex 1 floor system has been damaged by lake level moisture problems and will require replacement

after the water intrusion problems are solved.

The south bridge floor will have to be replaced after the sloping problems are resolved.

Lateral Resistance Reinforcement Systems

The recommended treatments for lateral resistance reinforcement are listed in table 5. New plywood

sheathing needs to be installed beneath the existing siding in several exterior walls. In the dining room, a

steel moment frame needs to be installed inside the existing wall to provide the required lateral resistance

while still maintaining all the glazing. Several interior walls will need to be resheathed with plywood. On

the first floor of the main building, where there are few interior walls, steel-braced frames need to be

installed inside the walls around the lobby.

Table 5. Recommended Treatments for Lateral Resistance Reinforcement

Unit Feature Recommended Treatment

Main building Lateral system Install interior and exterior plywood sheathing on both

sides of the walls on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors. Install steelbraced frames inside the walls around the 1st floor lobby.

Annex 1 South Lateral system Install plywood sheathing underneath existing lap siding

on the exterior walls. Resheath the interior walls with

plywood on both sides. Install new concrete shear walls in

the basement level.

Annex 1 North Lateral system Sheath the interior and exterior walls with new plywood.

Annex 2 Lateral system Install new plywood sheathing beneath the existing siding.

Resheath all interior walls with plywood.

Kitchen/Dining

Wing

Lateral system Install a steel moment frame inside the existing dining

room wall to provide the required lateral resistance. Study

the feasibility of maintaining all the existing glazing versus

replacement. Sheath the other wall in plywood underneath

the existing sheathing.

Install new plywood sheathing beneath the existing

exterior lap siding in the kitchen.

Employee Dining Lateral system Sheathe the exterior walls and the wall separating the

kitchen and the employee dining area with new plywood

beneath the existing sheathing.
5 Requirements for Treatment

60

Electrical Systems

The fire protection and electrical systems in the main building need to be rehabilitated to meet applicable

codes. Some of this work has recently been completed. All secondary electrical panels and distribution

systems need to be replaced, and UL approved fixtures need to be installed and rewired. The service areas,

such as the office, front desk, kitchen, and employee dining/support wing must be upgraded to meet

demand and applicable codes.

Mechanical/Plumbing Systems

A life cycle cost evaluation indicates that the piping should be replaced as part of system improvements to

meet current codes. Such work can only be done as part of a general rehabilitation project due to the extent

of wall/ceiling/floor damage it would create. The goal of all infrastructure work should be to conceal

nonhistoric runs and devices as much as possible in walls and above ceilings, with minimal demolition

Heating is mandatory even in summer months. The use of energy efficient fuel and distribution systems

must be continually reviewed and updated to hold down operating expenses and to assure a stable

temperature and humidity level for interior finish preservation. Ventilation concerns, especially in the annex

1, must be addressed as well.

The timing of mechanical/plumbing system improvements should coincide with the other work affecting

interior finishes.

Accessibility Requirements

The entire structure needs to be comprehensively reviewed for compliance with the requirements for

universal access (specifically, the technical requirements included in the Uniform Federal Accessibility

Standards and the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines).

Hazardous Materials And Other Health And Safety Risks

The hazard posed by the structural condition of the exterior balconies will be addressed by the

recommended stabilization treatments. The design solution needed for the guardrail can be informed by the

following points: A 36-inch balcony guardrail height is allowed under exceptions in section 405.2 of the

UCBC. Section 608.2 of the UCBC allows existing width and rhythm of vertical elements of the guardrail to

remain. If the balcony is replaced, it is assumed that the new design will be required to comply with rhythm

and spacing requirements. (During Phase I of the Emergency Stabilization project completed during the 2001-2002

construction season, design resolutions were made between the State Historic Preservation Officer, the Authority

Having Jurisdiction, and Glacier National Park regarding the acceptable heights of guardrails, rise and run of egress

stairs, and stairway handrails.)

Removal of asbestos pipe cladding from the old steam system will require technically certified

subcontractors and monitoring systems. (During the 2001-2002 Emergency Stabilization Project, asbestos pipe

cladding was removed from the drawl space in annex 1 during the course of developing shear walls to link into the new

foundation wall. In addition, the concessioner completed contract work that removed the steam heating system and

public exposed pipe.)

Hantavirus, bird, and bat infestations are annual risks when opening the hotel from a winter shutdown.

Safety and health protocols need to be described for all new employees and contractors.
5 Requirements for Treatment

61

Lead paint removal from interior and exterior walls, woodwork, windows, and doors will require special

testing and personal protective equipment to meet OSHA regulations and the Clean Air Act.

Special restrictions will be required to protect the lakeshore from inadvertent spills of construction debris or

building materials that could pollute the waters. All of the work and deliveries will be done in a designated

wilderness area, and the special precautions and restrictions on power equipment applicable to all

wilderness areas must be enforced.

VISITOR AMENITY ISSUES

Continued use of the Many Glacier Hotel as a luxury accommodation (in the grand hotel tradition) raises a

number of issues. The publicís ever-increasing expectations for improved levels of service in other historic

hotels and nationwide chains will pressure the operation at the Many Glacier to compete by meeting the new

standards of bathroom amenities, room size, security, and furnishings befitting the place and the

demographics of the customer.

The following treatments would be desirable if not required to provide the levels of service expected by the

majority of contemporary visitors:

• Provide standard-sized private bathrooms, including toilets, sinks, and showers, for guestrooms. At

least 5 percent should be fully accessible to meet the requirements of UFAS and ADAAG.

•

• Provide soundproofing with improved wall insulation between guestrooms. (ìStagger Alleyî

guestrooms were sound and thermally insulated during the course of work completed 2001-2002).

•

• Install thermostatic and humidistatic controls, insulation, and weatherstripping to realize stable

interior temperatures and eliminate drafts. Installation of these energy retrofits should be concurrent

with the removal and replacement of outer cladding and roof sheathing, and with treatments in the

crawlspace.

•

• Rodent-proof the entire structure as much as reasonably possible and provide educational material

about the varied species of wildlife in the northern Rockies and the possible hazards associated with

wildlife encounters, both indoors and around the grounds.

•

• Redesign the front desk area to celebrate the history of the Great Northern Railway and its

monumental effort to erect this and the other hotels. Avoid the visual intrusion of the back office

administrative area into the lobby.

•

• Install an elevator in annex 1 and redesign the nonconforming stairwell to meet egress requirements

with consideration for the historic fabric.

•

• Hide exposed piping runs in hallways and guestrooms with consideration for minimizing demolition.

OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND EMPLOYEE WELFARE AND

SUPPORT ISSUES

The following treatments would be required to meet generally accepted standards for operational efficiency

and employee support. The staff areas and maintenance spaces have received extensive wear-and-tear

deterioration. The choice for replacement finishes should be as durable as possible yet environmentally
5 Requirements for Treatment

62

friendly. Sustainable practices should guide the decisions for the materials as well as the housekeeping and

upkeep processes.

• Wire the hotel for better technology and security systems (could be accomplished concurrently with

rewiring to meet life-safety and electrical codes).

• Redesign and rebuild the support rooms in the basement of the main building.

• Rehabilitate the staff rooms on the fourth floor of the main building.

• Rehabilitate the food serving, dry storage/office, and restroom spaces in the dining/kitchen wing to

meet the needs of the number of people using the rooms.
63

6 ALTERNATIVES AND

IMPACTS

Because of the number and complexity of the issues involved, the alternative treatments of the Many Glacier

Hotel will be analyzed in detail in separate environmental planning documents (either environmental

assessments or environmental impact statements). The information provided below is intended to inform

those analyses by identifying the potential impacts of alternatives known to be under consideration and by

recommending mitigating measures needed to protect the integrity of the buildingís character-defining

features.

As additional interventions are considered in the future, all reasonable alternatives will need to be analyzed

for the purpose of avoiding adverse effects on the buildingís character-defining features, or if no alternative

exists, then to determine mitigating measures that will protect those qualities that make the hotel eligible for

its designation as a National Historic Landmark.

ALTERNATIVES RELATED TO BUILDING STABILIZATION AND

PRESERVATION/RESTORATION OF CHARACTER-DEFINING

FEATURES

Emergency Stabilization Of The East Foundation Wall, Annex 1 (South)

Two options were evaluated for emergency stabilization of the east foundation wall of annex 1 (south). The

options were first identified in the Structural Integrity Assessment and were the basis for discussion in a value

analysis session conducted in the fall of 2000. The results of that analysis can be found in the report, Value

Analysis Study, Emergency Structural Stabilization of the Many Glacier Hotel (NPS 2000b).

Cost estimates reinforced the HSR teamís recommended strategy for the project (Alternative B), and it was

the selected as the preferred stabilization method. Alternative B would involve repair of the stone rubble

foundation wall and the walls above it, as well as emergency stabilization measures to ensure that the wall

can withstand lateral pressures exerted on it in the future. It calls for pushing the wall into structurally

adequate bearing position, reinforcing the historic rubble foundation with a reinforced concrete retaining

wall on the east side and new concrete shear walls on the west side, and installing a complete drainage

system discharging into the lake. Straightening the walls on the east side would require the removal and

restoration of historic balconies.

Table 6 summarizes the work elements in the recommended alternative, their impacts, and recommended

mitigation.
5 Requirements for Treatment

64

Table 6. Alternatives for Structural Stabilization of Annex 1

Recommended Alternatives Potential Impacts Recommended Mitigation

Place a new reinforced

concrete retaining wall

adjacent to the east side of the

historic stone rubble

foundation wall. Add new

reinforced concrete shear

walls to the west side of the

historic rubble foundation

wall.

(This work was completed 2001-

2002 construction season)

The stone rubble foundation wall

is a character-defining feature.

The reinforcements would have

high potential to change the

historic appearance of the wall;

however, no portion of this wall

section was historically visible

above grade on the east side of the

hotel. This option would provide

long-term protection for the wall

and the structure above it (a

significant beneficial effect).

No need for mitigation (veneer

face), since the wall is not visible

above grade.

(2001-2002 project proved this to be

true)

Construct new concrete shear

walls along the existing cross

walls in the lower level

crawlspace and utility room.

This work was completed 2001-

2002 construction season

Reinforcing shear walls

encapsulating the existing walls

would be visible and change the

historic appearance of the existing

walls. This option would provide

long-term protection for the

structure above it (a significant

beneficial effect).

Shear walls would be visible only

from crawlspaces and utility

areas not generally visible to the

public.

2001-2002 project proved this to be

true

Push west wall into a more

upright (structurally

adequate) bearing position.

This work was completed 2001-

2002 construction season.

The hallwaysí wood wainscoting,

batten detailing on the high walls

and ceilings, finishes, patterns of

fenestration, and doors are

character-defining features.

Moving and straightening the east

wall would have high potential

for damaging the historic fabric of

these features (a significant and

permanent adverse effect),

especially if the wall was

straightened plumb.

Historic fabric should be

salvaged, labeled, and reinstalled

in the original locations. The

historic finishes should be

matched wherever historic fabric

must be replaced to complete

construction. To mitigate

excessive damage to historic

fabric on upper levels, the

straightening of the list should be

only to the degree that brings the

structure into compliance with

applicable building codes for

structural soundness. Full

plumbness would not be

necessary or desirable.

2001-2002 project proved this to be

true, in fact damage to fabric in

upper levels was far less than

anticipated.
65

Reconstruction of the South Bridge

Table 7. Alternatives for Reconstruction of the South Bridge

Alternatives Under

Consideration Potential Impacts Recommended Mitigation

Reconstruct the south bridge.

Establish the plate glass

windowís historicity and

consider its replacement with

the original window

configuration.

The interior floor plan and exterior

elevations, including the fenestration

pattern, window trim, cupola, and

siding dimension are characterdefining features. Reconstruction

would have a high potential for

damaging or losing historic fabric (a

significant and permanent adverse

effect). Return to the original window

configuration would have a

significant beneficial effect.

The exterior siding, window

trim, cupola structure, and

flower boxes should be

dismantled, and the historic

material should be salvaged

and stored for reinstallation

over the new structure.

Reconstruction of Exterior Balconies

Table 8. Alternatives for Reconstruction of the Exterior Balconies

Alternatives Under

Consideration Potential Impacts Recommended Mitigation

Remove existing balconies

from the east side of annex 1;

install new balcony system

once wall has been stabilized.

Replace the west balconies on

the main lobby building and

the south end fire escape

balconies on annex 2

Balconies from annex 1 have been

removed and steel structure for

replacement balconies installed.

Annex 2 balconies have been

removed, new steel structure

installed, wood cladding of steel

installed, and treads, balustrades,

rails, and decking reinstalled as

detailed and approved by NPS

cultural resource specialists, and

Exterior bracketed wooden balconies

and galleried porches with jigsaw cut

balusters have been identified as

character-defining features. However,

the balconies are not completely

historic in their present form because

many incompatible structural

elements have been added over the

years and because the current

materials date mostly from the 1980s.

Nevertheless, their removal and

replacement would have high

potential for further damage or loss of

the remaining historic fabric (a

significant and permanent adverse

effect). In contrast, there would also

be high potential for the removal of

the incompatible steel structural

All of the authenticated historic

fabric should be salvaged and

reinstalled in original

configurations and locations.

The historical profiles of the

brackets, railings, and supports;

the historical size of the decks;

and other historical

components of the balconies

should be matched if historic

fabric is beyond repair and new

materials are necessary to

complete construction and

provide structural integrity.

The state historic preservation

officer and the local authority

having jurisdiction have agreed
5 Requirements for Treatment

66

Table 8. Alternatives for Reconstruction of the Exterior Balconies

Alternatives Under

Consideration Potential Impacts Recommended Mitigation

the state historic preservation

officer.

supports added over the years to

reinforce the balconies (a significant

beneficial effect).

upon handrail details that would

improve the safety of the facility

without extensively compromising

the features of the balconies and

stairways.

ALTERNATIVES RELATED TO MEETING BUILDING CODES AND

OTHER LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

Work elements specific to poor roofing, dead-end corridors, fire protection, air infiltration, utility system

upgrades, and accessibility were discussed during the value analysis session in response to recent studies

which raised concern over the problems these items present. However, the team determined such issues to

be outside the range of the first ìstabilizationî phase. These items will become a high priority in the next

funding package proposed for fall of 2002, and alternatives will be developed at that time. This Historic

Structures Report will be appended at that time.

ALTERNATIVES RELATED TO VISITOR AMENITIES

The issue of whether the interiors of the guest rooms within the hotel should be restored to their historic

appearance with its more spartan ambiance or updated to meet current standards for space and amenities

will be addressed in the Commercial Services Plan and accompanying environmental impact statement. Two

alternatives are currently under consideration (1) update/upgrade the guestrooms and (2) restore the

guestrooms to their historic appearance. They are summarized in table 9.

Table 9. Alternatives Related to Visitor Amenities

Alternatives under Consideration Potential Impacts Recommended Mitigation

Alternative 1. Update and Upgrade

Guest Rooms

Reconfigure rooms to meet

contemporary square footage

standards for bedrooms with adjacent

private bathrooms

Fewer larger rooms would

result in a loss of revenue

unless a higher rate was

permitted. Fewer rooms

could disappoint visitors,

who currently book well in

advance to ensure

availability.

The visitor service impacts of a

reduction in rooms could be

mitigated by providing

additional rooms elsewhere in

this visitor use area or in other

visitor use areas in the park.
67

Table 9. Alternatives Related to Visitor Amenities

Alternatives under Consideration Potential Impacts Recommended Mitigation

Alternative 2. Restore Guest Rooms to

a Historic Appearance

Return to the historic layout of the

original hotel

Private bathrooms would be

lost, and shared bathrooms

reinstatedóan approach the

tourism industry deems

undesirable in hotel

operations.

 Guests would have to be

prepared for an experience that

will never change with time,

thus making it unique to the

hospitality industry and worthy

of some sacrifice.

Care would have to be taken to

not halfñrestore the hotel,

thereby inadvertently creating a

false appearance that never

existed historically.

Restore certain architectural elements

of the historic period, including

furnishings, while maintaining many

of the changes that have occurred in

recent years. Replace existing fixtures

with compatibly designed fittings that

complement the extant historic

features and details without needing to

replicate an earlier appearance.

An association with those

styles of the historic era could

lend an ambiance without

requiring a total restoration

to a specific time in the past.

Some historic materials might

be lost if it was determined to

return to original unpainted

wood wainscoting.

Guests would be informed of

the nonhistoric as well as the

original remnants that

comprised the upgraded rooms,

so that they would not be

misled about authenticity.

ALTERNATIVES RELATED TO OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND

EMPLOYEE SUPPORT

Table 10. Alternatives Related to Operational Efficiency and Employee Support

Alternatives Under Consideration Potential Impacts Recommended Mitigation

Rehabilitate the current boiler room

(after steam heating system is

replaced with electric heaters) and

move the plumbing functions into

that space.

Loss of historic plumbing

fixtures

Maintain representative

sampling of historic heating

devices in guest rooms,

common spaces, work areas

and mechanical room (e.g.

boiler facades)

69

GLOSSARY

Balcony. A platform projecting from the wall of a

building and surrounded by a railing

Baluster. An upright member which supports a

handrail

Balustrade . A railing consisting of a series of

balusters resting on a base, usually stair treads or

floor, which supports a continuous stair or

handrail

Batten. A strip of wood or metal placed across a

surface to cover joints between two adjoining

boards or panels. In the Many Glacier Hotel wood

battens are used as trim for covering the joints of

the Sackett wall or ceiling boards.

Board and batten. A system of boards or panels and

their connecting batten strips

Capital. The top of a column. In classical

architecture the capital was made of three

components: the neck where it meets the shaft, the

echinus or spreading member above it, and finally

the abacus or block at the top. The Many Glacier

Hotel capitals contain two of the parts, the

echinus and the abacus.

Celotex. See wallboard.

Chalet. A house with an overhanging roof

common in Switzerland

Character defining feature. A prominent or

distinctive aspect, quality, or characteristic of a

historic property that contributes significantly to

its physical character. These features range from

general characteristics of the site design and

architectural style down to specific details.

Clapboard. Beveled board used for siding

structures

Clipped gable. Shortened or cut back ridge at roof

ends. Similar to hip gable roof and referred to as a

jerkerhead roof as well.

Corbel. A short timber placed lengthwise under a

beam or girder; also, a bracket of wood that

projects from the side of a wall and serves to

support a cornice, the spring of an arch, a

balustrade, etc.

Cupola. Small, usually domed structure

surmounting roof

Doric Order. In classical Greek architecture, the

oldest and plainest of the orders, originally seen

with fluted heavy columns and simple capitals.

By the renaissance a simpler form was revived in

the Etruscan or Tuscan style. The Many Glacier

Hotel columns use a Doric-like capitol on an

unfluted column.

Double-hung window. A window with two

overlapping sashes that slide vertically in tracks

Drop ceiling. A lowered, false ceiling placed

typically to cover mechanical and electrical

equipment

Eave dormer. A projecting structure built out from

a sloping roof, usually with a window and its own

smaller roof; built to break up the eave line and

give a vertical gable element to an otherwise

strong horizontality.

Eave gable. The lower part of the overhang at the

gable rake

Fenestration. The placement or arrangement and

sizes of the windows and exterior doors of a

building

Footing. The spreading course or courses at the

base or bottom of a foundation wall, pier, or

column

Gable. The triangular wall beneath the end of a

triangular roof

Gallery. A porch, veranda, or long balcony, often

with a roof

Girder. A large or principal beam used to support

concentrated loads at particular points along its

length
Glossary

70

Gypsum Wallboard. A type of wallboard with a

plaster core sandwiched between two layers of

paper. Gypsum board was patented in 1894 by

Augustine Sackett. By World War I, production

methods for gypsum board were standardized

and it was widely used for the construction of

military barracks. Over time, various fillers were

added to decrease weight (pumice, bubbles, etc.),

to increase fire resistance (asbestos) and to

increase crack resistance (wood and mineral

fibers). Dextrin, or starch, is typically used as a

binder. Gypsum board, also called drywall, is fire

resistant, dimensionally stable and inexpensive.

During World War II, gypsum board completely

replaced the use of metal lath/plaster walls in

new construction because the prefabricated

boards were faster to assemble and because the

use of steel was restricted. Synonyms:

plasterboard; plaster board; wallboard; drywall;

SheetrockÆ [U.S.Gypsum]; Gypsite; Sackett

Board; Samson Plaster Board; Adamant; Bestwall

Firestop; Gold Bond; Rocklath; rock lath

 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Ionic Order. The second order of Classical Greek

architecture, characterized by two opposing

volutes in the capital

Jigsaw pattern. Sharply cut curves in a repeating

pattern

Joist. One of a group of light, closely spaced beams

used to support a floor deck or flat roof

Lateral system. The system of structural

components used to respond to lateral forces

upon a structure

Lateral force. A force acting generally in a

horizontal direction, such as wind, earthquake, or

soil pressure against a foundation wall

Moment frame. Structural framing details designed

to resist moment, the force acting upon a

structural member causing it to rotate

Outlooker. A structural member used to support a

deep overhanging roof

Porte cochere. Projecting roof at a building

entrance, providing shelter for those getting in

and out of vehicles

Rafter. A framing member that runs up and down

the slope of a pitched roof

Sackett Board. A type of wallboard that was

specifically detailed in the original drawings for

the hotel. See Gypsum Wallboard.

Segmental arch window. Window opening with full

half-round arched head developed from sections

of stone bonded together with mortar

Shear wall. A wall surface that acts as a deep beam

to help stabilize a building against deformation by

lateral forces

Sheathing. The structural covering applied to the

outside of the roof, wall, or floor framing of a

frame structure

Tuscan Order: In the style of the classic Roman

order of architecture, characterized by an unfluted

column with a ringlike capital and a frieze that is

like the Doric order. See also Doric Order.

Transom. A small opening above a door separated

by a horizontal member. Usually contains a sash

or a louver panel hinged to the transom bar.

Truss. A structural unit consisting of such

members as beams, bars, and ties; usually

arranged to form triangles. Provides rigid support

over wide spans with a minimum amount of

material

Voussoir. Any of the wedge-shaped stones that

make up the curved portions of an arch

Wainscot. A wall facing, usually of wood, cut

stone, or ceramic tile, that is carried only partway

up a wall.
71

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, NPS COOPERATIVE PROGRAM FOR

ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION

1999 Watercolors and multi media sketches of the Many Glacier Hotel, by Henry and Shaila Sorenson.

2001 Structural engineering consultations by Dr. R. Taylor with B. Sulam.

1999-

2000 ìImplementation Proposal, Character Defining Elements, by Barry Sulam.

2000 Research for Bill Hoy, author of Historic Stations of the Great Northern Railway. Fall Semester Studio in

Historic Preservation, led by Barry Sulam.

2000 ìCharacter Defining Elements,î by student volunteers.

n.d. ìAdaptive Use Studies for HQ District,î by Tom Graham et al.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

2001a Commercial Services Plan, Glacier National Park, by Architectural Research Consultants, Inc.,

Albuquerque, NM. Draft. Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT.

2001b Condition Assessment, Many Glacier Hotel, Glacier National Park, by Architectural Research

Consultants, Inc., Albuquerque, NM. Draft. Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT.

2001c Cultural Landscape Report, Glacier National Park, by Architectural Research Consultants, Inc.,

Albuquerque, NM. Draft. Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT.

2001d ìEmergency Stabilization Project,î by Architectural Research Consultants, Inc., Albuquerque, NM.

Draft. Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT.

2001e Historic Structure Report, Many Glacier Historic District, Glacier National Park, by Architectural

Research Consultants, Inc., Albuquerque, NM. Draft. Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT.

2001f Structural Integrity Assessment of the Many Glacier Hotel at Glacier National Park, by Architectural

Research Consultants, Inc., Albuquerque, NM. Draft. Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT.

2000a Final General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Glacier National Park. Denver CO:

Denver Service Center.

2000b Value Analysis Study, Emergency Structural Stabilization of the Many Glacier Hotel. Glacier Denver

Service Center, Denver, CO.

1996 ìConcessions Rehabilitation and Improvement Concept.î Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT.
Bibliography

72

1995 Inventory and Evaluation of Historical Buildings and Structures Within Glacier National Park, by Ann

Hubber, Janene Caywood, and Nancy Neidernhofer, Historical Research Associates, Inc., Missoula,

MT. Rocky Mountain Regional Office, Denver, CO.

1992 Historic Context and National Register Guidelines for Concession Operations, Glacier National Park,

Montana, by Historical Research Associates, Inc., Missoula, Montana. Rocky Mountain Regional

Office, Denver, CO.

1990b Glacier National Park Historic Furnishings Inventory in Glacier Park Incorporated Structures and Granite

Park and Sperry Chalets, by David Fritz and Berle Clemensen. Denver, CO: Denver Service Center.

1990a ìCost Estimates for the Rehabilitation of Concession Facilities.î Denver Service Center, Denver, CO.

1990b Glacier National Park Historic Furnishings Inventory in Glacier Park Incorporated Structures and Granite

Park and Sperry Chalets, by David Fritz and Berle Clemensen. Denver, CO: Denver Service Center.

1986a ìGreat Northern Railway Buildings,î by Laura Souliere Harrison. In Architecture in the Parks National

Landmark Theme Study. Santa Fe, NM: Southwest Regional Office,

1986b Historic Preservation Architectural Guide, Many Glacier Hotel, Glacier National Park, Montana, by James

R. McDonald Architects, Missoula, Montana. Rocky Mountain Regional Office, Denver, CO.

1975 ìMany Glacier Hotel Historic District National Register Nomination,î by Edwin L. Rothfuss. Glacier

National Park, West Glacier, MT.

n.d. ìHistoric Context and National Register Guidelines for Concession Operations, Glacier National

Park, Montana.î Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT.

n.d. îList of Classified Structures.î Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT.

n.d. ìPersonal Notes on Many Glacier Hotel Deficiencies,î by Andy Beck. Denver Service Center,

Denver, CO.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

1992 ìThe Secretary of the Interiorís Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.î Code of Federal

Regulations, title 36, part 38.

1983 The Secretary of the Interiorís Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic

Buildings. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Uniform Conservation Building Code.
LIST OF PREPARERS

Gayle Burgess, Park Architect, Glacier National Park, Project Leader

Bruce Fladmark, Cultural Resource Specialist, Glacier National Park

Gail Slemmer, Contract Editor

Nellie Sparks, Structural Engineer, National Park Service

Barry Sulam, AIA, Historical Architect, Intermountain Region Support Office, National Park Service

CONSULTANTS AND CONTRIBUTORS

Dennis Baker, Glacier Park Incorporated

Rick Cronenberger, Historical Architect, Intermountain Support Office National

Park Service

Herb Dawson, Historical Architect, State Historic Preservation Office, Montana

Tessie Bundick, Historian, Glacier Park Foundation

Lon Johnson, Historical Architect, Glacier National Park

Deirdre Shaw, Park Curator, Glacier National Park

ARTWORK

Henry and Shaila Sorensen, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Funding of this Historic Structures Report has been through a partnering effort

between the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Park Service,

and Glacier Park Incorporated.

2002