In June 1904, one of Yellowstone's most famous and well-loved buildings-the Old Faithful Inn-first opened its doors to the public. In the ensuing 100 years, this National Historic Landmark-with its exceptional architectural and historical significance-has played host to millions of visitors. The National Park Service and Xanterra Parks & Resorts invite the public to join us on Friday, May 07, 2004, as we commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Old Faithful Inn.

The celebration will begin around 10:30 AM as an entourage of mounted park rangers and historic vehicles (buses and a stagecoach) begin their procession up the front road to the Inn to the porte cochere. The opening day ceremony begins when the doors to the Old Faithful Inn open to the public for the 100th season at 11:00 AM. Special invited guests include Deputy Assistant Secretary of Fish, and Wildlife, and Parks Paul Hoffman and Intermountain Regional Director Steve Martin.

The opening day celebrates the vision of the Inn's great and unsung American architect, Robert Chambers Reamer, with the dedication of a wayside exhibit in his honor. Reamer caused a revolution in architecture in national parks that has continued to this day. His style of architecture-where the building is designed to fit into the landscape-is called "rustic architecture" or "parkitecture." The grandeur and wonder of the Old Faithful Inn are best reflected in Reamer's own words (spoken during the construction of another building he designed for the park, the Canyon Hotel) : I built it in keeping with the place where it stands. Nobody could improve upon that. To be at discord with the landscape would be almost a crime. To try to improve upon it would be an impertinence.

The Inn, indeed, does appear to have grown out of the very ground on which it sits. Constructed from materials found in the area, the 6-story lobby is cavernous and opened to the roof, with all the supporting beams and braces of lodgepole pine exposed to view. The massive fireplace in one corner of the lobby has an 85-foot high chimney made from the same rhyolite stone as the foundation. Standing in the great, balconied lobby as the sun filters through the asymmetrical windows gives one the feeling of standing in the forest-but with all the amenities of a first-class hotel.

Special exhibits, programs, and activities will be held beginning with Friday's opening day celebration and will continue throughout the weekend as part of Xanterra Parks & Resorts' Heritage Days; other activities will continue during the summer. A flyer listing those opportunities is attached with this news release.

Visitors are reminded that the roads from Mammoth to Old Faithful, West Entrance to Old Faithful, and Norris to Canyon have opened to the public. On May 06, the East Entrance and South Entrance are scheduled to open at 8:00 AM, weather and road conditions permitting. For current information on weather and road conditions, call: 307-344-7381.

-NPS-

(Media Advisory - Planning Purposes Only)

At the completion of the National Park Service ceremony, there will be a 20-minute media opportunity with Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Paul Hoffman and Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Suzanne Lewis. Media wishing to participate in this opportunity are asked to contact the Public Affairs Office at: 307-344-2013 to submit their name, news agency, and telephone number.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Publication-quality images of the Old Faithful Inn are available at the park's web site at: http://www.nps.gov/yell/press/images/index.htm

Information provided by the NPS