EBS STAFF
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK – This summer, the National Park Service completed an extensive $30 million renovation of the historic Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. The 1938 building was originally designed by architect Robert Reamer and this most recent update preserved the historic look and feel of what is one of only a few “art moderne” hotels in the National Park System.
An architectural style popularized in the 1930s and ‘40s, art moderne is characterized by streamlined, horizontal structures with flat roofs and curved walls or rounded corners.
On Aug. 30, Yellowstone National Park and Xanterra Travel Collection in Yellowstone hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours to celebrate the renovation that added new private bathrooms to guest rooms, new windows and new conference rooms, as well as electrical upgrades, structural and seismic stabilization, and Americans with Disabilities Act access.
According to an NPS statement, “These significant improvements prepare the hotel for its next phase of life, with an emphasis toward sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint.” Additionally, restoration specialists carefully rehabilitated Reamer’s famous wooden map in the Map Room.
Funded by NPS, the four-year renovation was one of Yellowstone’s ongoing efforts to reduce deferred maintenance and improve conditions of important historic resources.