What Happens in Yellowstone Doesn't Stay in Yellowstone: Architectural Influences from Wonderland
By Tamsen Emerson Hert
“Oh my gosh! Look! It’s just like Disney!”1
This reaction, expressed by a young tourist upon entering the soaring lobby of Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Inn, was overheard by Yellowstone historian Elizabeth Watry while she was signing books in the Inn. An icon of American culture, the Inn was the first of the rustic-style grand hotels built in a national park and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. It led the development of other tourist accommodations in the American West, and the Inn’s unique design continues to influence worldwide resort development today.
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