|
Fishing Bridge
The original bridge was built in 1902. It was a
rough-hewn corduroy log bridge with a slightly different alignment than
the current bridge. The existing bridge was built in 1937. The Fishing
Bridge was historically a tremendously popular place to fish. Angling from
the bridge was quite good, due to the fact that it was a major spawning
area for cutthroat trout. However, because of the decline of the cutthroat
population (in part, a result of this practice), the bridge was closed to
fishing in 1973. Since that time, it has become a popular place to observe
fish.
Fishing Bridge Museum and Visitor Center
The Fishing Bridge Museum was completed in 1931.
Built of native rock and stone, it appears to rise out of a rock outcrop.
The structure was built to reflect the beauty of nature itself.
Approaching from the parking lot, it was designed so that one could see
through the building to Yellowstone Lake, hence the notion of focussing on
the natural resource that the building was created to interpret. It would
eventually become a prototype of rustic architecture in parks all over the
nation and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. When
automobiles replaced stagecoaches as the main means of transportation
through the park, people were no longer accompanied by a guide. The Museum
was built as a "Trailside Museum," allowing visitors to obtain information
about Yellowstone on their own.
Lake Village
The buildings comprising historic Lake Village are
figuratively, and literally in some cases, landmarks in the history of the
Yellowstone story.
The Lake
Yellowstone Hotel
Built on a site long known as a meeting place for
Indians, trappers, and mountain men, the Lake Yellowstone Hotel was ready
to serve guests in 1891. At that time, it was not particularly
distinctive, resembling any other railroad hotel financed by the Northern
Pacific Railroad.
In 1903, the architect of the Old Faithful Inn,
Robert Reamer, masterminded the renovation of the Hotel, designing the
ionic columns, extending the roof in three places, and adding the 15 false
balconies, which prompted it to be known for several years as the "Lake
Colonial Hotel." A number of further changes by 1929, including the
addition of the dining room, porte-cochere (portico), and sunroom as well
as the refurbishing of the interior created the gracious landmark we see
today.
By the 1970s, the Hotel had fallen into serious
disrepair. In 1981, the National Park Service and the park concessioner,
TW Recreational Services, embarked upon a ten-year project to restore the
Lake Hotel in appearance to its days of glory in the 1920s. The work was
finished for the celebration of the hotel's centennial in 1991. The Hotel
was placed on the National Register of Historic Places that year.
The Lake Ranger Station
After a decade of military administration in
Yellowstone, Congress created the National Park Service in 1916. Ranger
stations began to replace soldier stations throughout the park. The Lake
Ranger Station was completed in 1923. The first Director of the National
Park Service, Steven Mather, suggested that the station should blend in
with its natural and cultural environment. A local woodsman used pioneer
building techniques to give the station its "trapper cabin" style. With
park architects, Superintendent Horace Albright designed a large octagonal
"community room" with a central stone fireplace. This rustic hall served
an informational function by day, and, in the evening, it became the scene
of a folksy gathering around a log fire.
The Lake Lodge
The advent of the auto in the park in 1915 created
a great influx of visitors. The need arose for an intermediate style of
lodging between the luxury of the Lake Hotel and the rustic accommodations
of the tent camps. In 1926, the Lake Lodge (also a Robert Reamer design)
was completed, one of four lodges in the park. The park was no longer
primarily accessible to only affluent "dudes" or hearty "sagebrushers."
Democracy had come to Yellowstone.
Archeological Research
For compliance purposes associated with the
reconstruction of the East Entrance Road, recent archeological research
has been conducted by the Mid-West Archeological Center of the National
Park Service. Preliminary studies indicate that indigenous people
inhabited the Lake area 9,600 years before present. Numerous projectile
points have been found in addition to a hearth (cooking) structure,
middens, and a bison harvest site.
Following is a map of the Yellowstone Lake area:
Additional maps are also available.
Information on this
page provided by the National Park Service.
|
