Bryce Canyon Lodge
Encyclopedia
Bryce Canyon Lodge is a lodge in Bryce Canyon National Park
, Utah
. It was built between 1924 and 1925 using local materials. Designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood
, the lodge is an excellent example of National Park Service Rustic
design. It is the only remaining completely original structure of the lodges designed by Underwood for Bryce Canyon National Park
, Zion National Park
and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
.
The main floor of the lodge comprises the lobby, a dining room, a small auditorium, a gift shop, kitchen and administrative and utility spaces. The dining room and auditorium are open to the roof with exposed log trusses. The lobby features milled timbers with Arts and Crafts
detailing. Fireplaces of rough rubble stone are found in the lobby, where the firebox is constructed in a pointed arch, and in the auditorium. A basement underlies much of the main level.
The lodge's roof is notable for its unusual shingling pattern, originally designed by Underwood, in which the lower edges of the horizontal shingle courses form irregular, undulating moiré or wave-like patterns across the roof. This gives an impression that the roof is warped, or in motion. This unique shingling pattern is on the original cabins as well as the main lodge buildings, and has been replicated with each re-roofing of the complex, using the original pattern, as a way to keep the craftsman's trademarks of the original builders & Underwood's design.
, as part of the railroad's project to develop tourist traffic to Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon by providing noteworthy destination hotels at each park. The Union Pacific was following in the footsteps of other railroads' efforts to promote the western parks of the United States and Canada. Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood was in charge of the design work for the Union Pacific hotels. Construction at the Bryce Lodge started in 1924 and was completed in the early summer of 1925. The guest wings were added in 1926 and the auditorium in 1927. The budget and economy cabins, also designed by Underwood, were mostly built in 1927, with five deluxe cabins. Ten more deluxe cabins were completed by 1929.
Bryce Canyon Lodge is operated by Forever Resorts, a park-management company selected and contracted by the National Park Service. The lodge and cabins were declared a National Historic Landmark
on May 28, 1987 under the name "Bryce Canyon Lodge and Deluxe Cabins." The historic district was expanded on April 25, 1995, as the Bryce Canyon Lodge Historic District
. It encompasses the National Historic Landmark District but is not itself an NHL.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park is a national park located in southwestern Utah in the United States. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon which, despite its name, is not a canyon but a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. It was built between 1924 and 1925 using local materials. Designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood
Gilbert Stanley Underwood
Gilbert Stanley Underwood was an American architect best known for his National Park lodges. Born in 1890, Underwood received his B.A. from Yale in 1920 and a M.A. from Harvard in 1923. After opening an office in Los Angeles that year, he became associated with Daniel Ray Hull of the National...
, the lodge is an excellent example of National Park Service Rustic
National Park Service Rustic
National Park Service rustic, also colloquially known as Parkitecture, is a style of architecture that arose in the United States National Park System to create buildings that harmonized with their natural environment. Since its founding, the National Park Service consistently has sought to provide...
design. It is the only remaining completely original structure of the lodges designed by Underwood for Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park is a national park located in southwestern Utah in the United States. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon which, despite its name, is not a canyon but a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau...
, Zion National Park
Zion National Park
Zion National Park is located in the Southwestern United States, near Springdale, Utah. A prominent feature of the park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles long and up to half a mile deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River...
and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
.
Description
The two-story Lodge is built on a stone base with intentionally over-sized log framing, creating a massive, rustic appearance. The central portion of the building dates to 1924, with the addition of the north and southeast wings taking place in 1926. The lodge is entered by a long porch fronting the entire lobby, whose roof rests on a 52 feet (15.8 m) long log beam supported by paired log columns. The lodge is capped by a heavy, steeply-pitched shingled roof with clipped gables and shed dormers.The main floor of the lodge comprises the lobby, a dining room, a small auditorium, a gift shop, kitchen and administrative and utility spaces. The dining room and auditorium are open to the roof with exposed log trusses. The lobby features milled timbers with Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
detailing. Fireplaces of rough rubble stone are found in the lobby, where the firebox is constructed in a pointed arch, and in the auditorium. A basement underlies much of the main level.
The lodge's roof is notable for its unusual shingling pattern, originally designed by Underwood, in which the lower edges of the horizontal shingle courses form irregular, undulating moiré or wave-like patterns across the roof. This gives an impression that the roof is warped, or in motion. This unique shingling pattern is on the original cabins as well as the main lodge buildings, and has been replicated with each re-roofing of the complex, using the original pattern, as a way to keep the craftsman's trademarks of the original builders & Underwood's design.
Deluxe cabins
The satellite cabins, called "deluxe cabins", are to the southeast of the lodge. Five buildings contain four lodging units, and ten contain two. The cabins have rubble stone chimneys and corner pilasters, with log slab siding on the main wall exposures, simulating full log construction, complete with chinking. The cabins have log-framed porches with log railings. On the interior the roof trusses are exposed. Original paneling complements the stone fireplaces. The area formerly included two other lines of cabins, the "budget cabins" and the "standard cabins," now removed.History
The Bryce Canyon Lodge was built by the Utah Parks Company, a subsidiary of the Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
, as part of the railroad's project to develop tourist traffic to Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon by providing noteworthy destination hotels at each park. The Union Pacific was following in the footsteps of other railroads' efforts to promote the western parks of the United States and Canada. Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood was in charge of the design work for the Union Pacific hotels. Construction at the Bryce Lodge started in 1924 and was completed in the early summer of 1925. The guest wings were added in 1926 and the auditorium in 1927. The budget and economy cabins, also designed by Underwood, were mostly built in 1927, with five deluxe cabins. Ten more deluxe cabins were completed by 1929.
Bryce Canyon Lodge is operated by Forever Resorts, a park-management company selected and contracted by the National Park Service. The lodge and cabins were declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
on May 28, 1987 under the name "Bryce Canyon Lodge and Deluxe Cabins." The historic district was expanded on April 25, 1995, as the Bryce Canyon Lodge Historic District
Bryce Canyon Lodge Historic District
The Bryce Canyon Lodge Historic District surrounds and includes the Bryce Canyon Lodge in Bryce Canyon National Park, as well as the survivors of a large complex of buildings that comprised the core of the park's visitor services area in the 1930s....
. It encompasses the National Historic Landmark District but is not itself an NHL.