Video
Glacier's Grand Lodges
Descriptive Transcript
Title card: “Glacier’s Grand Lodges”
Title card: “This compilation of film clips from the 1920s-1960s shows scenes from Glacier’s historic lodges.”
Title card: “The Glacier Park Lodge opened in 1913, overseen by Great Northern Railway President Louis Hill.”
A black-and-white animated map of the southern half of Glacier Park, labeled to show the Many Glacier Hotel in the interior portion, and the route of the Great Northern Railway along the southern border from east to west.
Labels appear showing Glacier Park Station on the southeastern boundary of the park, and the Glacier Park Hotel to the north.
Text label: “1920s-1930s.” Black-and-white footage of a train pulling into a station, where a crowd of people mill about.
The crowds continue down a long footpath towards a complex of buildings. Mountains tower behind.
On the lawn in front of the lodge complex sit four tipis.
Well-dressed people mingle in the stately interior of the lodge, which has ornate western-style furnishings.
Lanterns hang from the lodge’s high ceilings.
Text label: “1939.” Color footage of finely-dressed people gathering at the train platform. Many wear hats and coats.
Guests walking on a path in front of the lodge framed with flowers.
Text label: “mid-1950s.” Four people sit in chairs in front of a large window looking out on a picturesque scene of mountains and forest. They sit back in their chairs with drinks.
A chef ladles soup out of a massive cast iron kettle over a brick hearth and hands it to a man in a suit.
From an ornate tablescape, a different chef carves meat from a roast for guests.
A family relaxes on the hotel lawn with drinks and games.
Text label: “1964.” The lodge interior has been remodeled with more modern furnishings and colors, including green carpet and orange sofas.
Title card: “The Many Glacier Hotel was the crown jewel of Louis Hill’s Great Northern Railway development in Glacier.”
Title card: “A hardy crew braved harsh winters building what was then Montana’s largest hotel. The hotel opened July 4, 1915.”
The animated map of the southern half of Glacier Park reappears, with an arrow tracing the road up and into the Many Glacier hotel, in the interior of the southern half of the park.
Text label: “1930s”
Black-and-white footage of the view from the lake of the massive Many Glacier Hotel complex--a series of large buildings with a prominent mountain backdrop.
In front of the hotel, horseback riders gather.
Guests sit on a covered porch looking across to the outer hotel lobby.
A man and woman sit at desks, writing and looking out the large window overlooking the lake.
View out a large window of canoers on the lake and massive peaks in the background. A person reading a newspaper sits in front of the window.
Text label: “mid-1950s”
Color footage. Dressed in 1950s-era party clothes, men and women turn, twirl, and switch partners in a square dance.
View of the front of the hotel, where both 1950s’era cars and red sightseeing buses are parked.
Text label: “1964”
Vacationers unload luggage from the trunk of a sedan.
A family approaches the check-in desk of the hotel.
Two older ladies write postcards on the balcony.
A white-haired couple stand on the balcony pointing at the scenery.
A man watercolor paints the mountain view from the balcony.
People lounging and swimming on a rocky beach near the hotel.
A family in lifejackets in a motorboat.
A waitress serves a family seated in front of a huge window looking across at a prominent mountain.
Title card: “The Lake McDonald Lodge was built by local businessman John E. Lewis in 1914.”
Title card: “The site wasn’t accessible by car until 1921, so all the building materials and supplies had to be hauled by pack string, boat, or sledded across the ice.”
On the animated map, a line appears from Belton in West Glacier up the length of Lake McDonald, ending at the Lake McDonald Hotel.
Text label: “1920s-1930s.”
Black-and-white footage of people sitting in on the porch of a rustic lodge. A pair exits the building, wearing riding pants and boots.
Below the hotel at the lakeshore, people stroll and swim.
Women wearing bathing suits and caps run, splashing, into the lake. Mountain peaks loom in the distance.
Text label: “1939.”
Color footage.
A man runs down a wooden dock over the lake. Another does a handstand off the dock railing and dives into the water.
Description
This collection of clips from the 1920s-1960s shows scenes from some of Glacier's historic lodges. If you've visited any of these places before, you'll see some familiar sights!
Duration
4 minutes, 3 seconds
Credit
NPS
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