Lake McDonald Lodge
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Lake McDonald Lodge
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The lake elevation of Lake McDonald Lodge
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| Location | West Glacier, Montana |
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| Coordinates | 48°37′2″N 113°52′44″W / 48.61722°N 113.87889°WCoordinates: 48°37′2″N 113°52′44″W / 48.61722°N 113.87889°W |
| Area | 2.25 acres (0.91 ha) |
| Built | 1913 |
| Architect | Cutter & Malmgram |
| Part of | Lake McDonald Lodge Historic District (#78000280) |
| MPS | Glacier National Park MRA (AD) |
| NRHP Reference # | 87001447 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 28, 1987 |
| Designated NHL | May 28, 1987 |
| Designated CP | May 22, 1978 |
The Lake McDonald Lodge is a historic lodge located within Glacier National Park, on the southeast shore of Lake McDonald. The lodge is a 3-1/2-story structure built in 1913 based on Kirtland Cutter's design. The foundation and first floor walls are built of stone, with a wood-frame superstructure. The lobby is a large, open space that extends to the third story. It has a massive fireplace and a concrete floor scored in a flagstone pattern, with messages in several Indian languages inscribed into it. The rustic lodge was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 as one of the nation's finest examples of large-scale Swiss chalet architecture. Lake McDonald Lodge is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Lake McDonald Lodge, initially known as the Lewis Glacier Hotel, was the second hotel on the site. The first, the Snyder Hotel, was built by George Snyder in 1895. It was accessed by a steamboat that ran the 10 miles (16 km) from the Apgar area to the hotel, preceded by a two-mile trip on a horse-drawn carriage and a ferry trip over the Middle Fork Flathead River.
The Lewis Glacier Hotel lodge was built in 1913 by John Lewis, a land speculator from Columbia Falls, Montana. He bought the land, amounting to about 285 acres (115 ha), in 1904-5 and had the hotel built during a period when the Great Northern Railway was building other hotels and backcountry chalets, including Many Glacier Hotel, Glacier Park Lodge, Granite Park Chalet, Sperry Chalet, and Two Medicine Store. This movement was part of a trend by railroads during that time to build destination resorts in areas of exceptional scenic value. Railroads wanted to attract tourists and create resorts that were equal to the scenery, and private operators like John Lewis had to build equally impressive facilities in order to keep up.The Lewis hotel, designed by the Spokane firm of Kirtland, Cutter and Malmbren, was a much more ambitious undertaking. The hotel was built in 1913-14, working through the winter months, and opened in June 1914. The new hotel was designed to continue the Swiss cottage theme already developed by the Great Northern railway hotels. Artist Charles M. Russell was a frequent guest at the hotel in the 1920s, and is claimed to have etched pictographs in the dining room's original fireplace hearth.
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