West Yellowstone in Gallatin County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Union Pacific Dining Hall

West Yellowstone Oregon Shortline Terminus

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 9, 2024

1. Union Pacific Dining Hall Marker

Inscription. As tourism blossomed during the first decades of the twentieth century, the Union Pacific Railroad considered how to better accommodate travelers. Officials conceived the idea of building restaurants and pavilions architecturally similar to the monumental lodges being constructed in national parks. Acclaimed architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, whose mastery of the Rustic style set the standard for national park architecture, designed this splendid dining lodge for the Union Pacific. Completed in 1926, it was an intermediate project built while Underwood was designing the world-renowned Ahwahnee Hotel at Yosemite National Park. The Rustic style of this lodge, its wood and welded tuff in grand harmony with the landscape, echoes that of the famed hotel. Featuring mammoth walk-in fireplaces, the multi-level interior is characteristic of Underwood’s designs. As part of a national collection of Underwood’s work, the lodge gains added significance as a rare surviving example of a railroad dining hall constructed to mimic park architecture.

Erected by Montana Historical Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker

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is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars. In addition, it is included in the Montana National Register Sign Program series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1926.

Location. 44° 39.504′ N, 111° 6.129′ W. Marker is in West Yellowstone, Montana, in Gallatin County. It is on Yellowstone Avenue near Dunraven Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 104 Yellowstone Avenue, West Yellowstone MT 59758, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Yellowstone Country

and in Greater Bozeman.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Madison Hotel (within shouting distance of this marker); The Rock (within shouting distance

Union Pacific Dining Hall and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 9, 2024

2. Union Pacific Dining Hall and Marker

The marker is on the right side of the stairs.

of this marker); Snowed In! (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Oregon Shortline Terminus (about 400 feet away); Oregon Short Line 1903 (about 600 feet away); Montana's Centennial Train (about 600 feet away); Union Pacific Identification Pylon (approx. ¼ mile away); Madison River (approx. 3.3 miles away in Wyoming). Touch for a list and map of all markers in West Yellowstone.

Union Pacific Dining Hall image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 9, 2024

3. Union Pacific Dining Hall

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 9, 2024

4. Union Pacific Dining Hall

Credits. This page was last revised on July 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 1, 2024, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 205 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 1, 2024, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.