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.
Union Pacific Dining Hall. West Yellowstone Oregon Shortline Terminus. 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 Underwoods designs. As part of a national collection of Underwoods work, the lodge gains added significance as a rare surviving example of a railroad dining hall constructed to mimic park architecture.
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 Underwoods designs. As part of a national collection of Underwoods work, the lodge gains added significance as a rare surviving example of a railroad dining hall constructed to mimic park architecture.
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 Ruperts 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
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 198 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 1, 2024, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
