The History of The Grand Lake Lodge
Monday, May 15th, 2006Grand Lake Lodge – A Grand Old Lady at 85
Last summer Grand Lake Lodge quietly turned 85 years old. Like many octogenarians, the lodge has had a full life. It began with an eagerly anticipated “birth,” has many rich memories, suffered a great tragedy, and today maintains a dignified elegance reminiscent of days gone by. 7
Grand Lake Lodge opened in 1920, a time when numerous lodges and dude ranches were being constructed around the newly-established Rocky Mountain National Park. However, Grand Lake Lodge’s origin was unique. It was the only lodge constructed on existing park-owned land and with the park Superintendent’s enthusiastic input and endorsement.
Origin of the Lodge
When Rocky Mountain National Park was established in 1915, construction was well underway on Old Fall River Road, the first road to cross this part of the Rockies. Realizing that the road would greatly increase tourism, Superintendent L. Claude Way wanted to establish overnight lodging on the park’s west side. Some time between 1917 and 1919, Superintendent Way and the lone west side ranger, Howard Beehler, found a level area of park land above the town of Grand Lake with magnificent views that they felt would be ideal. Way and Beehler envisioned a camp for the site, likely a facility consisting of wooden platforms with canvas tents .
The camp never was built. Instead, a beautiful rustic two-story log and stone structure rose on the site. The vision for the Grand Lake Lodge is generally credited to Roe Emery, a former concessioner from Glacier National Park. Emery moved to Colorado in 1912, purchased several bus lines, formed the Rocky Mountain Parks Transportation Company and began bringing visitors from Front Range railroad stations up to Estes Park. In 1919, RMNP granted Emery the concession to provide bus service within the park.
With the bus concession in hand, Roe Emery proposed a Grand Circle Tour, where his buses would pick up passengers at the Denver railroad station for a four-day journey that would take them through the park via Old Fall River Road with overnight stays in Estes Park, Grand Lake, and Idaho Springs. The park’s west side “camp” location would provide lodging on the middle leg of the journey.
Emery’s vision attracted A.D. Lewis, who owned the Lewiston Hotel in Estes Park. Lewis provided the funds to build the lodge, which he later sold to Emery in 1923.
Superintendent Way heartily endorsed the lodge and was keenly interested in its construction. Workers broke ground, likely in 1919. Trees were cut in Bowen Gulch, and hauled by horse and wagon to a small sawmill north of the lodge, where they were cut to size. The logs were then hauled to a finishing mill at the site. As the lodge began to take shape, Superintendent Way requested that an L-shaped wing be built at the back rather than the front of the hotel in order to preserve the views. Way said that the appearance of the building far exceeded his expectations and stated, “I feel this hotel will be one of the most popular in Rocky Mountain National Park.”
On July 3, 1920, the lodge opened with a grand ball. The two story building contained a kitchen, dining area, and lobby with a porch that encompassed a view of Grand Lake and the surrounding mountains. Two months later, Old Fall River Road opened and tourism markedly increased.
The first year, there were no overnight accommodations at Grand Lake Lodge. Construction continued for several more years, adding small rustic guest cabins and other facilities. Eventually over 100 structures were added to the site.
Roe Emery’s Circle Tour of the Colorado Rockies was a success. His buses met passengers at the Denver train station and took them to his Estes Park Chalet (now called Mary’s Lake Lodge) for their first night, the Grand Lake Lodge for the second, his other hotel, the Hot Springs Hotel in Idaho Springs for the third, and then back to the Denver train station. Emery’s buses were called the “white autos” and could seat 11 people. The Circle Tour operated from the early 1920s to the early 1970s, and was one of the first western tours to offer meals, lodging, transportation, and sightseeing in one package.
The James Family Legacy
In 1952, Emery sold his company to T.J. Manning of Denver, who sold it to Ted and Isaac James in 1953.
Grand Lake Lodge in 1956
In the sale, the James brothers acquired the bus company, the Grand Lake Lodge, the Estes Park Chalet, and Trail Ridge Store at Fall River Pass, but opted not to purchase the hotel in Idaho Springs. As the new park concessioner, the James family also developed the Hidden Valley Ski Area beginning in 1955. 8
The James family began a long legacy with the park spanning three generations that lasts to this day. Ted James, with his son Ted Jr., ran the Estes Park Chalet, Grand Lake Lodge, and Trail Ridge Store, while his brother Isaac focused on the transportation company. It was truly a family business. Ted Sr. and his wife, Perry, lived in Estes Park and he had his main office in the Estes Park Chalet, where he could manage the Chalet and the Hidden Valley Ski Area. Ted Jr. married his wife, Sue, in 1954 and they spent their first two summers living in the basement of the Trail Ridge Store, managing the store. Sue remembers eating hot dogs and barbecue sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner because those were the only items on the store’s menu. In 1956, Ted and Sue began living during the summers in one of the cabins at the lodge, along with their growing family of eventually four children. Here, they could oversee both the lodge and the store. Their cabin was one of the larger cabins, the Ford Cabin, named for Henry Ford who once stayed there. It did not have a kitchen, so Sue cooked on a portable hot plate or outdoor grill, and washed their dishes in the bathtub.
Ted Sr.’s wife, Perry, managed the jewelry section of Trail Ridge Store and did the buying of authentic Indian jewelry for the store, Grand Lake Lodge, and the Estes Park Chalet. Perry earned a reputation as one of the foremost Indian jewelry authorities in America.
Each of Ted and Perry’s three children was involved in the family businesses at some point in their lives. Daughter Barbara worked at Trail Ridge Store for a couple of years. Daughter Judy also worked at the store and met her future husband there one summer. Son Ted Jr. devoted his career to the store and the lodge, and his four children were all brought up at the lodge. Today, grandson Reed is the manager of the lodge.
Tourism in the 50s, 60s, and 70s
The 50s, 60s, and 70s were golden years for the lodge. In those days most visitors arrived via bus tours. Isaac James’ Grayline buses brought guests, as did several other bus companies. The James family offered one and two-day Circle Tour packages. The one day tour picked up passengers in Denver, took them to the lodge for lunch, then over Trail Ridge Road to the Estes Park Chalet for the night, and back to Denver. The two-day package brought guests to the Chalet for the first night and the Lodge for the second night.
When the buses pulled up to the lodge, the lodge staff would come out on the front porch and sing a welcome song as guests disembarked. The guests then went into the lodge to get their cabin assignments. The lodge operated on the American Plan, where guests were given tickets for each meal. Breakfast was an egg dish cooked to order. Lunch was a large buffet complete with pastries that came over fresh daily from the Chalet. Dinner consisted of a choice of about 5 entrees.
Guests relaxed in the lodge’s lobby, played cards, and enjoyed the views. Evening entertainment was provided three nights a week by the staff, who put on skits and musicals. One night a week guests played bingo with prizes from the gift shop. Another night each week a park naturalist presented a program, which was very high-tech for those days using slide projectors and a dissolve unit.
The next morning guests placed their suitcases on their cabin porches before breakfast and two bellmen, driving a 1940s pick-up truck, collected the luggage to place on the right buses. When the guests boarded the buses for departure, the lodge staff sang them a goodbye song.
Working at the Lodge
To be an employee, an applicant had to have a talent such as singing, acting, or playing a musical instrument. Each summer up to 100 college students filled the positions.
Employees lived in large dorms at the lodge – one dorm for men and one for women. Each dorm had a “house mother” and curfew hours.
Employees came back often for several summers. One young college student, Bob Scott, came back year after year for 38 seasons! Through the years Bob served as maitre d’, dining room manager, housing manager, hospitality manager, and sales manager. He remembers several instances in which children of
Estes Park Chalet, 1938
former employees came to work summers at the lodge. Bob also knows of over 100 married couples that met while working during those golden summers!
Saving the Lodge
As part of the Mission 66 program which started in 1955, the NPS focused on removing private property within the park. Throughout the ‘50s and early ‘60s the NPS purchased many properties and removed hotels such as Fall River Lodge, Bear Lake Lodge, Sprague Hotel, and Glacier Basin Lodge. Wanting to save the Grand Lake Lodge, the James brothers offered to purchase and exchange other private lands within the park for the land surrounding the Lodge. In January 1963, an act of Congress authorized the land exchange and changed the park boundaries to exclude the lodge.
Tragedy Strikes 9
On July 19, 1973, tragedy struck. The lodge’s kitchen doors were closed, causing a buildup of gases near the ceiling. A kitchen grill ignited the gases, which exploded, blasting a hole in the ceiling. The heat was high enough to melt light fixtures and telephones in the lobby. Employees tossed chairs, Indian rugs, and other valuables over the porch railing to salvage them. Three fire trucks responded, one from the park, one from Grand Lake, and one from Granby. They all ran out of water. Fortunately there was a swimming pool directly in front of the lodge. The manager’s children jumped into the pool and held the fire hoses underwater. The fire trucks were able to siphon water from the swimming pool and douse the flames.
Fortunately, the building was saved. Had the lodge been built with steel beams, the extreme heat would have melted them and the roof would have collapsed. Though the wooden beams were severely scorched, they were still structurally sound. The James family was told it would be more economical to bulldoze the building and rebuild, but they wanted to preserve the original. For two summers, workers hand-scraped the burned surfaces of the log beams and wood floors. For seven years the lodge was closed to overnight guests while craftsmen refurbished the interior. In 1980, the front desk portion of the lodge reopened and guests once again stayed overnight in the cabins. In 1981 the full building reopened.
Making the Best Out of the Fire
After the fire, the lodge became the domain of employees and workers for seven years. Only the college students who worked at Trail Ridge Store continued to live in the cabins, riding an old white bus nicknamed, “Old Hoss” up and down the mountain each day. Because the main lodge had been gutted of furniture, the manager, Ted Jr., decided to have some fun. He bought roller skates and each night allowed the employees to skate round and round in the lodge. He brought electricity in for lights and held square dances. Before dancing, the staff would mop as much of the black soot off of the floors as possible. They nicknamed the lodge, “the burned-out ballroom.”
In Bob Scott’s words, “it was like a summer camp after hours for the employees.” Ted Jr. expected them to work hard by day, but they could also play hard at night!
The Lodge Today
After the Lodge reopened in 1981, it was to a different period of tourism. Bus tours were no longer the mainstay of business; rather, visitors arrived more frequently by cars.
The reputation of the dining room grew with the addition of some very good executive chefs and additional menu items. David MacDougal started the famous Sunday brunches in the early ‘80s, which are still popular today.
The James family has been dedicated to the preservation of the lodge. In 1993, Grand Lake Lodge, including over 100 buildings, was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Grand Lake Lodge carries its 85 years well. When you visit, it is easy to slip into a feeling of days gone by. Not only is the lodge still popular for overnight stays, but it is popular with folks who go to enjoy the food, and to sit on “Colorado’s favorite front porch” and take in the views. While on the porch, look for evidence of the past – there are still scorch marks visible here from the 1973 fire!
Change is in motion for the lodge. In 2001, the 71 acres containing the lodge was annexed to the Town of Grand Lake. The James family is developing about 16 of those acres as single family home sites.
This summer is expected to be the last season the James family will operate the lodge. It is currently for sale.
By Leanne Benton, Park Ranger
Grand Lake Lodge interior
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