Portland, Oregon-based interior designer Max Humphrey’s new tome brings together the indoors and the outdoors. Lodge (Gibbs Smith, April 2023) highlights 10 national park lodges across the U.S.—from The Ahwahnee in Yosemite, California, to Zion Lodge in Zion National Park, Utah. In the book, the former is described in the introduction as “the full package.”
[Photo credit: David Tsay]
The Ahwhanee, which opened in 1927, was sited to provide guests with views of the park’s most famous attractions, including Half Dome, Glacier Point and Yosemite Falls. The architecture and design exhibit Art Deco, Native American, Middle Eastern and Arts & Crafts Movement influences, with soaring ceilings, enormous stone fireplaces, hand-stenciled beams and stained-glass windows.
More than 5,000 tons of stone, 1,000 tons of steel and 30,000 feet of lumber were required to build The Ahwahnee—all of which was brought in by trucks that traversed dirt roads (this was the 1920s, after all). Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood—who also designed lodges in Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Teton National Park—conceived The Ahwahnee in the rustic style, with a main tower and three wings. In 1987, it was declared a National Historic Landmark.
Lodge describes this spot as “the best table in The Ahwahnee Dining Room (and reportedly where Queen Elizabeth II sat when she stayed here in 1983). Adding to the storybook appeal? The 34-foot-high exposed-beam ceiling, twinkling chandeliers, and the view over misty Yosemite Falls.” Over the decades, numerous presidents and Hollywood celebrities have stayed at The Ahwahnee. (Psst … You don’t have to be an overnight guest to dine at the restaurant.)
The hand-painted beams of the Great Lounge draw your eye up—about 24 feet. The room itself is roughly 80 feet long and 50 feet wide. Standout features include the geometric stained-glass and natural stone fireplace (no surprise, the most popular spot in the room). The interior design references original details such as woven Persian kilims, Japanese Imari lamps, and Stickley chairs and tables.
California artist Robert Boardman Howard painted the Mural Room’s linen-lined walls with local plant flora and fauna. Rounding out the welcoming design are hand-hammered copper fireplace hood, tall wood paneling, Persian rug, rebuilt and reupholstered original club chairs, and 1927 writing desks.
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