Elegant History

Nestled among Yosemite Valley's natural wonders, the Ahwahnee Hotel attracts weary travelers with its timeless grace and beauty.

By Guy Keeler
The Fresno Bee - June, 3, 2002

Jerry FitzGerald couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the Ahwahnee Hotel under construction in Yosemite Valley back in 1927.

"I was there with my family on a camping trip," says FitzGerald, who lives in Santa Cruz. "I was 9 years old. I asked, 'Why would anyone build a hotel in Yosemite when they could sleep in a tent?' Needless to say, I've changed my mind since then."

FitzGerald and his wife, Millie, often make two or three sojourns to the Ahwahnee every year. Like other regular Yosemite visitors, they never grow tired of the hotel and its breathtaking setting.

"I guess the thing that makes the Ahwahnee special is how this gracious place fits into its surroundings," says FitzGerald. "It's dramatic but not overpowering."

The hotel, which will mark its 75th anniversary this summer, has a mystique all its own. Just like the magnificent valley in which it sits, the hotel itself is full of hidden treasures.

Leland Hales, manager of interpretive tours for the Yosemite Concession Services Corporation, which operates the Ahwahnee, says a longtime hotel visitor once observed: "Some people come to Yosemite and discover the Ahwahnee. Some people come to the Ahwahnee and discover Yosemite."

A goal attained.

From its conception in the 1920s, the Ahwahnee was envisioned as a jewel to attract visitors to one of the most beautiful places on earth. The National Park Service, formed in 1916, was seeking additional federal funding in those early years to develop its park system.

Rapid growth in automobile travel, coupled with plans to build the first all-weather highway from Merced to Yosemite Valley, which opened in 1926, inspired park service director Stephen Mather to propose construction of a luxury hotel to attract influential people to the park.

"Scenery is a hollow enjoyment to a tourist who sets out in the morning after an indigestible breakfast and a fitful sleep on an impossible bed," Mather once said.

The six-story, three-wing hotel was built on the site of a large stable operation rendered obsolete by the automobile. Construction cost $1.25 million and took 11 months.

The Ahwahnee is formed of steel, granite stones and concrete, although people seeing the hotel from a distance for the first time often assume the exterior walls are made of redwood.

Hales says the illusion was achieved by pouring concrete, dyed the color of redwood, into rough-hewn wood forms that left a wood-grain pattern in the concrete.

The hotel's name comes from the Miwok Indians, who called Yosemite Valley "Ah wah ni," meaning "large gaping mouth."

Kathy Langley has seen a few gaping mouths in her 11 years as chief concierge at the hotel.
"From the vantage point of my desk, I can see people when they enter," she says. "You can always tell when it's the first time they've been here."

The hotel's rustic exterior complements the beauty of its natural environment. The inviting interior celebrates Native American art and is rich in history. Geometric designs, inspired by patterns woven into Indian baskets, adorn borders, beams, rugs and stained glass windows.

Some of the public rooms on the main floor look much the same as they did when the hotel opened on July 14, 1927. The Great Lounge speaks of a bygone era with its 17th-century oak tables, writing desks and Steinway grand piano.

In 1953, hotel guests complained about loud piano music and singing in the lounge. Management had to ask Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball to quiet down. The "I Love Lucy" stars were staying at the Ahwahnee while filming scenes for their movie hit "The Long, Long Trailer" on Tioga Pass.

Numerous celebrities have stayed at the Ahwahnee over the years. Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were there in December. Humphrey Bogart, Shirley Temple, Boris Karloff, Judy Garland, Clint Eastwood, Charlie Chaplin, Bing Crosby, Mel Gibson, Greta Garbo, Jack Benny and Charlton Heston are some of the others who have signed the hotel's register.

"I had a fun time with Tim 'Tool Time' Allen four or five years ago," says Langley. "He and his wife were here for three or four days and I took them on a tour of the park. It was like having my own stand-up comedy show all day."

The hotel was cleared of regular guests during the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1983. The royal couple stayed in the Ahwahnee's sixth-floor Tresidder suite, which had been refurnished and repainted far enough in advance to eliminate any fresh-paint odor.

President John F. Kennedy created a stir when he stayed at the Ahwahnee in 1962.

The 9 p.m. firefall, a three-minute waterfall of glowing embers shoveled off Glacier Point's 3,214-foot cliff from Glacier Point, had to be delayed for 20 minutes because the president was late getting back from dinner.

"People all over the valley were honking their horns," says Hales, referring to confusion over the delay.

The Ahwahnee is famous for its outstanding views. The solarium, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, offers a dramatic view of Glacier Point. For years, guests gathered in the room to watch the nightly firefall, a summer attraction at Yosemite from the late 1800s until it was discontinued in 1968.

"There isn't a bad view from any room in the hotel," says Joe Leal of Fresno, who started attending special functions at the Ahwahnee with his parents in the late 1920s.

Leal, a retired civil engineer, attended his first Bracebridge Dinner at the Ahwahnee in 1932 when he was 8 years old.

The dinner-pageant, presented in the 350-seat hotel dining room and based loosely on Washington Irving's "Sketch Book" account of a typical Yorkshire Christmas dinner, has been a popular holiday attraction at the Ahwahnee since 1928.

"The Ahwahnee dining hall is one of the finest in the world," says Leal, who has traveled in 168 countries and seen his share of hotels and restaurants.

Bob and Patsy Kennedy of Lafayette were attracted to the Ahwahnee by its elegant dining.

"When we first started coming to Yosemite we used to camp at Camp 16," says Patsy Kennedy. "But we'd always buy a ticket for dinner at the Ahwahnee and go in and have our fancy dinner."

Patsy Kennedy says it's the people who work at the hotel who make the Ahwahnee special.

"They're like a family," she says. "The bellmen are so kind to children and elderly guests. There used to be an old sea captain that stayed at the Ahwahnee. Whenever he was coming, they would hang an old life preserver in the parking lot to reserve a spot for his car."

The Kennedys have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries at the Ahwahnee and have stayed at the hotel during every season. "We love to be there during Christmas," says Patsy Kennedy. "It's beyond special."

Despite abundant praise, the Ahwahnee's heritage as a luxury hotel has not always pleased everyone. In her book "The Ahwahnee Hotel," Shirley Sargent includes the following remarks from an unidentified early-day critic: ". . . What a mistake to flaunt so boldly the luxury and profligacy of the millionaire class before the gaze of the unwashed thousands who come to Yosemite in their flivvers [automobiles] to enjoy the simple life in the bosom of nature. Too big a contrast!

"Mr. Mather and the Department of the Interior should not have allowed such unbridled luxury in Yosemite. It causes the restless to be more restless."
The hotel was off limits to casual visitors in its early years. In the words of Sargent, "A snooty doorman denied entrance to the coatless, tieless public . . ."

The Ahwahnee grounds originally contained a 9-hole golf course, but it was removed years ago to allow the hotel's grounds to return to a more natural state.

Luxury is still the word best describing the Ahwahnee, whose rooms start at $366 a night. But today all visitors to Yosemite are welcome to visit the hotel and look around or dine there.

Free interpretive tours of the Ahwahnee are available by reservation only at 209-372-1426.
"I love the fact we can share this beautiful hotel with people who may never have a chance to stay here," says Langley. "This is really everyone's hotel."

(Photo by Mark Crosse, courtesy of The Fresno Bee.)