If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 471

Roosevelt Arch, Yellowstone Park, Gardiner, Montana

Today’s unused postcard features a photograph from MacNeil Lyons Images distributed by Yellowstone Forever and shows the Roosevelt Arch, named for President Theodore Roosevelt, located at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, Montana.  The inscription at the top of the arch is a quote from the Organic Act of 1872 that created the park, and reads: “For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People.”  The plaque above the left side door has “Yellowstone Park.”  The right side says “Created by an Act of Congress 1 March 1872.”

The design for the arch is attributed to the architect, Robert Reamer.  Reamer designed the train depot but documentation concerning the arch is inconclusive.  When the park first opened there was no road for automobiles and people arrived by train and transferred to a stagecoach for the trip from the depot to the park hotel. 

 

Early motorized tour buses like this one with a canvas top and open sides were used after a road was put in.  Petra And I.C. Lee are 3rd and 4th from the left, ca 1915

Construction on the Arch began in February 1903 and was completed in August of the same year.  President Roosevelt was visiting the Park during the construction of the arch and was asked to place the cornerstone which he did.  Under the stone is a time capsule containing a Bible, a picture of Roosevelt, local newspapers, and other items.  

Exiting the park through the arch, 2017

Turning around to look at the front of the Roosevelt Arch

Pedestrian passageway through the arch

Bob acts as measuring rod to show the size

Originally the design for the entrance included a small lake and waterfall but the climate and semi-arid location made this impractical and it was not pursued.  The arch is constructed of blocks of columnar basalt that was quarried locally.  It is 52 feet or 16 m high and has two pedestrian walkways with heavy wooden doors.  The walls on either side of the arch are made of the same material and stand 12 ft or 3.7 m high and end in short towers.  From 1903 to 1921 the north entrance station was located just past the arch.  In 1961 the entrance station was relocated a substantial distance to the south.

For additional information, see:  

https://en.wikipedia.org/Roosevelt_Arch