Full of old world charm and steeped in nostalgia, America is home to a number of wooden hotels still in use today, many of which have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated National Historic Landmarks by the United States Department of the Interior. Whether situated in the forests of Montana or on the beaches of California, many historic hotels still offer vintage furnishings and accommodations amid Victorian architecture, while others have combined an antiquated style with the modern conveniences of today.
A grand resort built in the Victorian style, Hotel Del Coronado was built in the city of Coronado in 1888 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977. It's tall, red shingled spires and roof have made the Hotel del Coronado a California icon, welcoming the likes of Charles Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison, and baseball legend Babe Ruth. Innovations at the time included a sprinkler system to avoid the fiery fate of other wooden hotels of the day, and electric lighting inspected by Thomas Edison. As of 2010, the hotel consists of 679 rooms and 78 cottages and villas, all featuring vintage rooms in the Victorian styles, as well as modern cabana style rooms with oceanfront views. The Hotel Del Coronado also features amenities like the Crown Room Restaurant, which overlooks the San Diego Bay, and is said to be haunted by the ghost of a woman named Kate Morgan who died at the hotel under mysterious circumstances in 1892.
Hotel del Coronado
1500 Orange Ave.
Coronado, CA 92118
800-468-3533
hoteldel.com
Listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings, Fort Peck Hotel was built in 1939 amid Montana's Charles M. Russell Wildlife Preserve. Intimate and old-fashioned, Fort Peck Hotel is preserved much as it was when it was built, looking of rough timber and stained wood. The hotel features 70 small, lodge-style rooms, each with old, claw-foot bathtubs, high ceilings, original 1930s furnishings, and impressive views of the local wildlife. A quiet refuge in true Montana fashion, the rooms offer no televisions or phones. It is not uncommon for guests to find their way to the rustic lobby and lounge to meet and converse with one another, and the local deer have been known to lay about on the lawn of the hotel. Amenities and attractions include the historic Fort Peck Hotel Restaurant, nearby Fort Peck Lake-- which offers some of the best fishing in the country-- and the historic Fort Peck Theater, still in operation since its construction in 1934.
Fort Peck Hotel
175 S. Missouri St.
Fort Peck, MT 59223
406-526-3266
Also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Grand Hotel was built on Michigan's Mackinac Island in 1887 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. A luxurious wooden hotel built in the Victorian style, the Grand Hotel was billed as a summer retreat for vacationers traveling from the east and, at 600 feet long, boasts the longest veranda in the world. The Grand Hotel played host to regular performances of the Edison Phonograph, lectures by American writer Mark Twain, and was the location for Richard Thorpe's 1947 film This Time for Keeps and Jeannot Szwarc's 1980 film Somewhere in Time. The hotel's 385 modernized rooms still feature period furnishings, each individually decorated and themed. A 1930s island-wide ban on automobiles continues to be upheld to this day, bringing with it the quaintness of bicycles and horse-drawn carriages as means of travel around Mackinac Island. Attractions include a golf course, vintage Duck Pin bowling, an elaborate dance hall, and horseback riding.
The Grand Hotel
286 Grand Ave.
P.O. Box 286
Mackinac Island, MI 49757
grandhotel.com
