ASHFORD – Paradise is closing – at least Paradise Inn on Mount Rainier. The historic National Park Service inn will be shuttered until at least spring 2008 for a multimillion-dollar makeover.
The park also is building a new visitor center in the inn’s parking lot, which eventually will replace the Henry M. Jackson center. The aging circular structure has been likened to a spaceship.
Sunday is the last night for overnight guests at the inn, a popular gathering place, eatery and overnight accommodation at the mountain. The inn closes each winter.
After contractors are selected, crews will begin a rehabilitation project that is expected to cost between $10 million and $15 million.
The picturesque inn, built in 1916 from silver fir and local rock, will retain its grand architecture, including the massive timbers, stone fireplaces and cheery public spaces.
The redo will include a new foundation and other improvements so the structure can withstand the pressure of tons of snow every winter and the rumbling of a major earthquake.
Paradise gets some of the heaviest snowfall in the world – more than 50 feet in an average winter – putting incredible strain on the building, project manager Eric Walkinshaw said.
The building looks solid but sits on a foundation of rubble that has shifted over the years, he said. Parts of the inn have moved more than a foot, as measured from the roof to the floor, he said. Walls and doorframes tilt, and gaps have opened between fireplaces and walls.
The inn will get a new steel-reinforced concrete foundation, sheathing for all exterior walls and a new floor, Walkinshaw told The Olympian for Friday’s editions.
“We’re also going to rebuild the two grand chimneys – they were built on large, stacked rock rubble,” he said. “We’re going to number the stones so we’ll be sure it goes back up accurately.”
The Glacier Lounge will be converted into guest rooms for people who can’t climb stairs. The bay window in the gift shop will taken out, leaving the lobby looking more as it did in 1916. Guest rooms that were paneled in the 1960s will be restored to the original design.
The inn’s annex, built in 1921, also will get a makeover.
The inn will get a modern fire-protection system and code upgrades for access by people with disabilities.
Walkinshaw said visitors won’t have to worry about recognizing the place when it reopens. Much of the work won’t be obvious, he said.
“A lot of people have been calling, and they’re worried that a Holiday Inn will be here,” he said. “That won’t happen. The historical look and feel of the building will be intact – it will have the same great look and great feeling.”
Indeed, he said he’s more concerned that people will look at the finished product and wonder where all the project money went.
“We’re worried that people will say, ‘Why did you spend all that money – it looks the same!’” he said.
Dale and Barbara Gardener of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., stayed at the lodge this week.
“We sat in front of the big fireplaces last night and socialized with people,” Barbara Gardener said. “We just enjoyed it – there were no telephones or televisions. This has been a high point of our travels.
“It’s a lovely building, but it does need renovation. It would be a shame to lose it.”
The project means that none of the 118 guest rooms will be available for the next two summers. A much smaller National Park Service inn at Longmire will remain open, Walkinshaw said.
The nearby Jackson Visitor Center, meanwhile, is scheduled for an $18.5 million replacement. Bids will go out this winter for construction of a smaller facility, with architecture that complements the inn. The old center, the Guide House and trails will remain open throughout construction.
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