Teacher Trekker

A Brief History of the Mount Washington Hotel

The origin of the Mount Washington Hotel can be traced back to the 1880s and the Mount Pleasant House. New Hampshire native, entrepreneur, and financier Joseph Stickney owned the Mount Pleasant House for nearly twenty years. Eventually be envisioned building a new hotel, The Mount Washington Hotel. The building’s design is primarily a Spanish Renaissance style with aspects of the Colonial Revival style. The plans were made and executed by New York architect Charles Alling Gifford. The project cost $1.7 million or an estimated $44.6 million in 2012 dollars.

The hotel is set on a foundation of local granite that can still be seen today in some areas of the hotel. Originally the roof was made of copper and painted green, but was later painted red to imitate Spanish tile. Construction began in 1900. During the building project, approximately 250 Italian craftsmen were brought in to complete the project. Two years later on July 28, 1902 the hotel was officially opened.

The hotel is almost 900 feet long and stood just under 115 feet tall. As a result, the building became and is still unofficially the largest primarily wooden structure in New England. For its grand opening there were over two hundred guest rooms, but the addition of a new wing in 1906 created 65 additional guest rooms and the Sun Dining Room. Over time additional buildings including a blacksmith shop, water-powered print shop, caretaker’s cottage and employee quarters were constructed on the property.

The Mount Washington is commonly regarded as a shining gem among the resort hotels nestled in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Because of the Mount Washington Hotel’s architectural and historic significance, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The resort was designed to only be open during the summer season, but after a series of upgrades the hotel was opened for the winter season beginning in 1999.

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Touring the First Floor of the Mount Washington Hotel 

The sections below will go into greater detail about the history behind various rooms in the Mount Washington Hotel that I visited, buildings in the immediate surrounding area and the hotel’s role in the Bretton Woods Conference. Other segments will also provide brief information about stores and services available throughout the hotel, particularly on the lower level.

The Great Hall serves as the main lobby area of the hotel. Visitors who enter the hotel through the main entrance will walk into an elegant and expansive room with high ceilings. Once inside you can’t miss the moose head above the large stone fireplace. The area is filled with couches and chairs for guests to lounge. Drinks and a limited menu are available for those parties looking to grab a bite to eat or cocktail. Others like us chose to order a drink while waiting for our table. After a little while, some of us decided to tour the hotel. For more information about my meal at Stickney’s Restaurant at the Mount Washington Hotel and other local eateries check out my White Mountains Restaurant Guide.

The walls of the Great Hall are covered with nostalgic photos of the history of the hotel. They range in date from prior to construction all the way to the present. Glass cases were filled with trophies, pictures and pamphlets from the hotel’s past. I found the sports memorabilia case to be worth some deeper observation. Its contents showed local teams and tournaments held at the hotel. Throughout the hotel there are also historic artifacts from the hotel’s past such as an old rotary telephone. From the Great Hall, visitors can access the many rooms of the Mount Washington Hotel’s Grand Hall level or take the stairs to the lower level.

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Towards the south end of the Great Hall is the Gold Room. This was the reason I was so interested in visiting the hotel. The space was the reported location of the signing of the final Articles of Agreement for the International Monetary Conference (also referred to as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference and the Bretton Woods Conference) that resulted in the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which today is a part of the World Bank. For approximately three weeks between the 1st and 22nd of July 1944, 730 representatives from 44 Allied nations held this historically significant conference at the Mount Washington Hotel. It was here where the new economic rules for the post World War II international monetary system were established that included a complex system of fixed exchange rates. The system replaced the old gold standard, and in an oversimplified way, established the U.S. dollar as the global currency to which all foreign currency would be compared.

At the time, the U.S. was in control of roughly two thirds of the world’s gold supply and wanted to ensure that the system relied on both gold and the U.S. dollar. Ideologically, not all nations agreed with the U.S., particularly because of the coming Cold War. The Soviet Union’s resistance and decision to decline ratifying the agreement was a result of their fear of worldwide capitalist expansion. They viewed these new institutions as “branches of Wall Street” reaching their way into communist economic systems. Despite the Soviet’s decision, the agreement was put into action in 1945 and the Bretton Woods system lasted nearly forty years before it collapsed in March 1973.

The Gold Room appears today just as it did during the conference, with the exception of the special exhibit that displays archival photographs, plaques and a display case. I read and took photos of the majority of them. A glass case also displayed the flags of the member nations and other historic documents. From the ceiling hung a gasolier light that was installed in the event of a power outage that would provide gas power in the event that the electricity was lost. The gas plumbing has since been removed. The centerpiece of the Gold Room is the table. It was once a part of Carolyn Stickney’s private dining room. The circular table was constructed of rock maple like furnishings from the Princess suite. Fourteen chairs were put around the table for the most powerful nations that took part in the formal signing of the conference documents.

Despite the fact that the hotel was very busy and people were everywhere as we toured the hotel, the Gold Room was empty when we were there. It’s amazing that no one else was as interested in the history of the conference. I thought that the room was going to be much busier, but I took advantage of the empty space to take in the history.

Originally referred to as the Hemicycle, the Conservatory was a semi-circular shaped room with large panes of glass that allow visitors to take in amazing views of Mount Washington and the Presidential Peaks. The high ceiling is supported by Ionic columns rich with detailed carvings. The dome is decorated with stained glass from the Tiffany Co. Classical fresco friezes once hung on the walls, but have since been removed. Still in the Conservatory is the original 1881 Steinway piano from Joseph Stickney’s New York home. As seen in historical photographs, the room used to be filled with wicker furniture and potted plants in the Victorian style. Today, it is filled with plush couches and chairs where guests can sit and relax while enjoying spectacular views. Since it was the evening we were unable to take advantage of any of the amazing mountain views.

The Grand Ballroom was another area of the hotel that was of significance during the International Monetary Conference. This is where delegates met over the course of three weeks to discuss and negotiate the terms of the agreement. The hotel was at its capacity. Rooms were converted into offices. The bowling alleys and billiard tables were removed to make extra space. Estimates indicate that almost 1000 people were staying at the hotel during the conference. There are stories of people sleeping in closets and even the stables. Other hotels were equally full and the representatives from the Chinese delegation stayed 22 miles away in the town of Franconia.

The perimeter of the Grand Ballroom had 234 rosette lights representing the original amount of guest rooms at the hotel. There was also a 10 square foot glass window that provided beautiful views of nearby Crawford Notch, but was later removed because of safety concerns. When we were there, the space was being occupied by the buffet dinner that had incredibly loud music and dancing children. It felt like a cross between a wedding and a bar mitzvah. As a result, I made little attempt to walk around the room.

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Touring the Lower Level of the Mount Washington Hotel

Following any of the staircases in the Great Hall of the hotel to the lower level will lead visitors to Stickney Street where they will find a number of shops and boutiques. Some of the newer additions you will find include the candy store Morsels, Critters which is a children’s store, a flower shop, and the Cherry Mountain arcade stocked with games and a billiards table. Also on the lower level are conference rooms, the indoor pool and the fitness center. Worth mentioning is the fact that the Mount Washington Hotel has its own on site post office. The Post Office first opened in 1903. For a long time, it was the only hotel that had its own zip code, 03575.

There are also a number of locations connected to the history of the hotel. Following dinner women would retire to play cards at Cabot’s. A room in the rear once housed the ticker tapes for businessmen interested in tracking their investments on Wall Street. Today it serves as the hotel’s general store where you can pick up souvenirs and clothing. The men would congregate after dinner in what is now Stickney’s Restaurant. For more about my meal, check out my article, the White Mountains Restaurant Guide. They would play billiards and smoke cigars. Women were excluded from entering this all male social club.

The Cave was originally the location of the hotel’s squash courts. Later the space was converted into a bar where guests would come to gamble and drink whiskey. During Prohibition, the Cave served as a speakeasy from 1917 to 1933. Guests would drink their alcoholic beverages out of teacups. Windows in the back of the room allowed guests and staff to watch for possible agents coming to bust their illegal good time. If they saw government officials traveling up the long road, the guests would still have enough time to finish their spirits and then refill their teacups, but this time with a legal beverage, tea. Based on all available data, no one was ever busted for their alcohol consumption in the Cave.

Today, it serves as one of the hotel bars and has a small stage area for live entertainment. When we toured the basement, the Cave was not open, but guests were still able to walk around the space. A narrow arched tunnel leads you into the main room. The interior of the room’s walls are made of roughly cut stones and contains brick archways. There was a table shuffleboard available for guests to play and a myriad of seating for patrons to enjoy the live shows. In terms of history, I found this to be the most interesting stop during my walking tour on the lower level. The bar was yet to open for the evening when we were walking around prior to our meal. It wasn’t a big deal. I would have rather seen it functioning in the Roaring Twenties than today.

Also on the lower level is the indoor pool and fitness center. The Mount Washington Hotel was one of the first hotels in America to have its own indoor pool. The water came from the nearby Ammonoosuc River. Steam was then used to raise the temperature of the water to comfortable levels for swimmers. An interesting tidbit about the pool: Mrs. Stickney was the first woman to use the watering hole and guests were asked by hotel staff to leave the pool area when she wanted to go swimming. Today the modern indoor pool is available to hotel guests, but when I was visiting it seemed more like a children’s playground than a pool area.

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Surrounding Properties

Unfortunately, I did not visit any of the locations below despite passing many of them during my time in the area. No original photography is available. This guide will provide background information about many of the surrounding properties connected to history of the hotel and/or the immediate area. A conclusion follows this section.

As the Mount Washington Hotel expanded additional construction projects resulted in the creation of new buildings and landscaping on the property surrounding the hotel. They include: the Bretton Arms Inn, The Mount Pleasant House (The Lodge), Stickney’s Chapel, the Golf Courses, the Tennis Courts, Fabyan Station and the Mount Washington Cog Railway. Due to the weather, walking the property was very challenging, and as a result I did not visit any of the sites in the section below. Perhaps, the next time I am in the area in better weather. As a result, I also do not have photographs of these sites.

In 1907, a 200 foot long garage was built to store guests’ automobiles. It was later redesigned to become the Bretton Arms Inn that served as a 50 room inn for the chauffeurs of hotel guests. Today, the Bretton Arms Inn is classic New England bed and breakfast inn that is comprised of 34 luxury rooms and 3 suites. Nearby is the hotel’s old stables where guests wishing to take excursions or to ride a well-trained saddle horse out on nearby bridle trails can get transportation.

Joseph Stickney’s first hotel venture in the region was the Mount Pleasant House. Until its demolition in 1939, the hotel was considered one of New England’s premier resorts. In 1972, The Lodge was built on the former site of the Mount Pleasant House. Currently, The Lodge has fifty rooms and an indoor pool.

Also on the Mount Washington Hotel property is Stickney’s Chapel. Following the death of Joseph Stickney in 1903, his wife Carolyn decided to have a memorial chapel built honoring her late husband. The stone was acquired from a granite quarry nearby. It was built in the Neo-Gothic style and cost approximately $25,000 to build. The building contains bronze plaques that recognize the donors, many of whom where Stickney’s friends who assisted in funding the building project. Inside are chimes, a memorial window and plaque that were all gifts of Mrs. Stickney. Another window was produced by the Tiffany Co. studio. The interior of the chapel contains stone walls with high rafters and oak furnishings. The chapel held its first service on August 11, 1907. Presently, the chapel is owned and managed by the Episcopal Church in North Conway.

The hotel also has two golf courses on its property. The 18 hole Mount Washington Course is a par 72 course that was designed by Donald Ross in 1915. The course was restored by Brian Silva using Ross’ original plans and reopened in 2008. In front of the hotel is the 9 hole Mount Pleasant Course. It was built in 1895 and was once connected to the Mount Pleasant House. The course was closed for many years and used as a driving range. A renovation project resulted in the reopening of the 9 hole course in 1989. I’m a golf junkie, so a visit during the spring or summer would allow me to add two new courses to my list.

The Mount Washington Hotel also has a place in tennis history. In 1973 and 1974 the hotel hosted the internationally recognized Volvo Tennis Tournament. American tennis great Jimmy Connors was defeated by Vijay Amritraj in the championship match. Today the hotel has four red clay courts.

At the base of the mountain sits Fabyan Station. It once served as a central hub of railroad activity in the White Mountains. By the 1880’s multiple railroad companies were providing service to the station. Up to 30 trains would travel to and from major east coast cities like New York City, Boston, Montreal and Portland, Maine. Old brochures bragged that a passenger could depart New York in the morning and have dinner at the hotel later that evening or take the red eye train from New York and be at the hotel for breakfast the following morning. The station was constructed in the Queen Anne-style in 1892 and replaced an earlier station. The station closed in 1958. The majority of the service equipment and maintenance buildings used by the railroad companies have long been removed, but just west of the building you can still see the roadbed for the wye if you look carefully. Today, Fabyan Station is a restaurant and lounge.

Finally, a few miles down the road from Fabyan Station is the Mount Washington Cog Railway. Sylvester Marsh may have amassed his riches in Chicago, but ended up retiring in his native New Hampshire. He is best known for his plan to create the Cog Railway. After a challenging hike to the summit of Mount Washington, Marsh wanted to design an easier and faster way to ascend the mountain. His engineering prowess inspired him to design a steam engine that combined with a rack and pinion system. Together the new system could climb the rugged terrain. Despite the fact that there was little faith in his ability to complete the project, the New Hampshire State Legislature issued him a charter to begin construction. In 1869, and the three mile long Cog Railway was completed with the first train making its ascent to the summit of Mount Washington at an average grade of over 25%. For obvious reasons, the Cog Railway is not open during the winter, thus I was unable to catch a ride to the apex.

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Conclusions

Within the last ten years the Omni Mount Washington Hotel has undergone approximately $80 million in improvements and renovations. Major renovation efforts were taken to improve the condition of the roof, the main dining room and the veranda. New additions include a state of the art 25,000 square foot spa facility and a 20,000 square foot conference hall. Facilities like the pool and golf courses have been significantly upgraded. The outdoor pool is now heated, allowing guests to relax in the water during the winter season, but just remember to bring your robes from your room or you’ll turn into an icicle. These improvements only make an already famous and respected hotel prepared for years to come.

The Omni Mount Washington Hotel and its surrounding property are deeply connected to local, state, national and even international history. A stroll around the hotel is evidence of the grand style that has encapsulated the hotel since its inception by Joseph Stickney. Walking around the hotel, supplemental buildings and connected attractions create the opportunity for people of all ages to find various activities to make their time at the resort an enjoyable one. Whether it is snowboarding down the slopes at Bretton Woods Ski Resort, grabbing a drink at one of the many bars, eating at Stickney’s (or the Main Dining Hall), playing a round of golf, sitting on the veranda taking in the scenic views of the Presidential Peaks or taking a self-guided walking tour of this historic hotel, there is something for everyone at the Mount Washington Hotel.

I only have one warning: have deep pockets, because everything connected to the hotel, the ski resort and other activities that carries a fee is expensive. At the same time there are many free attractions that you can find exploring the hotel property and surrounding area. If you enjoy architecture and history you could lose track of time walking in the hotel for a few hours. Stay somewhere local and save some money. Take advantage of the scenery and access to historical attractions a good portion of which are free. Then spend what you are willing to on the must do list you created prior to your trip. If you are traveling through the White Mountains of New Hampshire and have an interest in history, natural beauty and high quality service, then make sure to stop and visit the Omni Mount Washington Hotel.