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111-549: The Ahwahnee is a grand hotel in Yosemite National Park , California , on the floor of Yosemite Valley . It was built by the Yosemite Park and Curry Company and opened for business in 1927. The hotel is constructed of steel, stone, concrete, wood, and glass, and is a premier example of National Park Service rustic architecture. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. The Ahwahnee

222-504: A Traveller —including the short story " The Devil and Tom Walker "—under his Geoffrey Crayon persona. "I think there are in it some of the best things I have ever written", Irving told his sister. But while the book sold respectably, Traveller was dismissed by critics, who panned both Traveller and its author. "The public have been led to expect better things", wrote the United States Literary Gazette , while

333-464: A certain number of months, in which a plenary pardon is assured in advance for all kinds of crimes, among which, several of the most gross and sensual are specifically mentioned, and the weaknesses of the flesh to which they were prone. Clancy wrote to Irving, who "promptly aided the investigation into the truth, and promised to correct in future editions the misrepresentation complained of". Clancy traveled to his new posting by way of England, and bearing

444-522: A copy to Irving. Whether this was done is not clear as the disputed text remains in the 1849 edition. Irving also championed America's maturing literature, advocating stronger copyright laws to protect writers from the kind of piracy that had initially plagued The Sketch Book . Writing in the January 1840 issue of Knickerbocker , he openly endorsed copyright legislation pending in Congress. "We have

555-401: A cost of $ 115 million in today's dollars." This property included trademarks that were registered by both Delaware North and its predecessors, including place names such as Ahwahnee, Badger Pass , Curry Village, Yosemite Lodge , the slogan "Go climb a rock", and even "Yosemite National Park" itself. The contract with Delaware North also required that if it were to be succeeded as concessionaire,

666-562: A fallen hero in his eyes, Irving began to view Spanish affairs more realistically. However, the politics and warfare were exhausting, and Irving was both homesick and suffering from a crippling skin condition. I am wearied and at times heartsick of the wretched politics of this country…. The last ten or twelve years of my life, passed among sordid speculators in the United States, and political adventurers in Spain, has shewn me so much of

777-525: A lack of funds. In 1925, the Park Service, unhappy with the declining concessions situation within the parks, decided to grant a monopoly to single entities to run the hotel and food services in each park. In response, the Curry Company and The Yosemite National Park Company (successor to D. J. Desmond Park Company) were merged to create one larger concessions company, with Donald Tresidder from

888-524: A letter of introduction from Irving, stopped at Newstead Abbey and was able to view the document to which Irving had alluded. Upon inspection, Clancy discovered that it was, in fact, not an indulgence issued to the friars from any ecclesiastical authority, but a pardon given by the king to some parties suspected of having broken "forest laws". Clancy requested the local pastor to forward his findings to Catholic periodicals in England, and upon publication, send

999-532: A lifelong personal and professional friendship. Irving composed the short story "Rip Van Winkle" overnight while staying with his sister Sarah and her husband, Henry van Wart , in Birmingham, England , a place that inspired other works as well. In October 1818, Irving's brother William secured for Irving a post as chief clerk to the United States Navy and urged him to return home. Irving turned

1110-422: A massive six story structure, but Tresidder and the board requested a hotel with only 100 guest rooms that would feel more like a luxurious country home than a hotel. The design was changed several times and at one point the hotel was to be no larger than three stories high, but eventually a more expansive layout was selected to accommodate the 100 guest rooms along with several public spaces. The interior design of

1221-655: A number of manuscripts dealing with the Spanish conquest of the Americas had recently been made public. Irving left for Madrid and enthusiastically began scouring the Spanish archives for colorful material. With full access to the American consul's massive library of Spanish history, Irving began working on several books at once. The first offspring of this hard work, A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus ,

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1332-526: A regular contributor to The Knickerbocker magazine in 1839, writing new essays and short stories under the Knickerbocker and Crayon pseudonyms. He was regularly approached by aspiring young authors for advice or endorsement, including Edgar Allan Poe, who sought Irving's comments on " William Wilson " and " The Fall of the House of Usher ". In 1837, a lady of Charleston, South Carolina brought to

1443-461: A reward for his safe return. Irving then published A History of New York on December 6, 1809, under the Knickerbocker pseudonym, with immediate critical and popular success. "It took with the public", Irving remarked, "and gave me celebrity, as an original work was something remarkable and uncommon in America". The name Diedrich Knickerbocker became a nickname for Manhattan residents in general and

1554-481: A series of more than 50 loosely connected short stories and essays. While some reviewers thought Bracebridge to be a lesser imitation of The Sketch Book , the book was well received by readers and critics. "We have received so much pleasure from this book", wrote critic Francis Jeffrey in the Edinburgh Review , "that we think ourselves bound in gratitude... to make a public acknowledgement of it". Irving

1665-428: A severe trial to absent myself for a time from my dear little Sunnyside, but I shall return to it better enabled to carry it on comfortably". He hoped that his position as Minister would allow him plenty of time to write, but Spain was in a state of political upheaval during most of his tenure, with a number of warring factions vying for control of the 12-year-old Queen Isabella II . Irving maintained good relations with

1776-537: A simple campsite run by two Indiana schoolteachers ended up as the sole concessionaire for the park, and Yosemite Park and Curry Company went on to build much of the park's service structures. Donald Tresidder, as president of the Yosemite Park and Curry Company, oversaw the building of the Ahwahnee Hotel and several other major structures within the park. The name originally selected for the new hotel

1887-518: A single volume by John Miller in London. Irving appealed to Walter Scott for help procuring a more reputable publisher for the remainder of the book. Scott referred Irving to his own publisher, London powerhouse John Murray , who agreed to take on The Sketch Book . From then on, Irving would publish concurrently in the United States and Britain to protect his copyright, with Murray as his English publisher of choice. Irving's reputation soared, and for

1998-499: A small watercolor painting which continues to hang in his home. The Irvings lived at 131 William Street at the time of Washington's birth, but they later moved across the street to 128 William Street. Several of Irving's brothers became active New York merchants; they encouraged his literary aspirations, often supporting him financially as he pursued his writing career. Irving was an uninterested student who preferred adventure stories and drama, and he regularly sneaked out of class in

2109-485: A surveying mission, along with companions Charles La Trobe and Count Albert-Alexandre de Pourtales, and they traveled deep into Indian Territory (now the state of Oklahoma). At the completion of his western tour, Irving traveled through Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, where he became acquainted with politician and novelist John Pendleton Kennedy . Irving was frustrated by bad investments, so he turned to writing to generate additional income, beginning with A Tour on

2220-466: A taste to suit my dinner". While visiting Rome in 1805, Irving struck up a friendship with painter Washington Allston and was almost persuaded into a career as a painter. "My lot in life, however, was differently cast". Irving returned from Europe to study law with his legal mentor Judge Josiah Ogden Hoffman in New York City. By his own admission, he was not a good student and barely passed

2331-675: A tent camp in the valley and, despite the two-week round-trip journey via horse and wagon from Merced, California , the camp registered 292 guests in its first year. The Curry Company went on to dominate the politics of the park for decades, and David wrote the Secretary of the Interior, Franklin Lane , in an effort to extend the park's tourist season so as to expand his business. In the Currys' opinion, national parks were for recreational use, and

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2442-559: A variety of settings from major cities to remote locations. Since the 1800s, the traditional concept full-service conference and resort hotels have been based upon a venue which is typically remote and has a natural feature as its attraction. For example, the Kviknes Hotel in Norway is a difficult to reach remote location which provides visitors access to the scenic fjord at Balestrand or The Brando Resort on Tetiaroa which

2553-438: A village for the native Miwoks and later as a stables complex known as Kenneyville. The site was chosen for its exposure to the sun, which allows for natural heating, and for its views of several Yosemite icons, including Glacier Point , Half Dome , and Yosemite Falls. The original concept art for the hotel depicted a building that was far grander than what would eventually be constructed. Underwood's original design called for

2664-740: A young literature", he wrote, "springing up and daily unfolding itself with wonderful energy and luxuriance, which … deserves all its fostering care". The legislation, however, did not pass at that time. In 1841, Irving was elected to the National Academy of Design as an Honorary Academician. He also began a friendly correspondence with Charles Dickens and hosted Dickens and his wife at Sunnyside during Dickens's American tour in 1842. President John Tyler appointed Irving as Minister to Spain in February 1842, after an endorsement from Secretary of State Daniel Webster . Irving wrote, "It will be

2775-492: Is only accessible by a private plane from Tahiti . Historically there were certain built-in amenities such as gourmet cuisine , music recitals , and shoreline trails ; however, the amenities of modern (post-1980) destination hotels dwarf the scale of these earlier models. Many of the Las Vegas and Caribbean resort hotels have complete shopping malls , conference centers and large entertainment halls on site; thus,

2886-490: Is so much in the popular heart". By 1859, author Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. noted that Sunnyside had become "next to Mount Vernon, the best known and most cherished of all the dwellings in our land". Irving died of a heart attack in his bedroom at Sunnyside on November 28, 1859, age 76—only eight months after completing the final volume of his Washington biography. Legend has it that his last words were: "Well, I must arrange my pillows for another night. When will this end?" He

2997-593: Is usually very casual, the Ahwahnee Dining Room used to require a jacket for men, but it later relaxed that tradition. Now collared shirts for men are allowed and women may wear either a dress or slacks and a blouse. The Grand Dining Room was originally designed to accommodate 1,000 guests, but it was eventually scaled down to seat 350. However, the enormous kitchen still reflects the original design concept and includes separate stations for baking and pastries. High quality kitchen appliances were installed so

3108-582: The Astor Library , a forerunner to the New York Public Library . Irving continued to socialize and keep up with his correspondence well into his seventies, and his fame and popularity continued to soar. "I don't believe that any man, in any country, has ever had a more affectionate admiration for him than that given to you in America", wrote Senator William C. Preston in a letter to Irving. "I believe that we have had but one man who

3219-704: The Las Vegas Strip are most typically thought of as mega-resorts owing to their immense size and complexity. Kirk Kerkorian is credited for building the first mega-resort in 1969 earning him the nickname "father of the mega-resort". Two projects in Las Vegas in 1969 and 1973 by architect Martin Stern, Jr. and entrepreneur Kirk Kerkorian , the International Hotel and the MGM Grand, set

3330-625: The Moors . Irving served as American ambassador to Spain in the 1840s. Irving was born and raised in Manhattan to a merchant family. He made his literary debut in 1802 with a series of observational letters to the Morning Chronicle , written under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle . He temporarily moved to England for the family business in 1815, where he achieved fame with the publication of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. which

3441-671: The New-York Mirror pronounced Irving "overrated". Hurt and depressed by the book's reception, Irving retreated to Paris where he spent the next year worrying about finances and scribbling down ideas for projects that never materialized. While in Paris, Irving received a letter from Alexander Hill Everett on January 30, 1826. Everett, recently the American Minister to Spain, urged Irving to join him in Madrid, noting that

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3552-598: The Walt Disney Parks and Resorts feature multiple hotels, multiple theme parks, a shopping complex , and other features. Other mega-resorts exist with no specific centerpiece, having many features that are considered prominent, such as Atlantis Paradise Island and its upcoming sister park in Dubai . Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of

3663-468: The Yosemite Lodge . Desmond also began a hotel at Glacier Point the following year, while buying out a number of businesses to improve D. J. Desmond Park Company's position in upcoming park leasing contracts. A congressional act permitted this efficient supervision of the park for the enjoyment of the public. However, prominent tourists were refusing to stay at the park due to the poor conditions of

3774-485: The real property to the National Park Service. In 2014, Delaware North lost a bid to renew its contract with the U.S. government to Yosemite Hospitality, LLC, a division of Aramark . When it had originally taken over the concessionaries in 1993, Delaware North was contractually required to purchase, at fair market value, "the assets of the previous concessionaire, including its intellectual property, at

3885-639: The 20th century Mad magazine. Salmagundi was a moderate success, spreading Irving's name and reputation beyond New York. He gave New York City the nickname "Gotham" in its 17th issue dated November 11, 1807, an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "Goat's Town". Irving completed A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, by Diedrich Knickerbocker (1809) while mourning

3996-549: The Ahwahnee Hotel were adapted for Stanley Kubrick 's horror film The Shining (1980). Designers at Elstree Studios incorporated the hotel's lobby, elevators, and Great Lounge into sets for the Overlook Hotel. Both the film The Caine Mutiny (1954) and Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day (1996) include footage of the Ahwahnee Hotel. The Ahwahnee Hotel features in the February 18, 1940, and February 25, 1940, episodes of The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny . In

4107-504: The Ahwahnee Hotel, as well as other historic hotels and lodges in the park, would be renamed. The Ahwahnee was renamed the Majestic Yosemite Hotel effective March 1, 2016. The names were restored in 2019 upon settlement of the dispute. The Ahwahnee is a 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m) Y-shaped building and has 97 hotel rooms, parlors, and suites, each accented with original Native American designs. 24 cottages bring

4218-463: The Ahwahnee. The Grand Dining Room is 130 feet long and 51 feet wide, with a 34-foot ceiling supported by rock columns, creating a cathedral-like atmosphere. For fire safety reasons, the wood beams in the dining room are actually hollow and contain steel beams. The alcove window at the end of the room perfectly framed Yosemite Falls when the hotel was completed. Although the dress code for the park

4329-514: The Conquest of Granada was published a year later, followed by Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus in 1831. Irving's writings on Columbus are a mixture of history and fiction, a genre now called romantic history. Irving based them on extensive research in the Spanish archives, but also added imaginative elements aimed at sharpening the story. The first of these works is

4440-546: The Curry Company as the new head. As part of this reorganization, the newly formed Yosemite Park and Curry Company proposed a new luxury hotel. Given the Curry Company's enormous success in the park, it was hoped that their involvement would help realize Mather's hotel. While the National Park Service technically had complete control over the park's operations, the Yosemite Park and Curry Company began to have further influence. The monopoly obtained leasing privileges and accumulated both financial and political benefits. What began as

4551-509: The Grand Dining Room and presented as a feast given by a Renaissance -era lord . This tradition began in 1927, the Ahwahnee's first year of operation, and was inspired by the fictional Squire Bracebridge's Yule celebration in a story from The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. by Washington Irving. Music and theatrical performances based on Irving's story accompany the introduction of each course. Donald Tresidder conceived

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4662-576: The New York Morning Chronicle in 1802 when he was 19, submitting commentaries on the city's social and theater scene under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle . The name evoked his Federalist leanings and was the first of many pseudonyms he employed throughout his career. The letters brought Irving some early fame and moderate notoriety. Aaron Burr was a co-publisher of the Chronicle , and was impressed enough to send clippings of

4773-562: The Oldstyle pieces to his daughter Theodosia . Charles Brockden Brown made a trip to New York to try to recruit Oldstyle for a literary magazine he was editing in Philadelphia. Concerned for his health, Irving's brothers financed an extended tour of Europe from 1804 to 1806. He bypassed most of the sites and locations considered essential for the social development of a young man, to the dismay of his brother William who wrote that he

4884-510: The Oregon border that newly elected president James K. Polk had vowed to resolve. Irving returned from Spain in September 1846, took up residence at Sunnyside, and began work on an "Author's Revised Edition" of his works for publisher George Palmer Putnam . For its publication, Irving had made a deal which guaranteed him 12 percent of the retail price of all copies sold, an agreement that

4995-527: The Prairies which related his recent travels on the frontier. The book was another popular success and also the first book written and published by Irving in the United States since A History of New York in 1809. In 1834, he was approached by fur magnate John Jacob Astor , who convinced him to write a history of his fur trading colony in Astoria, Oregon . Irving made quick work of Astor's project, shipping

5106-628: The United States Senate had refused to confirm him as the new Minister. Consoling Van Buren, Irving predicted that the Senate's partisan move would backfire. "I should not be surprised", Irving said, "if this vote of the Senate goes far toward elevating him to the presidential chair". Irving arrived in New York on May 21, 1832, after 17 years abroad. That September, he accompanied Commissioner on Indian Affairs Henry Leavitt Ellsworth on

5217-457: The United States, particularly A Tour on the Prairies , though British critics accused him of "book-making". In 1835, Irving purchased a "neglected cottage" and its surrounding riverfront property in Tarrytown, New York, which he named Sunnyside in 1841. It required constant repair and renovation over the next 20 years, with costs continually escalating, so he reluctantly agreed to become

5328-693: The area had been known as Slapershaven or "Sleeper's Haven" by the Dutch. Irving made several other trips up the Hudson as a teenager, including an extended visit to Johnstown, New York , where he passed through the Catskill Mountains region, the setting for " Rip Van Winkle ". "Of all the scenery of the Hudson", Irving wrote, "the Kaatskill Mountains had the most witching effect on my boyish imagination". Irving began writing letters to

5439-507: The atmosphere. Irving is largely credited as the first American Man of Letters and the first to earn his living solely by his pen. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow acknowledged Irving's role in promoting American literature in December 1859: "We feel a just pride in his renown as an author, not forgetting that, to his other claims upon our gratitude, he adds also that of having been the first to win for our country an honourable name and position in

5550-472: The attention of William Clancy , newly appointed bishop to Demerara , a passage in The Crayon Miscellany , and questioned whether it accurately reflected Catholic teaching or practice. The passage under "Newstead Abbey" read: One of the parchment scrolls thus discovered, throws rather an awkward light upon the kind of life led by the friars of Newstead. It is an indulgence granted to them for

5661-407: The bar examination in 1806. He began socializing with a group of literate young men whom he dubbed "The Lads of Kilkenny", and he created the literary magazine Salmagundi in January 1807 with his brother William and his friend James Kirke Paulding, writing under various pseudonyms, such as William Wizard and Launcelot Langstaff. Irving lampooned New York culture and politics in a manner similar to

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5772-513: The basis for his 1837 book The Adventures of Captain Bonneville . These three works made up Irving's "western" series of books and were written partly as a response to criticism that his time in England and Spain had made him more European than American. Critics such as James Fenimore Cooper and Philip Freneau felt that he had turned his back on his American heritage in favor of English aristocracy. Irving's western books were well received in

5883-550: The biography were published between 1855 and 1859. Irving traveled regularly to Mount Vernon and Washington, D.C., for his research, and struck up friendships with Presidents Millard Fillmore and Franklin Pierce . He was elected an Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1855. He was hired as an executor of John Jacob Astor's estate in 1848 and appointed by Astor's will as first chairman of

5994-563: The city's merchant class. Washington was born on April 3, 1783, the same week that New York City residents learned of the British ceasefire which ended the American Revolution . Irving's mother named him after George Washington. Irving met his namesake at age 6 when George Washington came to New York just before his inauguration as President in 1789. The President blessed young Irving, an encounter that Irving had commemorated in

6105-417: The contemporary version of a destination often features large on-site capital investment in activities, although the access to a local natural feature is still retained by many newer destination hotels. A mega-resort is a type of destination which is of an exceptionally large size, sometimes featuring large-scale attractions ( casino , golf course , theme park , multiple accommodations ). The hotels along

6216-419: The contract with Yosemite Hospitality excluded intellectual property from the asset purchasing clause, and demanded a payment for the property to be determined in court. Delaware North initially asserted the fair market value of its properties to be $ 51 million, but the National Park Service estimated the value of the intangible assets at $ 3.5 million. Delaware North claimed to have offered to temporarily license

6327-504: The couple marketed the park with attractions like the Firefall . David Curry died in 1917 and left the management of Camp Curry to his widow Jennie, who was then known as "Mother Curry". She received help from her children, particularly her daughter Mary, and Mary's husband Donald Tresidder . The camp still exists today as Curry Village . In 1915, Stephen T. Mather convinced D. J. Desmond to convert an old army barracks into

6438-409: The dark side of human nature, that I begin to have painful doubts of my fellow man; and look back with regret to the confiding period of my literary career, when, poor as a rat, but rich in dreams, I beheld the world through the medium of my imagination and was apt to believe men as good as I wished them to be. With the political situation relatively settled in Spain, Irving continued to closely monitor

6549-504: The death of his 17-year-old fiancée Matilda Hoffman. It was his first major book and a satire on self-important local history and contemporary politics. Before its publication, Irving started a hoax by placing a series of missing person advertisements in the New York Evening Post seeking information on Diedrich Knickerbocker , a crusty Dutch historian who had allegedly gone missing from his hotel in New York City. As part of

6660-671: The death of his brother William—Irving worked slowly, finally delivering a completed manuscript to Murray in March 1822. The book, Bracebridge Hall, or The Humorists, A Medley (the location was based loosely on Aston Hall , occupied by members of the Bracebridge family, near his sister's home in Birmingham) was published in June 1822. The format of Bracebridge was similar to that of The Sketch Book , with Irving, as Crayon, narrating

6771-523: The development of the new government and the fate of Isabella. His official duties as Spanish Minister also involved negotiating American trade interests with Cuba and following the Spanish parliament's debates over the slave trade. He was also pressed into service by Louis McLane, the American Minister to the Court of St. James's in London, to assist in negotiating the Anglo-American disagreement over

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6882-433: The direction of the show. Adams reworked the script considerably in 1931, creating the role of Major Domo, head of the household, for himself while his wife, Virginia Best Adams, played the housekeeper. The dinner was not held during World War II , when the Ahwahnee was functioning as a naval hospital. When it resumed, the 1946 dinner introduced chorale concerts and more significant musical performances. Up until 1956 there

6993-488: The early 19th century. He wrote the short stories " Rip Van Winkle " (1819) and " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow " (1820), both of which appear in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works include biographies of Oliver Goldsmith , Muhammad , and George Washington , as well as several histories of 15th-century Spain that deal with subjects such as the Alhambra , Christopher Columbus , and

7104-401: The east side of the hotel to correct this (the logs were replaced in the 1990s). This would be the first of many changes to the hotel. In 1928, a roof garden and dance hall were converted into a private apartment after the dance hall failed to draw an audience. In 1931, the load-bearing trusses in the dining room were reinforced after it was discovered that they were barely adequate to support

7215-654: The evenings to attend the theater by the time he was 14. An outbreak of yellow fever in Manhattan in 1798 prompted his family to send him upriver, where he stayed with his friend James Kirke Paulding in Tarrytown, New York . It was in Tarrytown where he became familiar with the bucolic beauty of the region with its Dutch customs and local ghost stories. Though the town of Sleepy Hollow did not exist in Irving's time (North Tarrytown changed its name to Sleepy Hollow in 1996),

7326-405: The event were difficult to obtain. In prior years, the scarce tickets were awarded to applicants by lottery . In 1992, there were a reported 60,000 applications for the coveted 1,650 seats. In 1995, the organizers of the traditional dinner accepted ticket cancellations because the park could have been shut down due to the national budget impasse. The Great Lounge is one of the main public spaces in

7437-554: The facilities (socialite Lady Astor reportedly described the Sentinel Hotel as "primitive"), and in 1916 the newly formed National Park Service began a concerted effort to attract visitors to the parks and create better accommodations and services. Under the direction of Mather, whose greatest desire was to build a luxury hotel in Yosemite, an attempt was made to build accommodations near Yosemite Falls but it failed due to

7548-751: The fawning biographical account Astoria in February 1836. In 1835, Irving, Astor, and a few others founded the Saint Nicholas Society in the City of New York . During an extended stay at Astor's home, Irving met explorer Benjamin Bonneville and was intrigued with his maps and stories of the territories beyond the Rocky Mountains . The two men met in Washington, D.C., several months later, and Bonneville sold his maps and rough notes to Irving for $ 1,000. Irving used these materials as

7659-459: The hotel also underwent several changes. Artist and interior designer Henry Lovins originally suggested a "Mayan revival" theme with Hispano-Moresque influences. However, the husband and wife team of Arthur Upham Pope and Phyllis Ackerman was selected over Lovins. Drawing on their experience as art historians, Ackerman and Pope created a style that mixed Art Deco , Native American , Middle Eastern , and Arts and Crafts styles. The interior work

7770-406: The hotel could compete with fine dining establishments, and the facility was specifically constructed to handle special events and functions. Regular entertainment is provided at dinner by a pianist. Local Yosemite artist Dudley Kendall played piano in the dining room at the Ahwahnee for years and had his work displayed at the hotel. The Bracebridge Dinner is a seven-course formal gathering held in

7881-443: The hotel. The large space spans the full width of the wing and nearly its full length (minus the solarium). There are two large fireplaces on either end of the room made from cut sandstone. On either side of the lounge is a series of floor-to-ceiling plate-glass picture windows ornamented at their tops with stained glass. The individual border designs in the beams of the Great Lounge are by artist Jeanette Dryer Spencer. Interiors of

7992-408: The idea for the event with his wife Mary Curry, their friends, and park staff. Tresidder hired Garnet Holme for the event's first year to write the script and produce the event, and Tresidder and his wife played the squire and his lady until Tresidder's death in 1948. Photographer Ansel Adams, who was working for the Yosemite Park and Curry Company and was well known in Yosemite for his eccentricities,

8103-447: The interior and the enclosure of the original porte-cochère. After the war, when few people brought servants with them, the owners converted the chauffeur and maid rooms into guest rooms. The 1950s, '60s, and '70s brought several upgrades to the hotel, including fire escapes , a fire alarm system, and a sprinkler system, along with an outdoor swimming pool and automatic elevators, and in the late 1970s, smoke detectors. From 2003 to 2004

8214-515: The legation's chargé d'affaires until the arrival of Martin Van Buren , President Andrew Jackson 's nominee for British Minister. With Van Buren in place, Irving resigned his post to concentrate on writing, eventually completing Tales of the Alhambra , which would be published concurrently in the United States and England in 1832. Irving was still in London when Van Buren received word that

8325-503: The next two years, he led an active social life in Paris and Great Britain, where he was often feted as an anomaly of literature: an upstart American who dared to write English well. With both Irving and publisher John Murray eager to follow up on the success of The Sketch Book , Irving spent much of 1821 traveling in Europe in search of new material, reading widely in Dutch and German folk tales. Hampered by writer's block—and depressed by

8436-587: The next year to negotiate a trade agreement between the United States and the British West Indies , finally reaching a deal in August 1830. That same year, Irving was awarded a medal by the Royal Society of Literature, followed by an honorary doctorate of civil law from Oxford in 1831. Following McLane's recall to the United States in 1831 to serve as Secretary of Treasury, Irving stayed on as

8547-506: The offer down, opting to stay in England to pursue a writing career. In the spring of 1819, Irving sent to his brother Ebenezer in New York a set of short prose pieces that he asked be published as The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. The first installment, containing "Rip Van Winkle", was an enormous success, and the rest of the work was equally successful; it was issued in 1819–1820 in seven installments in New York and in two volumes in London ("The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" appeared in

8658-517: The roof was overhauled, and virtually the entire slate-tile roof and copper gutter system were replaced. Martech Associates, Inc. of Millheim , Pennsylvania, designed the updated roof and served as the general contractor for the project. The project cost approximately US$ 4 million and is notable for its 97 percent material recycling rate. An article in the Los Angeles Times on March 13, 2009, stated that seismic retrofits might be needed for

8769-400: The ruse, he placed a notice from the hotel's proprietor informing readers that, if Mr. Knickerbocker failed to return to the hotel to pay his bill, he would publish a manuscript that Knickerbocker had left behind. Unsuspecting readers followed the story of Knickerbocker and his manuscript with interest, and some New York city officials were concerned enough about the missing historian to offer

8880-986: The script, the entire cast visit and stay in a fictionalized, comedic version of the hotel during a ski vacation to Badger Pass. The hotel and dining room have hosted many notable figures including artists, royalty, heads of state, film and television stars, writers, business executives, and other celebrities. Examples of notable guests include heads of state Queen Elizabeth II , Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower , John F. Kennedy , Ronald Reagan , Barack Obama , and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ; business moguls Walt Disney and Steve Jobs ; entertainers Desi Arnaz , Lucille Ball , Charlie Chaplin , Judy Garland , Leonard Nimoy , Will Rogers and William Shatner ; and writer Gertrude Stein . Conference and resort hotels These hotels as destinations may be characterized by distinctive architecture, upscale lodgings, ballrooms, large conference facilities, restaurants, and recreation activities such as golf or skiing. They may be located in

8991-407: The show. In 1979, Andrea Fulton assumed the role of director, which she holds to this day while also playing the role of housekeeper. In 2011, the Bracebridge dinner celebrated its 85th anniversary. Travel + Leisure magazine named Yosemite's Ahwahnee Hotel as one of the best hotels in the United States for the holidays for two consecutive years (2011 and 2012). For much of its history, tickets to

9102-502: The sixth issue of the New York edition and the second volume of the London edition). Like many successful authors of this era, Irving struggled against literary bootleggers. In England, some of his sketches were reprinted in periodicals without his permission, a legal practice as there was no international copyright law at the time. To prevent further piracy in Britain, Irving paid to have the first four American installments published as

9213-662: The snow load on the roof and potential earthquake stresses. When Prohibition was rescinded in 1933, a private dining room was converted into the El Dorado Diggins bar, evocative of the California Gold Rush period. 1943 saw the United States Navy take over the hotel for use as a convalescent hospital for war veterans . Some of the changes made to the hotel by the Navy included a repainting of

9324-597: The source of the durable myth that medieval Europeans believed the Earth was flat . According to the popular book, Columbus proved the Earth was round. In 1829, Irving was elected to the American Philosophical Society . That same year, he moved into Granada's ancient palace Alhambra, "determined to linger here", he said, "until I get some writings under way connected with the place". Before he could get any significant writing underway, however, he

9435-466: The spring of 1823. He returned to Paris and began collaborating with playwright John Howard Payne on translations of French plays for the English stage, with little success. He also learned through Payne that the novelist Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was romantically interested in him, though Irving never pursued the relationship. In August 1824, Irving published the collection of essays Tales of

9546-410: The standard for such casino resorts. The Mirage gave its size and emphasis on non-gaming entertainment options like shopping and fine dining to draw in customers. Mega-resorts use the same fantastic or mythical theme (medieval life at Excalibur , tropical at The Mirage, famous cities, etc.) throughout their properties. Many mega-resorts have a large theme park as its centerpiece . Resorts such as

9657-523: The successor must acquire all of the assets of the previous operator at fair market value. The contract with Yosemite Hospitality stated that the company be required to purchase furniture, equipment, vehicles, and "other property", but did not explicitly include intellectual property . In 2015, Delaware North sued the NPS in the United States Court of Claims for breach of contract, claiming that

9768-523: The timber came from land owned by the Curry family. The apparent wood siding and structural timber on the hotel's exterior are actually formed from stained concrete poured into molds to simulate a wood pattern. Concrete was chosen as the material for the outside "wood" elements to make the hotel fire resistant. Construction lasted eleven months and cost US$ 1,225,000 upon completion in July 1927. After construction

9879-472: The total number of rooms to 121. The hotel was designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood , who also designed Zion Lodge , Bryce Canyon Lodge , and Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge . It was made to feel rustic and match its surroundings, and the hotel is considered a masterpiece of " parkitecture ". The hotel is situated below the Royal Arches rock formation in a meadow area that previously served as

9990-467: The trademarks while the dispute was unresolved and further claimed that the government did not respond to its offer. The dispute gained national attention after it was publicized in an issue of Outside magazine, which led to the Sierra Club issuing a petition requesting that Delaware North drop the lawsuit. In January 2016, it was announced that due to the trademark dispute with Delaware North,

10101-506: The various generals and politicians, as control of Spain rotated through Espartero , Bravo, then Narváez . Espartero was then locked in a power struggle with the Spanish Cortes. Irving's official reports on the ensuing civil war and revolution expressed his romantic fascination with the regent as young Queen Isabella's knight protector, He wrote with an anti-republican, undiplomatic bias. Though Espartero, ousted in July 1843, remained

10212-468: The winter. To avoid this and to keep guests and income flowing, Tresidder centered the hotel around skiing and other winter activities. In order to keep the hotel filled throughout the holiday period, Tresidder also proposed Christmas entertainment. A banquet event was planned based on a story by Washington Irving about an eighteenth-century English Christmas at the home of the Squire of Bracebridge. The cast

10323-403: Was "Yosemite All-Year-Round Hotel", but Tresidder changed it just prior to opening to reflect the site's native name. After the Ahwahnee was built, Tresidder had to overcome a number of financial obstacles. The cost of the hotel was nearly double the original estimate, and as fall approached, the number of guests began to dwindle. Park officials became concerned and suggested closing the hotel for

10434-484: Was adopted by the New York Knickerbockers basketball team. After the success of A History of New York , Irving searched for a job and eventually became an editor of Analectic Magazine , where he wrote biographies of naval heroes such as James Lawrence and Oliver Hazard Perry . He was also among the first magazine editors to reprint Francis Scott Key 's poem "Defense of Fort McHenry ", which

10545-514: Was also admired by some British writers, including Lord Byron , Thomas Campbell , Charles Dickens , Mary Shelley , Francis Jeffrey , and Walter Scott . He advocated for writing as a legitimate profession and argued for stronger laws to protect American writers from copyright infringement. Washington Irving's parents were William Irving Sr., originally of Quholm , Shapinsay , Orkney , Scotland, and Sarah (née Saunders), originally of Falmouth, Cornwall , England. They married in 1761 while William

10656-530: Was asked to be a part of Tresidder's new winter celebrations in the elaborate, theatrical Christmas dinner with friends from the nearby Bohemian Club . Cast as the "Jester", Adams had asked the director for suggestions but was told to just act like a jester. Adams fortified himself with a few drinks and went on to climb the granite pillars to the rafters. Adams played the Lord of Misrule for the first two years. When Holme died in 1929, Tresidder asked Adams to take over

10767-539: Was buried under a simple headstone at Sleepy Hollow cemetery on December 1, 1859. Irving and his grave were commemorated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1876 poem "In the Churchyard at Tarrytown", which concludes with: How sweet a life was his; how sweet a death! Living, to wing with mirth the weary hours, Or with romantic tales the heart to cheer; Dying, to leave a memory like the breath Of summers full of sunshine and of showers, A grief and gladness in

10878-589: Was carried out by a number of artisans under their supervision. Much of the decoration originally used was Persian, and Ackerman and Pope would go on to become art consultants in Iran. The hotel was constructed from 5,000 tons (4,500 t) of rough-cut granite, 1,000 tons (910 t) of steel, and 30,000 ft (9,100 m) of timber. The steel came from the Union Iron Works in San Francisco and

10989-453: Was complete, the company began an advertising campaign to showcase the new amenities. However, just before opening day, the director noticed that the porte-cochère planned for the west side of the building, where the Indian room now sits, would allow exhaust fumes from automobiles to invade the premises. A hastily designed Douglas Fir pole porte-cochère entry and parking area were erected on

11100-446: Was disastrous for many American merchants, including Irving's family, and he left for England in mid-1815 to salvage the family trading company. He remained in Europe for the next 17 years. Irving spent the next two years trying to bail out the family firm financially but eventually had to declare bankruptcy. With no job prospects, he continued writing throughout 1817 and 1818. In the summer of 1817, he visited Walter Scott , beginning

11211-399: Was filled with locals from the park, including photographer Ansel Adams . In 1993 the National Park Service required a new concessioner to purchase the Yosemite Park and Curry Company from MCA Inc. and rename the business as a new company. The new concession contract was awarded to Delaware North and required that it assume all the assets and liabilities of the previous operator and deed

11322-646: Was immortalized as " The Star-Spangled Banner ". Irving initially opposed the War of 1812 like many other merchants, but the British attack on Washington, D.C. , in 1814 convinced him to enlist. He served on the staff of Daniel Tompkins , governor of New York and commander of the New York State Militia, but he saw no real action apart from a reconnaissance mission in the Great Lakes region. The war

11433-492: Was notified of his appointment as Secretary to the American Legation in London. Worried he would disappoint friends and family if he refused the position, Irving left Spain for England in July 1829. Arriving in London, Irving joined the staff of American Minister Louis McLane . McLane immediately assigned the daily secretary work to another man and tapped Irving to fill the role of aide-de-camp. The two worked over

11544-400: Was only a single performance, and then the number of performances gradually increased to a total of eight. Ansel Adams retired from the event in 1973, passing it on to Eugene Fulton, who had been part of the male chorus since 1934 and musical director since 1946. Fulton died unexpectedly on Christmas Eve in 1978 and his wife, Anna-Marie, and his daughter, Andrea, took over that year and produced

11655-438: Was pleased that his brother's health was improving, but he did not like the choice to " gallop through Italy … leaving Florence on your left and Venice on your right". Instead, Irving honed the social and conversational skills that eventually made him one of the world's most in-demand guests. "I endeavor to take things as they come with cheerfulness", Irving wrote, "and when I cannot get a dinner to suit my taste, I endeavor to get

11766-491: Was published in January 1828. The book was popular in the United States and in Europe and would have 175 editions published before the end of the century. It was also the first project of Irving's to be published with his own name, instead of a pseudonym, on the title page. Irving was invited to stay at the palace of the Duke of Gor , who gave him unfettered access to his library containing many medieval manuscripts. A Chronicle of

11877-616: Was relieved at its reception, which did much to cement his reputation with European readers. Still struggling with writer's block, Irving traveled to Germany, settling in Dresden in the winter of 1822. Here he dazzled the royal family and attached himself to Amelia Foster, an American living in Dresden with her five children. The 39-year-old Irving was particularly attracted to Foster's 18-year-old daughter Emily and vied in frustration for her hand. Emily finally refused his offer of marriage in

11988-442: Was serialized from 1819 to 1820. He continued to publish regularly throughout his life, and he completed a five-volume biography of George Washington just eight months before his death at age 76 in Tarrytown, New York . Irving was one of the first American writers to earn acclaim in Europe, and he encouraged other American authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne , Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , Herman Melville , and Edgar Allan Poe . He

12099-490: Was serving as a petty officer in the British Navy. They had eleven children, eight of whom survived to adulthood. Their first two sons died in infancy, both named William, as did their fourth child John. Their surviving children were William Jr. (1766), Ann (1770), Peter (1771), Catherine (1774), Ebenezer (1776), John Treat (1778), Sarah (1780), and Washington. The Irving family settled in Manhattan, and were part of

12210-539: Was temporarily renamed the Majestic Yosemite Hotel in 2016 due to a legal dispute between the U.S. government , which owns the property, and the outgoing concessionaire, Delaware North , which claimed rights to the trademarked name. The name was restored in 2019 upon settlement of the dispute. David and Jennie Curry were schoolteachers who arrived in Yosemite Valley in 1899. The couple ran

12321-473: Was unprecedented at that time. As he revised his older works for Putnam, he continued to write regularly, publishing biographies of Oliver Goldsmith in 1849 and Islamic prophet Muhammad in 1850. In 1855, he produced Wolfert's Roost , a collection of stories and essays that he had written for The Knickerbocker and other publications, and he began publishing a biography of his namesake George Washington which he expected to be his masterpiece. Five volumes of

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