Yellowstone National Park Visit July - August 2003 Roosevelt Arch

Yellowstone National Park Visit July - August 2003
Roosevelt Arch - 100 years old this year

yellowstone-roosevelt-arch_01

At the northern entrance in Gardiner, Montana, early visitors could ride the Northern Pacific train to visit Yellowstone. The trains brought passengers here until 1948. The cornerstone of Roosevelt Arch was laid by President Theodore Roosevelt during a vacation to the park in 1903, and several thousand people came by train to attend the dedication. The arch was built to serve as a formal gateway to the park. In his speech, Roosevelt said,

"The Yellowstone Park is something absolutely unique in the world. . .This Park was created and is now administered for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. . .it is the property of Uncle Sam and therefore of us all."

The entire arch is 50 feet high, and the main opening is 30 feet high and 25 feet wide. While it can’t compare to the triumphal arches of Europe, it is still pretty impressive standing there in the middle of nowhere.