Great Northern Railway Buildings, Historic railway district in Glacier National Park, Montana, US
The Great Northern Railway Buildings are five building complexes within Glacier National Park, designed with Swiss chalet features and rustic styling. They include the Belton Chalets, Granite Park Chalet, Many Glacier Hotel, Sperry Chalet, and Two Medicine Store located across different sections of the park.
Great Northern Railway built these structures between 1910 and 1915 to create tourist lodging after the park was established. This model for developing park tourism through the railway influenced how other regions approached visitor access.
The structures show how the railway shaped tourism in the early 1900s and drew people to the park. The blend of Swiss chalet design with rustic elements created a style that still defines how the landscape feels today.
These buildings are spread across different locations in the park and are reached either by hiking trails or by road. It helps to check ahead which locations are open during your visit and what access conditions are like.
This collection represents the largest gathering of Swiss chalet architecture in the United States and earned National Historic Landmark status in 1987. Many visitors overlook that most of these buildings still function as lodging today and are not just historical sites.
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