A treasure was stolen from Yosemite’s Ahwahnee hotel. See what’s there now
An iconic sign for a historic Yosemite Valley hotel is (sort of) back in Yosemite National Park.
One of The Ahwahnee’s signs was stolen in 2016, shortly before the hotel’s name was changed to The Majestic Yosemite Hotel because of a trademark name dispute with the park’s former concessionaire.
Yosemite’s original property names, including The Ahwahnee, returned in 2019, but the stolen sign never did, despite park officials offering a $1,000 reward for its safe return. So, Yosemite officials decided to make a new one.
A “historically accurate replica” was installed on Thursday during an event with Yosemite’s historic preservation team and other park officials.
The new sign is located at a small stone structure along Ahwahnee Drive, known as the Ahwahnee Hotel Gatehouse, which was recently restored. The hotel sign is the first one visitors see when approaching The Ahwahnee from Yosemite Village.
The hotel, opened to the public in 1927, is famous for its architecture, including the stone gatehouse, which was recently refurbished with new mortar for stabilization, and repairing some missing stone pieces, Yosemite spokesperson Scott Gediman said.
A black metal eagle was also added to the top of the new sign. The original, at the hotel since 1930, had a metal eagle that was stolen decades ago, Gediman said.
The new sign was created by contracted McGrath Arts in Mariposa and Yosemite’s historic preservation team – described by Gediman as artists, historians and preservationists who have worked on many other Yosemite projects, including a new exhibit to honor the contributions of Chinese Americans, part of a larger effort to tell a more complete and accurate story of Yosemite’s early history.
The Ahwahnee is one of five national historic landmarks in Yosemite, including the Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center (formerly LeConte Memorial Lodge), Ranger’s Club, Parsons Memorial Lodge, and the Wawona Hotel and its Thomas Hill Studio. In all, Yosemite has more than 60 properties with nearly 600 individual resources that have National Register status.
The Ahwahnee was commissioned by Stephen Mather, the first director of the National Park Service, to cater to influential people to increase support for national parks, Gediman said.
Reservations are no longer needed to enter the park, what ended Oct. 1. On Thursday evening, two Yosemite roads – Tioga Road and Glacier Point Road – are set to temporarily close due to coming storms.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 3:25 PM with the headline "A treasure was stolen from Yosemite’s Ahwahnee hotel. See what’s there now."
