YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — On Wednesday, Nov. 6, Yellowstone National Park (YNP) honored the Roosevelt Arch in an appreciation post on Facebook as “a reminder of Yellowstone’s natural beauty all year round.”
According to Yellowstone Forever, the Roosevelt Arch was envisioned by Hiram M. Chittenden of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, although the architect remains unknown. At that time, Gardiner, Montana, was the most important gateway to YNP, and Chittenden allegedly felt that this entrance to the Park “lacked suitable grandeur.”
In 1903, Yellowstone Forever confirms the partially constructed arch was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt as he laid the cornerstone at a ceremony that drew thousands of guests.
Construction of the Arch took around six months, according to Yellowstone Forever, and cost about $10,000. Today, that would equate to roughly $340,000.
Yellowstone Forever also confirms that a a time capsule was arranged by local Masons and placed inside the Arch during the dedication ceremony. It reportedly contains a Bible, a picture of Roosevelt, Masonic documents, local newspapers and U.S. coins, among other items.
Unfortunately, after the dedication ceremony Theodore Roosevelt never returned to YNP and was never able to visit the completed Arch.
