April 2021 Project Presentation

Courtesy of Glacier National Park Archives.
Many Glacier Hotel takes spotlight in SEAC’s first project presentation of 2021 
 


SEAC members and guests on April 27 learned what it takes to rescue a century-old, iconic hotel from the brink of closure. SEAC’s Education Committee was proud to host JVA structural engineers Ian Glaser, PE and Brett Robinson, PE, for a presentation on the strengthening and restoration of the Many Glacier Hotel in Montana’s Glacier National Park.
The virtual event marked SEAC’s first project presentation of 2021. Glaser and Robinson shared stunning photos of the timber-framed hotel built in the 1910s by the Great Northern Railway. The $42 million project spanned more than a decade and breathed new life into a hotel that the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1996 called one of America’s “Most Endangered Historic Places.”  Glaser and Robinson along with other JVA staff tackled a host of life safety issues during the project, including deteriorated and compromised framing and an inadequate lateral force resisting system. Glaser and Robinson shared with viewers some of the challenges of the project, including the park’s high design snow loads; remote location; short operating seasons; scarcity of worker housing; and sparse cell phone reception. This project was the 2018 NCSEA Awards winner in the Forensics/ Renovation/ Retrofit/ Rehabilitation Structures over $20M category.
This SEAC webinar drew roughly 115 attendees at its peak, making it one of the more highly attended project presentations in the recent history. The recorded presentation will be shared on SEAC website and social media.
 
Other articles/ references: 
STRUCTURE magazine | Preserving the Many Glacier Hotel
Anderson Hallas Architects' Rehabilitation of Many Glacier Hotel - Traditional Building