Yellowstone's Old Faithful Inn first opened its double doors to guests on June 1, 1904. With 140 rooms and luxurious amenities like indoor plumbing and electricity, the inn was — and remains — a seven-story structural wonder crafted from native materials, including a 42-foot-tall fireplace made from 500 tons of volcanic rock.

Between earthquakes, fire, extreme winter weather and millions of visitors, the inn — formally known as the Old House — has deteriorated throughout the years. One of the most damaging events was the deadly Hebgen Lake temblor in August 1959, which shook the walls of the Old House apart from the foundations and made the upper portions of the lobby, including the popular Crow's Nest hanging 75 feet over the lobby floor, inaccessible to visitors. The earthquake also damaged the fireplace, rendering much of it unusable.

That deterioration doesn't pose a danger to the public, although those involved with the project say that a strong earthquake coupled with a heavy layer of snow on the roof could cause structural problems.

"If it was really loaded with snow and we had an earthquake, it could be pretty damaging," said Peter Galindo, Old House project manager for the National Park Service. "But the building is closed to visitors in the winter, so it's not posing a public hazard."

The eastern wall of the main lobby has a severe bow and has settled around 5 inches. The dining room roof structure is seriously sagged due to snow loads of more than 100 pounds per square foot. Snow loads also have pulled dormers on the east and west wings away from the main roof, and the "knee braces" — angled branches supporting the eaves and dormers — are rotting.

The $22 million upgrade, being done under the oversight of general contractor Swank Enterprises of Valier, is slated to take place in three phases.

The most apparent change to visitors, under phase one, will be in the main lobby. Workers already are replacing the maple flooring and will include a 7-inch drop around the fireplace, which was part of the original inn design. Visitors also may notice a new 40-foot log wall on the southwestern side of the lobby, which replaces a feature removed in previous renovations.

Not so obvious will be the upgrades to the electrical, plumbing and heating systems, as well as the effort to hide many of the wiring, plumbing and sprinkler system components.

Phase one, which began on Oct. 18, 2004, and is slated for completion on July 1, 2005, is estimated to cost about $5 million. Congress already has approved the release of those funds, as well as $8 million for phase two.

The second part of the project also began in October and will run through June 2006. This effort focuses on seismic upgrades to the walls and fireplace, plus exterior upgrades to many of the rotting timbers and shingles. In addition, the old steam heating system will be replaced with a hot water heating system and repairs will be made in the East Wing hotel rooms.

The $9 million phase three will involve renovation and repair of guest rooms in the West Wing, a new guest and service elevator and full exterior restoration of the East and West Wings, including window repair, roof and rafter tail replacement.

The architectural work was done by A&E Architects of Missoula. Primary subcontractors on the project include Valley Electric of Missoula and Big Sky Plumbing and Heating of Helena. Simplex Grinnell of Helena is reworking the sprinkler system, and Intermountain Restoration Inc. of Wilsall is doing the log work.

Reporter Eve Byron can be reached at 447-4076 or by e-mail at eve.byron@helenair.com.