Roosevelt Arch

In 1903, most Yellowstone visitors arrived in Gardiner by train and boarded stagecoaches for the journey into Wonderland. After Gardiner built a beautiful train depot in the rustic architectural style, park administrators and civic promoters sought something special to improve the dusty staging area. During the spring of 1903, a fifty-foot-high basalt arch was built facing the train depot. The Roosevelt Arch later became one of the great symbols of the national park idea, representing the setting aside of places of natural and cultural importance throughout the United States and around the world for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, and serving as a symbol of what has been called "America's Best Idea."

Gardiner, Montana · United States