Virtual Tour of The Ahwahnee Hotel - Circular Steel Stair

Returning to the Elevator Lobby we´ll move up one level to the 1st floor. In the early days of the hotel an elevator operator would have taken us up, however in 1963 the elevators were automated, so now we just push a button and go. Slowly. The elevator is excruciatingly slow, but this is Yosemite and we´re on vacation, so who´s in a hurry?

Exiting on the first floor we find ourselves in a mid-size lobby/mezzanine. From the end of Prohibition until World War II there was a bar called "El Dorado Diggins" located in the area directly in front of the elevators on the first floor. This area is now part of the lobby, and the main features of the lobby are two large balcony openings which look down onto the Great Lounge. Turning to the left a hallway leads to the 1st floor guest rooms. The first floor only has one wing of guest rooms, located directly above the Sweet Shop, hotel administrative office and Main Desk, the Main Lobby and The Ahwahnee Bar. The rooms above The Ahwahnee Bar are the ones that were fumigated by auto exhaust from the original porte-cochere. At the far end of the hall is a door leading outside. There is also a very nifty, steel circular-stairway that leads up to the second floor (photo above). OK, it´s really a fire escape down from the 2nd floor. If you have kids or you are a kid at heart you will love it. Also located at the end of the first floor hall is a very nice staircase that meanders down to the swimming pool. This staircase from the 1st floor allows hotel guests to go to the pool without walking through the hotel lobby in their swim wear. If you´ve been out hiking and are really grimy, this stairway also provides a way to get to your room bypassing the lobby. Herbert Hoover could have used this back stairway if it had been around in his day. The hotel was originally off limits to all but guests and aggressive doormen had the job of keeping the common folks out. President Hoover was a guest at the hotel, but had been out fishing that day and returned a bit grimy looking. The doorman didn´t recognize him and would not let him into the hotel. Today the hotel is fully open to the public, although signs do warn that appropriate behavior is expected. This is a recent change; under the previous concessionaire, only the Main Lobby, Elevator Lobby, and gift shops were open to the public.