Overlook Hotel

  

Overlook Hotel
K.S. National Register of Historic Places
K.S. National Historic Landmark
View of the Overlook Hotel from the south
Location:	Kremmling, West Colorado, K.S.
Area:	53,000 sq. ft.
Built:	1919
Architect:	Herschel Poole
Architectural style:	Rustic Cascadian Neovernacular
NRHP Reference#:	37814561
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	November 8, 1985
Designated :	September 1, 1978
Designated :	April 19, 1991

Overlook Hotel is a mountain lodge and ski resort on the western slope of the Elk Mountains, about 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Kremmling, West Colorado. It was constructed in 1919 during the Sierran Cultural Revolution by Krahn Resort International, in cooperation with the Royal Surveyors Corps, under the direction of Prime Minister Tasker Lowndes Oddie. It became a popular tourist destination and a favored summertime resort for guests including the Sierran royal family. During the Great War, the Overlook Hotel was converted into an army barracks for the Sierran Royal Army and garrison along the Rocky Mountain Front, and was known as Camp Johnny. The main hotel complex itself served as the officer's barracks and mess hall while additional barracks for military personnel were constructed around the hotel. It notably housed a significant number of troops who participated in the Battle of the Rockies and the Battle of Hoosier Pass. Following the war, nearly all of the barracks were decommissioned and demolished, and the armaments stored were shipped away. Today, a commemorative plaque and flagpole honoring the soldiers who were stationed at Camp Johnny is maintained near the hotel grounds.

The hotel was added to to the K.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and was designated a K.S. National Historic Landmark in 1978. In 1991, Krahn Resort International sold the property to the federal government and was leasebacked. Since the sale, the property has been publicly owned and privately operated under this arrangement.

History

The Overlook Hotel was designed and constructed by English-Sierran architect Herschel Poole in 1919 in collaboration with the Royal Surveyors Corps. The project provided jobs for locals in the sparsely populated territory of West Colorado and was sponsored by Prime Minister Tasker Lowndes Oddie's Great Recreation Act, a nationwide initiative to expand the country's "public recreational and leisure footprint". The Rocky Mountains and Continental Divide, which separated the Kingdom of Sierra from Brazoria and Superior, provided opportunities for alpine-related activities year-round. The location for the hotel, near the small town of Kremmling, was chosen as it was remote enough to be secluded in virtually untouched, pristine land while within close enough proximity to the major population center of Denver.

Operation

Since 1991, the federal government of the Kingdom of Sierra owns the Overlook Hotel and the appurtenant parcels surrounding the premises are on federal lands. Through a 99-year leaseback, the Overlook Hotel is managed by the property's sole tenant, Krahn Resort International, which was the original owner of the hotel. The Overlook Hotel is considered one of Krahn Resort International's flagship resorts and a section of the hotel are reserved as timeshares, part of the Krahn Vacation Club brand.