New “19th Century New England Style” Mt. Washington Hotel to Open in Fall 2018
June 18, 2018 - By The Real Reporter
GREEN GRANTS, NH– The Glen House is the name of a new 68-room hotel at the base of Mt. Washington. Located at the highest summit in the Northeast, the hotel’s architecture and the design incorporates features of the legendary White Mountain hotels of the 19th century. It is scheduled to open mid-September of 2018.
The original edition of the Glen House was built in 1852. This current construction of the Glen House will now be the fifth version of the name. The new property is owned by the Mt. Washington Summit Road Company (MWSRC). The new Glen House is specially situated near the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road. The MWSRC family-owned business has operated this attraction since 1906. Guest-room corridors will feature canvas-wrapped vintage photos of the previous iterations of The Glen House and the Auto Road.
Rolf Biggers of BMA Architects & Planners of Amherst, New Hampshire, and designer of the Glen House, elaborated on the influence of the design. “We looked at the backdrop of Mt. Washington, Mt. Madison and Mt. Jefferson and wanted the hotel to look like it had been there for 100 years,” said Biggers. “Then we looked at the architecture of the earlier versions of The Glen House and sought a common thread…those hotels were all relatively simple, understated and very functional so we picked up on subtleties and nuances, such as the period detailing on the porches and the public spaces,” extolled Biggers.
BMA used clapboards and shakes on the exterior, albeit state-of-the-art HardiePlank Lap Siding and HardiePlank Shakes made of fiber cement, with white trim in a style similar to its predecessors. The interior design of the hotel specifically drew upon the Shakers, initially known as the “Shaking Quakers.”
“It is simple and understated,” said Biggers. “The guest-rooms have the simplicity of Shaker design, half of them have views of Mt. Washington and the sunset, while the others look towards neighboring Maine and the Wildcat Mountain Ski Area for sunrise view…the big bang, when you enter the hotel is the glass wall in the lounge area, which frames the Presidential Range of the White Mountains,” explained Biggers.
The rustic north woods elements also include a vintage barn on the property, which have been dismantled and repurposed as part of the front desk and the bar. The motif of a barn door is used in every guest-room bathroom. The designers created this historic ambiance with rustic bronze and granite. The granite is a symbolic touch that was utilized for New Hampshire’s nickname, the “Granite State.”
Stibler Associates also oversaw the artwork, inspired in large part by the earlier hotels and the long history of auto racing up the Mt. Washington Auto Road. There is a 30-foot long sepia toned photographic mural of an Mt. Washington auto race in the lobby and a 30-foot long wall sculpture of the Presidential Range in the lounge. This display uniquely incorporates ropes and carabiners to identify points of interest in the area. There is also a vibrant, eye-catching fabric rendition of a moose head in the lounge.
The Glen House was designed and is being built primarily by New Hampshire firms, including contractors Martini Northern of Portsmouth and subcontractors Ray’s Electric of Berlin, Granite State Plumbing and Heating of Weare, Yeaton Associates Inc. of Littleton and GB Carrier Corp of North Conway.
