Centennial of Roosevelt Arch at Yellowstone
On Monday, August 25, 2003, the centennial of President Theodore Roosevelt's dedication of the Roosevelt Arch will be observed by the National Park Service in ceremonies at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The beautiful Roosevelt Arch at the North Entrance to Yellowstone was dedicated by President Roosevelt in 1903. On hand for the observance will be Theodore Roosevelt, IV, the keynote speaker, a great grandson of the President and himself a leading conservationist; and National Park Service Director Fran Mainella from Washington. August 25 is "National Parks Day," and entrance to Yellowstone will be free that day.
Roosevelt Arch was built in 1903 to provide a formal and impressive entrance to Yellowstone, which was created a national park in 1872. Roosevelt Arch is 50 feet high, with two towers, each 12 feet square at the base, tapering to 6 feet. The main opening in the arch is 30 feet high and 25 feet wide. The rocks in the arch were hewn from basalt, a volcanic rock, and were quarried locally in Wyoming. Above the arch is carved: "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People."
At the dedication of the arch, on April 24, 1903, President Roosevelt said in part:
"Yellowstone Park is something absolutely unique in the world....Nowhere else in any civilized country is there to be found such a tract of veritable wonderland made accessible to all visitors, where at the same time not only the scenery of the wilderness, but the wild creatures of the park are scrupulously preserved...." The President was at that time concluding a two-week stay in the park.
Many observances have been held, and will be held, as we proceed through the centennial of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, which began on September 14, 1901 and concluded on March 4, 1909.
