The Profile House was a grand hotel in the White Mountains of
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, in the United States. Originally built in 1852 and opening for its first season in 1853, it was operated by several owners and partners until its final season under the ownership of Karl P. Abbott, when the hotel, at its seasonal peak, burned to the ground, leaving only the train depot standing in the fire's aftermath. Area attractions included
Franconia Notch
Franconia Notch (elev. ) is a major mountain pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Dominated by Cannon Mountain to the west and Mount Lafayette to the east, it lies principally within Franconia Notch State Park and is traversed by ...
, the Great Boulder
flume
A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to tr ...
(
Flume Gorge
The Flume Gorge (locally, just The Flume) is a natural gorge extending horizontally at the base of Mount Liberty in Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire, United States. Cut by Flume Brook, the gorge features walls of Conway granite tha ...
Profile Lake
Profile Lake is a water body located in Franconia Notch in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, at the foot of Cannon Mountain.Echo Lake, and Eagle Cliff. The Profile House boasted amenities such as running water, electricity and all of the comforts to which the affluent guests had become accustomed. The hotel was named for the iconic rock structure discovered by surveyors in 1805, that came to be known as
Old Man of the Mountain
The Old Man of the Mountain, also called the Great Stone Face and the Profile, was a series of five granite cliff ledges on Cannon Mountain in Franconia, New Hampshire, United States, that appeared to be the jagged profile of a human face when v ...
.
History
The Profile House, in Franconia Notch, existed for 70 years. The first Profile House opened in 1853, and the "New" Profile burned in 1923. At the time of its destruction, it could accommodate 600 guests and was the most luxurious hotel on the west side of the mountains. The parking lot for the
Cannon Mountain Ski Area
Cannon Mountain Ski Area is a state-owned ski resort located on Cannon Mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, United States. Cannon is located within Franconia Notch State Park and offers 10 lifts servicing of skiing (168 with snowm ...
and Tramway is located just north of the site where the hotel once stood.
In 1852, when Richard Taft and his company, the Flume and Franconia Hotel Company, bought the Lafayette House at the north end of the Notch, construction began on the first Profile House. It opened in 1853, a simple three and a half story building. It was expanded several times, by the addition of first one wing and then another. A large dining room was added, outbuildings were added, and starting in 1868, a number of "cottages" were constructed. There would eventually be twenty of these cottages, which were connected to one another and the main hotel by covered walkways. Cottages were initially rented but were later owned by well-to-do guests who would spend the entire summer at the hotel but wanted more privacy than the hotel itself offered. A stable accommodated 350 horses, and carriage sheds housed the wide variety of wagons and coaches needed.
In 1872, the owners of the hotel built a
narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
ride for guests arriving from the north. The railroad had two engines, the ''Profile'' and the ''Echo'', as well as freight houses and service facilities. (Rail service from the south never reached the hotel. In 1883, service was opened from
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
to North Woodstock, and guests completed their journey by stage.) Part of the railroad bed is now utilized as a bicycle/pedestrian recreational trail in the summer and a groomed snowmobile trail in the winter, while a large portion of it is now used by
U.S. Route 3
U.S. Route 3 (US 3) is a United States highway running from Cambridge, Massachusetts, through New Hampshire, to the Canada–US border near Third Connecticut Lake, where it connects to Quebec Route 257.
Massachusetts Route 3 connects to ...
.
When the
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970, B ...
bought the line in 1892, they converted the narrow-gauge track to
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
. The line ran until 1921, when declining business forced its closing. The station survived for many years, and it was home to the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen until it was demolished when
Interstate 93
Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...
was constructed. The hotel was practically a self-sufficient community. They operated a large farm with a herd of dairy cows and a large greenhouse. There was a power plant, a boathouse with a steam launch on Echo Lake, dormitories for the help (utilizing the former Lafayette House), a bowling alley, post office, telegraph office, barbershop, billiard hall, music room, souvenir shops, a golf course, and more.
A
fish hatchery
A fish hatchery is a place for artificial breeding, hatching, and rearing through the early life stages of animals—finfish and shellfish in particular.Crespi V., Coche A. (2008) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Gloss ...
for raising trout to stock the small trout pond was located within walking distance from the hotel (which today is on the east side of I-93, easily visible from the highway). The hotel owned thousands of acres in Franconia Notch, including the Old Man of the Mountain, Profile Dairy Farm, Profile Links Golf Course, The Basin, The Pool and The Flume. A
mineral spring
Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage underg ...
house near the south end of Echo Lake provided water for the guests, and a similar spring still provides water for local residents and visitors. (It is located near Boise Rock.) Recreational facilities included hiking, tennis, badminton, croquet, fishing, boating, horseback and burro riding to the summit of
Mount Lafayette
Mount Lafayette is a mountain at the northern end of the Franconia Range in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, United States. It lies in the town of Franconia in Grafton County, and appears on the New England Fifty Finest list of the most ...
and elsewhere.
Location and Attractions
Various photographers produced
stereoscopic
Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the depth perception, illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stere ...
images of the area's scenery. The hotel was greatly expanded over time and included tennis courts, stables, a bowling alley, and cabins. The hotel was located just south of where the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway parking lot is now. Boating was enjoyed on nearby Echo LakeFrom hotels to hiking trail Parks and Recreation New Hampshire and Profile Lake.
Conclusion
After finishing the summer season in 1905, the hotel was razed, reconstructed and reopened in the following year for the 1906 season and later burned to the ground in 1923. Logging companies sought to purchase the property, but thanks to the
Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF) is a private, non-profit, land conservation and sustainable forestry organization based in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It purchases or is given easements on property, or obtains ou ...
, it was protected and dedicated as
Franconia Notch State Park
Franconia Notch State Park is a public recreation area and nature preserve that straddles of Interstate 93 as it passes through Franconia Notch, a mountain pass between the Kinsman Range and Franconia Range in the White Mountains of northe ...