MLTRAVEL

Each year, the once-rough-and-tumble min-ing town hosts one of theworld’s most glamorousfilm festivals. On MainStreet, cutting-edge ar-chitecture stands along-side historic mining-erabuildings. And on theslopes, multimillion-dol-lar mansions share themountain views with humble cabins. So if you thinkthis limestone building furnished with gilded Euro-pean antiques and Midcentury Modern artworkseems out of place in the OldWest town, think again.The Washington School House Hotel fits right in.

Built in 1889, the structure is one of the oldestbuildings in Park City. Years of weather and wearhave given the façade “an amazing patina,” generalmanager Jessica Davis says. “One look and you cansee this building has a story to tell.”

One of three schools built along Park Avenue toaccommodate silver miners’ children, the Washing-ton School House survived the 1898 fire that wipedout some 200 buildings on and around Main Street,stood by as the Great Depression turned Park Cityinto a ghost town, and was left empty and derelict for nearlythree decades until it was renovated and opened as a bed-and-breakfast in 1985.

Fast-forward 25 years, to when the design team of TripBennett, principal at La Jolla, Calif.-based Bennett & Asso-ciates Architecture, Paul and Shannon Wehsener of SanDiego-based Paul Allen Design, and Gardner & Boswell Gen-eral Contractors in Park City were hired by new owners totransform the building into a stylish boutique hotel. >>

PARK CITY,UTAH, IS APLACE OFCONTRASTS.

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A HISTORIC SCHOOLHOUSE FURNISHED WITH EUROPEAN ANTIQUESAND MIDCENTURY MODERN ARTWORK FEELS RIGHT AT HOME IN THE OLD WEST

design school

“GILTY” PLEASURES Interior designers Paul andShannon Wehsener furnished the hotel’s livingroom with antiques, including gilded Frenchbergere chairs, Italian sconces and a 9-foot-tallFrench mirror. Silversmith E.F. Caldwell’s early-20th-century sconces depicting George Wash-ington hang in the reception area (directly above).

STORY BY CHRISTINE DEORIO

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL SPENGLER

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Visit mountainliving.com/designschoolto view more photos of theWashington School House Hotel.

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MLTRAVELWhy to goLocated in the heart of Park City,the Washington School HouseHotel is a short walk from thetown’s eclectic mix of shops,restaurants and bars; the Town Liftchair lift is just two blocks away.Each day, the hotel’s chef whipsup a complimentary gourmetbreakfast for guests, plus sweetand savory après-ski treats. Otherreasons you’ll never want to leave:a heated outdoor pool, ski valet,feather beds, iPads and iPodsloaded with movies and tunes, anda boutique filled with unique finds.

When you goThe hotel’s staff have a genuineinterest in making your day,so let them pack and unpackyour bags, get your lift tickets,schlep your ski gear, make yourrestaurant reservations, andarrange an in-room massage.Bringing the kids? Two-story“Lofted Suites” include anantique daybed or trundle bedin addition to a Pratesi-linen-topped king-size bed, whilethe penthouse features anextra bed built into a dormerwindow. From $475/nightduring the winter season.washingtonschoolhouse.com

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“What we found was a 1980s interpretation of a Vic-torian-style inn within an 1889 shell,” interior designerShannon Wehsener says. “It was so chopped up, andby the time we got to it, there weren’t any historicdetails left inside, so we gutted it down to the studs.”

The extensive renovation included removing a por-tion of the four-story, 12,000-square-foot building’smezzanine level, which had literally cut the living room’s17-foot-high ceilings and six 9-foot-tall windows in half.“We wanted to see the space opened up,” Shannon says.Removing the mezzanine also made room for four airyguest suites with lofted bedrooms accessed via spiralstairs, and two guest rooms with 16-foot-high ceilings.

Dove-white walls and durable fabrics in silvery gray,icy blue and bark-brown hues accentuate the hotel’s sim-plified floor plan. Punctuating that austere canvas are

richly patinated oak floors reclaimed fromWestern barnsand a collection of antiques sourced from all over theworld, from an Italian fruitwood-and-burled-walnut bedto the living room’s 9-foot-tall gilded mirror that oncehung in a French opera house. “The antiques are setapart from one another so you can really appreciatethem,” Shannon says. “And they’re functional; there’s noroom for fluff. The staff keep their coats in a Louis-Philippe armoire.”

Original Midcentury Modern oil paintings add boldpops of color here and there, and a unique light fixturepresides over each of the common areas and 12 guestrooms. The collection includes a vintage fixture thatonce hung in the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco anda bejeweled antler chandelier inspired by a local win-tertime tradition: “During Mardi Gras, skiers throw

beads into the trees,” interior designer PaulWehsener says. “Those sparkling trees inspiredme to have the antlers lacquered white andadorned with crystals.”

The Washington School House Hotel’s newlook is unique for Park City. “We visited all thehigh-end hotels in the area and decided wewanted this to be different,” Paul says. “Wedidn’t want the typical, heavy Western look,and we didn’t want something ultra-contem-porary. We just wanted a simple, beautifulspace filled with special things that have a storyto tell.” Just like the building itself. ○

SUITE STYLE This guest room—one of thehotel’s 12 rooms and suites—is furnishedwith custom iron beds, a 19th-century chestand reproduction sconces. Crisp, brightbathrooms (below) are clad in ice-whitemarble. “When the light hits, the stonesparkles like snow crystals,” Paul says.