- Panorama Resort
Panorama Resort was one of the early resorts that lined what is nowSkyline Drive in theShenandoah National Park in theUnited States . Once one ofVirginia ’s best-known resorts, Panorama most recently operated as arestaurant destination in the Shenandoah National Park and was run byARAMARK Parks and Resorts, the commercialvendor inside SNP that operates sister resortsBig Meadows andSkyland Resort . LikeSkyland Resort and Little Switzerland, it was one of many private mountain resorts with nature themes that predated Skyline Drive and theBlue Ridge Parkway .Panorama opened July 20, 1924 and sits at the intersection of Skyline Drive and
Route 211 betweenWarrenton, Virginia andLuray, Virginia . Bridging the Virginia'sHunt Country and theShenandoah Valley , it sits at the border of Page County andRappahannock County . In its early days, it had a tea room, hotel, cottages,bungalow and golf. [http://www.nps.gov/archive/shen/whynotpanorama.htm] Throughout the 20th century, it was one of the best-known man-made attractions on the road, which includes Herbert Hoover’s SummerWhite House and the resorts Skyland and Big Meadows. The resort had a rustic look in its early years and was known for itsbear shows, though one went awry and sparked a lawsuit. It was privately owned, but taken by eminent domain at the establishment of the park. The resort was bulldozed for a replacement Panorama in 1958. [http://www.nps.gov/shen/historyculture/panorama.htm]In the 1990s, the restaurant struggled due to the collapse in visitors to the park. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1016/is_n11-12_v100/ai_16453938] ARAMARK turned the building over to SNP when it could no longer make it work. It is now a stop-off point for hikes. The
National Park Service had hoped to reopen the building as a museum honoring theCivilian Conservation Corps . In July 2006, Shenandoah SuperintendentChas Cartwright announced that Panorama would be demolished, as costs had risen more than the park could afford. [http://www.dnronline.com/news_details.php?AID=5448&CHID=2]External links
* [http://shenandoah.areaparks.com/inparklodging.html Shenandoah National Park — Skyland]
* [http://www.visitshenandoah.com/ Skyland Commercial Website] for online booking and information
*Lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia
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