Remembering An Icon

The El Portal market was one of those markets you expected to see two guys on the porch playing checkers. It was a hold out of an earlier time when life was good and simple. My wife and I stopped there many times for refreshments on our way out of the park that’s why when Dane told me this morning that the market had burnt down, I was in shock.

Here’s the official release from the National Park Service this evening about the fire at the market.

National Park Service: The El Portal Market, one of El Portal’s oldest buildings burned to the ground today in a blaze which was reported by El Portal residents at approximately 5am. Firefighters from the National Park Service, DNC Parks and Resorts at Yosemite, Inc., and Mariposa County responded to the fire.

The market has been closed for renovations since late March.

The El Portal Market, built around 1934, originally served park visitors travelling to Yosemite by railroad. The market was operated between 1966 and March, 2008 under the general partnership of Vaughn, Vaughn, and Carter. The current operator was scheduled to open the market in late spring, 2008, when renovations were complete. The market has served El Portal residents and park visitors since the mid-1930’s as both a general merchandise store and a community meeting place.

Mike Tollefson, Yosemite Park Superintendent, said this morning: “It is impossible to imagine the loss that this is for the community of El Portal and the park as a whole.”

Yosemite park managers are meeting immediately this morning to consider options for replacing the building.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.