Glen Summit Hotel c. 1895

William H. Rau made this albumen print of the Glen Summit Hotel. The image is dominated by a sepia tone that lends a sense of distance. The composition is structured by the strong diagonal lines of the railway tracks, leading the eye toward the hotel. This structure creates a play between man-made forms and natural space, the railway cutting through the landscape toward the grand architecture of the hotel. The hotel itself is perched above, its facade marked by repeating patterns of windows and balconies. Rau uses the geometry of the building to convey order and the ambition of human construction. The trees soften the rigid lines of the architecture. The albumen print process lends the image a tactile quality; the texture of the paper visible gives the scene a sense of realism. Rau’s photograph captures a moment where nature and industry coexist, inviting viewers to reflect on the structures that shape their perception and experience of space.