Adolph Imboden was born in Switzerland during World War II. As a youth, he was a passionate ski racer; however, his mother encouraged him to learn a trade. At the age of 16, he enrolled in a 3-year apprenticeship at the Hotel Palace in Gstaad, Switzerland, after which he attended hotel and restaurant management school. Imboden later moved to the United States, working as a cook and ski instructor in Vermont and at the Hotel Gasthof Gramschammer in Vail, Colorado. There, in 1971, he was connected to the Stern family, who owned the Park City Ski Area before it was sold to Deer Valley Resort. Imboden moved to Park City, Utah, in 1971 to work as food and beverage director for the Park City resort.
Imboden opened his own restaurant in 1974, where he served European food. Called Adolph’s White Haus, the original location was located at the bottom of Park Avenue. In 1977, Imboden moved his business to the nearby golf course. He operated Adolph’s Restaurant in this location until the 1990s, when the area was redeveloped into the Hotel Park City. In 1997, Imboden moved Adolph’s Restaurant to 1500 Kearns Boulevard. Throughout the moves, Imboden built a loyal customer base; his restaurant was particularly popular among local and international skiers. The restaurant was decorated with autographed photographs of athletes and celebrities who had visited the establishment. In 2021, Imobden retired and closed Adolph’s Restaurant. At the time of its closure, Adolph’s Restaurant was considered Park City’s oldest fine-dining restaurant.
The Adolph Imboden photograph collection consists of 5 boxes containing 76 autographed or signed color and black-and-white photographs collected by Adolph Imboden for display in Adolph's Restaurant. Most of the signed photographs are of skiers, bobsledders, and other winter sports athletes, but the collection also includes signed photographs of other celebrities and politicians. Boxes 3 to 5 are oversized, Box 4 is glass artwork. Most photographs are matted or mounted on foam and removed from frames. Some photographs were put in glass frames, with the autographs done on the glass rather than the photographs; these remain in the glass. The images date from approximatley 1970 to 2020.
Arranged by subject
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Adolph Imboden photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator.
Donated by Adolph Imboden in 2010. Addendum in 2021
Processed by Special Collections staff.
This collection forms part of the Utah Ski Archive, which is part of the S.J. Quinney Outdoor Recreation Archive.