A Noble Floor

As a intern I spend a lot of time at NOLS’ Noble Hotel, especially in the first-floor lobby. I get to meet exciting new people coming and going from courses while I wait for Gnat’s delicious meals. Despite all of the excitement, I often find myself looking at the floor. Its intricate tile designs give a rustic feel to the Noble but always get me thinking…

The floor is not perfectly symmetrical, and it has numerous inconsistencies and patches. I asked the knowledgeable desk staff about this, and they told me that Noble’s tile floor was hand-laid since when it was built in 1918. Digging some more, I found that it was remodeled in 1930 upon purchase by Harold Del Monte and again recently. Had these remodels changed the floor?

Surely, the artist creating such an intricate floor would have left a message or at least an indication of his identity. I have yet to uncover who this might be or what he said but I took this picture from the second-floor balcony to study it. I’ve circled numerous oddities that have occurred to me. Click the image below for a larger view of the puzzle.

Can you help? What secrets lie in the Noble floor and who made them? Though the Noble Hotel has always been a stepping stone for wilderness endeavors, perhaps we have something to explore right under our feet.