Grand Canyon Lodge
Encyclopedia
Grand Canyon Lodge is a hotel and cabins complex at Bright Angel Point on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
. It was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood
who also designed The Ahwahnee
, Bryce Canyon Lodge
, and Zion Lodge
.
Grand Canyon Lodge is a resort complex consisting of a Main Lodge building, 23 deluxe cabins, and 91 standard cabins, some of which were moved to the north rim campground in 1940. Grand Canyon Lodge is the most intact rustic hotel development in the National Park system remaining from the railroad era. Constructed of native Kaibab limestone and timber, the complex was designed to harmonize with its rocky and forested setting.
When constructed in 1927-28, Grand Canyon Lodge consisted of the Main Lodge building (burned in 1932, but rebuilt in 1936-37), 20 deluxe cabins, and 100 standard cabins. 20 additional cabins were constructed in 1928. Gilbert Stanley Underwood was employed by the Union Pacific Railroad
to design resort hotels at Zion
, Bryce Canyon
, Yosemite
, and Grand Canyon. The most important features of the Grand Canyon Lodge complex were based on Underwood's design. He purposefully designed the stonework to appear like natural rock outcroppings. The main lodge building is banked into the side of the canyon and is the complex's central feature.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1987.
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
. It was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood
Gilbert Stanley Underwood
Gilbert Stanley Underwood was an American architect best known for his National Park lodges. Born in 1890, Underwood received his B.A. from Yale in 1920 and a M.A. from Harvard in 1923. After opening an office in Los Angeles that year, he became associated with Daniel Ray Hull of the National...
who also designed The Ahwahnee
Ahwahnee Hotel
The Ahwahnee Hotel is a destination hotel in Yosemite National Park, California, on the floor of Yosemite Valley, constructed from stone, concrete, wood and glass, which opened in 1927...
, Bryce Canyon Lodge
Bryce Canyon Lodge
Bryce Canyon Lodge is a lodge in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. It was built between 1924 and 1925 using local materials. Designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, the lodge is an excellent example of National Park Service Rustic design...
, and Zion Lodge
Zion Lodge
Zion Lodge is located in Zion National Park. The lodge was designed in 1924 as a compromise solution between its developer, the Utah Parks Company, which wanted a large hotel, and National Park Service director Stephen Mather, who desired smaller-scale development...
.
Grand Canyon Lodge is a resort complex consisting of a Main Lodge building, 23 deluxe cabins, and 91 standard cabins, some of which were moved to the north rim campground in 1940. Grand Canyon Lodge is the most intact rustic hotel development in the National Park system remaining from the railroad era. Constructed of native Kaibab limestone and timber, the complex was designed to harmonize with its rocky and forested setting.
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
to design resort hotels at Zion
Zion National Park
Zion National Park is located in the Southwestern United States, near Springdale, Utah. A prominent feature of the park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles long and up to half a mile deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River...
, Bryce Canyon
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park is a national park located in southwestern Utah in the United States. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon which, despite its name, is not a canyon but a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau...
, Yosemite
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
, and Grand Canyon. The most important features of the Grand Canyon Lodge complex were based on Underwood's design. He purposefully designed the stonework to appear like natural rock outcroppings. The main lodge building is banked into the side of the canyon and is the complex's central feature.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1987.
External links
- Architecture in the Parks: A National Historic Landmark Theme Study: Grand Canyon LOdge, by Laura Soullière Harrison, 1986, at National Park Service.
- Grand Canyon Lodge, Main Lodge, North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park, Coconino County, AZ: 3 drawings, 26 photos, 1 data page, 2 photo caption pages, at Historic American Building Survey
- Grand Canyon Lodge Photos