Grand Canyon Village Historic District
Encyclopedia
Grand Canyon Village Historic District comprises the historic center of Grand Canyon Village, on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
in Grand Canyon National Park
, Arizona. The district includes numerous landmark park structures, many of which are National Historic Landmark
s themselves, or are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The town design as a whole is also significant for its attention to integration with the Grand Canyon landscape, its incorporation of National Park Service Rustic
design elements, and for the idiosyncratic design of park concessioner structures such as the El Tovar Hotel
.
to be a comprehensive development for tourism on the South Rim. It is the largest example of Park Service town planning extant in the national park system. Initially centered around the terminus of the Grand Canyon Railway
, the village expanded as both the Park Service and the park concessioner, the Fred Harvey Company
, built or expanded facilities. Initial development was centered around the El Tovar Hotel
and the Bright Angel Lodge
, both concessioner-operated facilities. The El Tovar was opened in 1905 as a destination hotel
on the canyon rim by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
, who owned the Grand Canyon spur. A new train depot was built next to the hotel by the railway in 1909. Nearly all of the early development at the village was undertaken by concessioners.
In 1910, while the Grand Canyon was still designated a national monument, Secretary of the Interior Richard Achilles Ballinger
suggested that a plan be established before further development took place at the South Rim. Mark Daniels, the general superintendent of the parks from 1914 called for similar comprehensive planning to establish water and sewer systems, power distribution and telephone networks. A 1924 master plan by National Park Service landscape architect Daniel Ray Hull
established a "village square" at the intersection of the railroad and east road just below the El Tovar. The first park administration building was established there. Hull used the local topography, dictated by Bright Angel Wash valley's topography, with residential neighborhoods on two small hills divided by a branch of the Bright Angel drainage, away from the main south entrance road down Bright Angel and keeping hotel development in the area of the Bright Angel Camp and the El Tovar. Another square or plaza was intended where the new south entrance road approached the rim, surrounded by another administration building, a post office, and a proposed museum. Over time, the plaza became a parking area. Treatment of residential areas varied. Park Service housing was arranged so that automobile access was to the rear, with the house fronts oriented to a central communal space. Grand Canyon Village is one of the earliest uses of this arrangement in a planned community, predating its use at Radburn, New Jersey
by Clarence Stein
and Henry Wright. Housing for Fred Harvey Company personnel was arranged in a more traditional street-facing arrangement, with a parallel system of alleys for access to garages at the rear of the lots.
Much of the work that was accomplished in the late 1930s was done by Civilian Conservation Corps
labor, particularly the landscaping, hich involved the transplantation of native vegetation into areas that had been disturbed by construction.
The district includes a number of significant structures, some of them National Historic Landmarks in their own right, with several others individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The buildings can be divided into two categories: the fanciful structures built by park concessioners, many of which were designed by Mary Colter
, and the more restrained examples of National Park Service Rustic architecture designed by Hull and Thomas Chalmers Vint
for park administration and housing. Concessioner structures include:
Park Service structures include:
Other contributing buildings include dormitories, service shops, a jail, a firehouse, the park hospital, a post office and two schools. Non-contributing structures include the Thunderbird and Kachina lodges between the Bright Angel Lodge and the El Tovar.
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...
in Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park is the United States' 15th oldest national park and is located in Arizona. Within the park lies the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, considered to be one of the Wonders of the World. The park covers of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties.Most...
, Arizona. The district includes numerous landmark park structures, many of which are 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...
s themselves, or are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The town design as a whole is also significant for its attention to integration with the Grand Canyon landscape, its incorporation of National Park Service Rustic
National Park Service Rustic
National Park Service rustic, also colloquially known as Parkitecture, is a style of architecture that arose in the United States National Park System to create buildings that harmonized with their natural environment. Since its founding, the National Park Service consistently has sought to provide...
design elements, and for the idiosyncratic design of park concessioner structures such as the El Tovar Hotel
El Tovar Hotel
The El Tovar Hotel, also known simply as El Tovar, is a former Harvey House hotel situated directly on the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA...
.
Design and history
Grand Canyon Village was planned by the National Park ServiceNational Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
to be a comprehensive development for tourism on the South Rim. It is the largest example of Park Service town planning extant in the national park system. Initially centered around the terminus of the Grand Canyon Railway
Grand Canyon Railway
The Grand Canyon Railway , is a passenger railroad which operates between Williams, Arizona, and Grand Canyon National Park South Rim.-Santa Fe Ownership:...
, the village expanded as both the Park Service and the park concessioner, the Fred Harvey Company
Fred Harvey Company
The origin of the Fred Harvey Company can be traced to the 1875 opening of two railroad eating houses located at Wallace, Kansas and Hugo, Colorado on the Kansas Pacific Railway. These cafés were opened by Fred Harvey, then a freight agent for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad...
, built or expanded facilities. Initial development was centered around the El Tovar Hotel
El Tovar Hotel
The El Tovar Hotel, also known simply as El Tovar, is a former Harvey House hotel situated directly on the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA...
and the Bright Angel Lodge
Bright Angel Lodge
Bright Angel Lodge is a hotel complex at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Designed by architect Mary Jane Colter, the lodge is a complex of cabins around a central lodge building, directly on the edge of the canyon...
, both concessioner-operated facilities. The El Tovar was opened in 1905 as a destination hotel
Destination hotel
A destination hotel is a hotel whose location and amenities make the hotel itself a destination for tourists, rather than merely a convenient place to stay while traveling through or visiting the area for other reasons. Destination hotels are also called destination lodgings and sometimes...
on the canyon rim by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
, who owned the Grand Canyon spur. A new train depot was built next to the hotel by the railway in 1909. Nearly all of the early development at the village was undertaken by concessioners.
In 1910, while the Grand Canyon was still designated a national monument, Secretary of the Interior Richard Achilles Ballinger
Richard Achilles Ballinger
Richard Achilles Ballinger was mayor of Seattle, Washington, from 1904–1906 and U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1909–1911.Ballinger was born in Boonesboro, Iowa...
suggested that a plan be established before further development took place at the South Rim. Mark Daniels, the general superintendent of the parks from 1914 called for similar comprehensive planning to establish water and sewer systems, power distribution and telephone networks. A 1924 master plan by National Park Service landscape architect Daniel Ray Hull
Daniel Ray Hull
Daniel Ray Hull , sometimes stated Daniel P. Hull, was an American landscape architect who was responsible for much of the early planning of the built environment the national parks of the United States during the 1920s...
established a "village square" at the intersection of the railroad and east road just below the El Tovar. The first park administration building was established there. Hull used the local topography, dictated by Bright Angel Wash valley's topography, with residential neighborhoods on two small hills divided by a branch of the Bright Angel drainage, away from the main south entrance road down Bright Angel and keeping hotel development in the area of the Bright Angel Camp and the El Tovar. Another square or plaza was intended where the new south entrance road approached the rim, surrounded by another administration building, a post office, and a proposed museum. Over time, the plaza became a parking area. Treatment of residential areas varied. Park Service housing was arranged so that automobile access was to the rear, with the house fronts oriented to a central communal space. Grand Canyon Village is one of the earliest uses of this arrangement in a planned community, predating its use at Radburn, New Jersey
Radburn, New Jersey
Radburn is an unincorporated planned community located within Fair Lawn, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.Radburn was founded in 1929 as "a town for the motor age"...
by Clarence Stein
Clarence Stein
Clarence Samuel Stein was an American urban planner, architect, and writer, a major proponent of the "Garden City" movement in the United States.- Biography :...
and Henry Wright. Housing for Fred Harvey Company personnel was arranged in a more traditional street-facing arrangement, with a parallel system of alleys for access to garages at the rear of the lots.
Much of the work that was accomplished in the late 1930s was done by Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
labor, particularly the landscaping, hich involved the transplantation of native vegetation into areas that had been disturbed by construction.
Contributing structures
Many of the contributing features and structures in Grand Canyon Village are simple landscape structures such as sidewalks, retaining walls and culverts. The canyon rim stone wall is the principle defining feature of the area, constructed in stages between 1905 and 1934. 44 such structures have been identified as contributing features, mostly built of local Kaibab limestone.The district includes a number of significant structures, some of them National Historic Landmarks in their own right, with several others individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The buildings can be divided into two categories: the fanciful structures built by park concessioners, many of which were designed by Mary Colter
Mary Colter
Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter was an American architect and designer. As a child, Mary Colter traveled with her family through frontier Minnesota, Colorado and Texas in the years after the American Civil War. After her father died in 1886, Colter attended the California School of Design in San...
, and the more restrained examples of National Park Service Rustic architecture designed by Hull and Thomas Chalmers Vint
Thomas Chalmers Vint
Thomas Chalmers Vint was a landscape architect credited for directing and shaping landscape planning and development during the early years of the United States National Park System. His work at Yosemite National Park and the development of the Mission 66 program are among his better known...
for park administration and housing. Concessioner structures include:
- The El Tovar HotelEl Tovar HotelThe El Tovar Hotel, also known simply as El Tovar, is a former Harvey House hotel situated directly on the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA...
(1905) was built by the AT&SF as a resort hotel on the canyon's rim. Designed by architect Charles Frederick WhittleseyCharles Frederick WhittleseyCharles Frederick Whittlesey was an American architect best known for his work in the American southwest, and for pioneering work in reinforced concrete in California.- Life :...
, the hotel is a National Historic Landmark - The Bright Angel LodgeBright Angel LodgeBright Angel Lodge is a hotel complex at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Designed by architect Mary Jane Colter, the lodge is a complex of cabins around a central lodge building, directly on the edge of the canyon...
(1935) incorporates the Buckey O'Neill Cabin and the Red Horse Station, relocated to the site. Formerly the Bright Angel Hotel, the facility was almost entirely rebuilt under the direction of architect Mary ColterMary ColterMary Elizabeth Jane Colter was an American architect and designer. As a child, Mary Colter traveled with her family through frontier Minnesota, Colorado and Texas in the years after the American Civil War. After her father died in 1886, Colter attended the California School of Design in San...
. - The Buckey O'Neill CabinBuckey O'Neill CabinThe Buckey O'Neill Cabin was built in 1890 by William "Buckey" O'Neill in what would become Grand Canyon National Park. O'Neill was, among many other things, a member of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders, who had previously been an author and a judge in his native Arizona...
(1897) is the oldest structure at the South Rim, individually listed on the NRHP. - The Lookout StudioLookout StudioLookout Studio, known also as The Lookout, is a stone building located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, within Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. It is part of the Grand Canyon Village Historic District, and is part of the Mary Jane Colter Buildings National Historic Landmark...
(1914) is just to the west of the Bright Angel Lodge. Designed by Colter, the structure was originally known as "The Lookout," which is its primary purpose. The structure includes a small gift shop. It is part of the Mary Jane Colter buildingsMary Jane Colter BuildingsThe Mary Jane Colter Buildings are four structures at Grand Canyon National Park designed by Mary Colter:* Hermit's Rest* Desert View Watchtower* Lookout Studio, also known as The Lookout* Hopi House...
National Historic Landmark. - Hopi HouseHopi HouseHopi House is located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, within Grand Canyon National Park in the U.S. state of Arizona. Built in 1905 as concessioner facilities at the South Rim were being developed, it is the first of of six buildings at the Grand Canyon that were designed by architect Mary...
(1905) was designed by Colter to resemble a Hopi pueblo. Located to the east of the El Tovar, between the hotel and Verkamp's Store, the multistory sandstone structure was built as a living museum in which Hopi artisans would demonstrate and sell their crafts. It is part of the Mary Jane Colter National Historic Landmark. - The El Tovar StablesEl Tovar StablesThe El Tovar Stables at the south rim of the Grand Canyon were built about 1904, at the same time the nearby El Tovar Hotel was built, to house the animals used in general transportation around the park...
(1904) were built to house horses and mules used for transportation around the park in pre-automobile times, and continue to be used to house mules for the Bright Angel Trail to the Phantom RanchPhantom RanchPhantom Ranch is a resort village within Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. It is located on the north side of the Colorado River near its confluence with Bright Angel Creek and Phantom Creek.-History:...
. Individually listed on the NRHP - The Kolb Brothers StudioKolb StudioKolb Studio clings to the edge of Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park. It was the home and photographic studio of pioneers Emery and Ellsworth Kolb. Begun in 1904, the building has evolved through two major additions and countless minor changes during its century of existence at Grand Canyon...
(1904) was established by brothers Ellsworth and Emery Kolb, the studio featured the Kolb's films and slide shows of the Grand Canyon in a building perched on and extending over the rim of the canyon at the head of the Bright Angel Trail. The building eventually extended to five stories and includes a small auditorium. - Verkamp's Curio Store (1906), is now Verkamp's Visitor Center, operated by the National Park Service. Built by Ohioan John George Verkamp, who sold Native American crafts and souvenirs, the two-story shingled building has been described as "modified Mission" style, resembling an adobe building in form but not materials. Members of the Verkamp family lived upstairs through 1978. By 2008, when the store was the oldest concessioner in the national park system, the Verkamp family elected not to reneww their concession. The store closed and the Park Service renovated the building as a visitor center.
- The Grand Canyon Power HouseGrand Canyon Power HouseGrand Canyon Power House is a former electric power plant that served National Park Service and concessioner facilities at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park. It is significant for its architecture, which masks the building's industrial function behind a veneer of...
was built by the AT&SF to provide electricity to concessioner and park facilities. The power house is notable for its application of rustic design principles to an industrial structure and for its creative use of scale. It is an individually listed National Historic Landmark. - The Grand Canyon DepotGrand Canyon DepotGrand Canyon Depot, also known as Grand Canyon Railroad Station, was constructed in 1909-10 for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, in what is now Grand Canyon National Park. It is one of three remaining railroad depots in the United States built with...
(1910) and Grand Canyon RailwayGrand Canyon RailwayThe Grand Canyon Railway , is a passenger railroad which operates between Williams, Arizona, and Grand Canyon National Park South Rim.-Santa Fe Ownership:...
(1905) were built by the AT&SF. The depot, designed by Francis W. WilsonFrancis W. WilsonFrancis W. Wilson was an American architect. His practice in Santa Barbara, California included work for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and its associated Fred Harvey Company hotels, as well as many residences....
, is an individually listed National Historical Landmark, and the railway is on the National Register of Historic Places. - The AT&SF Employee residences were built to house concessioner employees. Both the subdivision and the houses themselves are larger than the Park Service equivalent, with garages to the rear of the houses on alleys.
Park Service structures include:
- The Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent's ResidenceGrand Canyon National Park Superintendent's ResidenceThe Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent's Residence is a National Park Service Rustic style building, designed in 1921 by Daniel Ray Hull of the National Park Service Branch of Plans and Designs as the park's first headquarters building. The visitor informatiojn room was financed by a...
(1921) was originally the park's first headquarters building. It was designed in the National Park Service Rustic style by Hull, and altered in 1931 by Vint to be the superintendent's residence. The residence is individually listed on the NRHP. - The Grand Canyon Park Operations BuildingGrand Canyon Park Operations BuildingGrand Canyon Park Operations Building, was built 1929 on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park. It is significant as an example of a National Park Service building designed to blend harmoniously with the natural surroundings, in the National Park Service Rustic style...
(1929) replaced the first headquarters. Now the park's law enforcement center, it is individually listed as a National Historic Landmark. - The Grand Canyon South Rim Ranger's DormitoryGrand Canyon South Rim Ranger's DormitoryThe Ranger's Dormitory at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park was built in 1920-21. Originally built as a worker's dormitory, it was converted for ranger use in 1927...
(1920) was built as a workers' dormitory, and was converted to house park rangers in 1927. It is individually listed on the NRHP. - The Park Service Employee residences (1924-1933) were built under the direction of Hull and Vint on cul-de-sacs, facing inward to a common pedestrian area. The 16 houses were designed in the NPS Rustic style.
Other contributing buildings include dormitories, service shops, a jail, a firehouse, the park hospital, a post office and two schools. Non-contributing structures include the Thunderbird and Kachina lodges between the Bright Angel Lodge and the El Tovar.
Landmark designation
The village's initial listing on the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 1975 included 39 buildings, then was expanded in 1982 to include the Bright Angel Lodge and an additional 25 buildings. The district was declared a National Historic Landmark District on February 18, 1987. On October 24, 1995 the district was again expanded to include the historic center of Grand Canyon Village. The present district includes 247 buildings, 55 landscape structures and three sites. The NRHP district differs from the NHL district by its inclusion of two non-contiguous cemeteries, not part of the NHL since they have no assocation with park architecture.External links
- El Tovar Hotel, Architecture in the Parks
- M.E.J. Colter Buildings, Architecture in the Parks
- Grand Canyon Depot, Architecture in the Parks
- Grand Canyon Park Operations Building, Architecture in the Parks