Desert View Tower

Yesterday I visited the Desert View Watchtower, at the eastern entrance of Grand Canyon NP. I had neglected this spot far too much, usually zooming past on my way out of the park. Recognizing this, and being retired and thus not really in a hurry, this time I stopped to investigate. It turns out that this structure is on the US register of historic places. It was built by Mary Colter, a renowned architect of the first half of the twentieth century, who conceived the design and supervised the laying of every stone. The building was completed in 1932; it's more modern than it appears as it has a steel framework hidden underneath the rock and adobe. There is a gift shop on the ground floor, and the upper floors serve as an observatory with nice views of the eastern Grand Canyon. The tower is 70 feet high.

The interior of the tower is filled with cool murals that were painted by Fred Kabotie, a notable Hopi painter, silversmith, and educator.

There are four floors within the tower; murals dominate the second and third levels. Spiral staircases lead upward.

Cedar Mountain, an old volcanic cone, is prominent to the east, just above the rim of the canyon.