Bright Angel Lodge
Encyclopedia
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. The rustic lodge complex is a major contributing structure in the Grand Canyon Village National Historic Landmark District
.
leading into the canyon. Thurber ran a stagecoach
line from the Grandview area to this new location to the west in 1896, building a small wood-frame hotel. At about the same time, Buckey O'Neill built his cabin
nearby, calling it O'Neill's Camp. Thurber acquired the O'Neill cabin at about the time O'Neill died in Cuba during the Spanish-American War
. Thurber expanded the operation, establishing a tent camp for tourists and calling the complex the Bright Angel Hotel and the Bright Angel Camps.
Thurber sold the Bright Angel operation to Williams, Arizona
hotelier Martin Buggeln, in time for the Grand Canyon Railroad to be completed to the South Rim in September. The railroad, which claimed most of the lands at the South Rim, including the Bright Angel site, cooperated with Buggeln while the railroad's El Tovar Hotel
was being built immediately to the east of the Bright Angel Hotel, then bought out Buggeln when the new hotel was completed in 1905. The railroad renovated the older hotel and built cabins to replace the tents. In contrast to the lodgings at the El Tovar, which were marketed as a destination hotel
, the Bright Angel facilities were aimed at a middle-class market.
The Red Horse Station was originally built as a stage coach stop about 16 miles (25.7 km) south of the South Rim. When the railroad was extended to the South Rim, Ralph Cameron disassembled the post and moved it to the South rim and rebuilt it just to the west of the Buckey O'Neill Cabin in 1902, adding a wood frame second floor to the log first floor and calling it Cameron's Hotel. From 1907 it housed the park's post office.
By the 1930s the Bright Angel operation needed renovation. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
, which owned the Grand Canyon Railroad and the South Rim concessions, asked architect Mary Colter
to design a replacement. Colter's initial designs resembled her Hermit's Rest
and Lookout Studio
structures, both located nearby. The Park Service did not approve of such extensive use of stone for the new lodgings, and Colter revised the design to wood frame construction, Colter kept the O'Neill Cabin and the Red Horse Cabin (removing its incongruous second floor) and replaced the tent cabins with new rustic cabins of log and local stone construction, completed in 1935. Colter took particular pains to integrate the new complex into the landscape, using a scale model to study the design.
.
. The historic district was expanded in 1982 to include the Bright Angel Lodge and its cabins. It had initially been left out of the nomination as it had not yet reached the 50-year age threshold, but the 1982 nomination make plain that the Bright Angel complex had such exceptional significance that it was worthy of waiving the 50-year requirement.
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
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. 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. The rustic lodge complex is a major contributing structure in the Grand Canyon Village National Historic Landmark District
Grand Canyon Village Historic District
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 Landmarks themselves, or are...
.
History
The first accommodation at the location was established by James Thurber in 1896 at the head of the Bright Angel TrailBright Angel Trail
The Bright Angel Trail is a hiking trail located in Grand Canyon National Park in the U.S. state of Arizona.-Access:The trail is accessed by the mule corral, as seen here:-Description:...
leading into the canyon. Thurber ran a stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
line from the Grandview area to this new location to the west in 1896, building a small wood-frame hotel. At about the same time, Buckey O'Neill built his cabin
Buckey O'Neill Cabin
The 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...
nearby, calling it O'Neill's Camp. Thurber acquired the O'Neill cabin at about the time O'Neill died in Cuba during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. Thurber expanded the operation, establishing a tent camp for tourists and calling the complex the Bright Angel Hotel and the Bright Angel Camps.
Thurber sold the Bright Angel operation to Williams, Arizona
Williams, Arizona
Williams is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States west of Flagstaff. Its population was 2,842 at the 2000 census; according to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,094. It lies on the route of Historic Route 66, Interstate 40, and the Southwest Chief Amtrak...
hotelier Martin Buggeln, in time for the Grand Canyon Railroad to be completed to the South Rim in September. The railroad, which claimed most of the lands at the South Rim, including the Bright Angel site, cooperated with Buggeln while the railroad's 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...
was being built immediately to the east of the Bright Angel Hotel, then bought out Buggeln when the new hotel was completed in 1905. The railroad renovated the older hotel and built cabins to replace the tents. In contrast to the lodgings at the El Tovar, which were marketed 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...
, the Bright Angel facilities were aimed at a middle-class market.
The Red Horse Station was originally built as a stage coach stop about 16 miles (25.7 km) south of the South Rim. When the railroad was extended to the South Rim, Ralph Cameron disassembled the post and moved it to the South rim and rebuilt it just to the west of the Buckey O'Neill Cabin in 1902, adding a wood frame second floor to the log first floor and calling it Cameron's Hotel. From 1907 it housed the park's post office.
By the 1930s the Bright Angel operation needed renovation. 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...
, which owned the Grand Canyon Railroad and the South Rim concessions, asked architect 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...
to design a replacement. Colter's initial designs resembled her Hermit's Rest
Hermit's Rest
Hermit's Rest is a structure built in 1914 at the western end of Hermit Road at the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, United States. The Hermit Trail, a hiking trail that extends to the Colorado River, begins about ¼ mile beyond the shuttle bus stop at Hermit's Rest. Hermit's Rest also...
and Lookout Studio
Lookout Studio
Lookout 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...
structures, both located nearby. The Park Service did not approve of such extensive use of stone for the new lodgings, and Colter revised the design to wood frame construction, Colter kept the O'Neill Cabin and the Red Horse Cabin (removing its incongruous second floor) and replaced the tent cabins with new rustic cabins of log and local stone construction, completed in 1935. Colter took particular pains to integrate the new complex into the landscape, using a scale model to study the design.
Description
The lodge is a large structure with a simple shallow-pitched gable roof. The roof overhangs at the main entry to form a gabled porch supported by peeled log posts. Colter used shed-roofed appendages to create a layered effect for the mass of the main lodge. Interior finishes included hand-adzed logs, adobe and local limestone. The stone fireplace materials reproduce the strata found in the Grand Canyon along the Bright Angel Trail in their correct sequence from bottom to top. The semi-detached cabins are laid out in the space between the lodge and the canyon's rim, with some directly overlooking the canyon. Cabins were furnished with antiques and reproductions hand-picked by Colter. The lodge's cocktail lounge features murals by Hopi artist Fred KabotieFred Kabotie
Fred Kabotie was a celebrated Hopi painter, silversmith, and educator.-Background and education:Fred Kabotie was born into a highly traditional Hopi family at Songo`opavi, Second Mesa, Arizona, Kabotie. His father belonged to the sun clan and he belonged to the Bluebird Clan...
.
Historic designation
The Bright Angel Lodge and cabins are significant contributing structures in the Grand Canyon Village National Historic Landmark DistrictGrand Canyon Village Historic District
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 Landmarks themselves, or are...
. The historic district was expanded in 1982 to include the Bright Angel Lodge and its cabins. It had initially been left out of the nomination as it had not yet reached the 50-year age threshold, but the 1982 nomination make plain that the Bright Angel complex had such exceptional significance that it was worthy of waiving the 50-year requirement.
External links
- Bright Angel Hotel & Lodge at Nature, Culture and History at the Grand Canyon
- Bright Angel Cabins at Nature, Culture and History at the Grand Canyon