Hopi House
Encyclopedia
Hopi 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 Colter
, along with Bright Angel Lodge
, Hermit's Rest
, Lookout Studio
, Phantom Ranch
, and Desert View Watchtower
. Hopi House was built by the Fred Harvey Company
as a market for Native American crafts, made by artisans on the site. The Hopi, as the historic inhabitants of the area, were chosen as the featured artisans, and the building was designed to closely resemble a traditional Hopi pueblo
. Hopi House opened on January 1, 1905, just before the El Tovar Hotel
, located just to the east, was opened.
. Colter planned Hopi House as a sort of living museum, in which Hopi Indians could live while making and selling traditional crafts. The structure was based on Colter's interpretation of the Hopi dwelling at Oraibi, Arizona. The ethnohistorically
-correct structure was at the time of its construction the first introduction for may park visitors to the architecture and life of the native peoples of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. A variety of interior spaces provide museum, sales and demonstration space.
of varying size, texture and coursing. The roof surfaces function as terraces in the same manner as traditional Hopi dwellings. Windows are small and sparse, with doorways on the same small scale. Interior walls are plastered with adobe
, while ceilings are composed of saplings, twigs and grass covered with mud. Fireplaces are located in the corners of rooms. The stair to the second floor is decorated with murals by an unknown Hopi artist. The second floor houses a shrine, erroneously called a kiva
with Hopi religious artifacts. Floors on the second floor are adobe. The third floor is an apartment for the building's manager. It has been updated, but a number of original features have been preserved. Most of the original furnishings in the main level, most picked out by Colter, have been preserved.
, It was incorporated into the National Historic Landmark
group on May 28, 1987. Hopi House and the Lookout Studio
are also major contributing structures in the Grand Canyon Village National Historic Landmark District
.
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...
, within 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...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of 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...
. 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 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...
, along with 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, Phantom Ranch
Phantom Ranch
Phantom 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:...
, and Desert View Watchtower
Desert View Watchtower
Desert View Watchtower, also known as the Indian Watchtower at Desert View, is a -high stone building located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon within Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, United States. The tower is located at Desert View, more than to the east of the main developed area at...
. Hopi House was built by 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...
as a market for Native American crafts, made by artisans on the site. The Hopi, as the historic inhabitants of the area, were chosen as the featured artisans, and the building was designed to closely resemble a traditional Hopi pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
. Hopi House opened on January 1, 1905, just before 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...
, located just to the east, was opened.
Design
Mary Colter had worked on a number of projects for the Fred Harvey Company, principally as an interior designer. She was particularly successful in a similar project, the Indian Building at the Fred Harvey Company's Alvarado Hotel (now demolished) in Albuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
. Colter planned Hopi House as a sort of living museum, in which Hopi Indians could live while making and selling traditional crafts. The structure was based on Colter's interpretation of the Hopi dwelling at Oraibi, Arizona. The ethnohistorically
Ethnohistory
Ethnohistory is the study of ethnographic cultures and indigenous customs by examining historical records. It is also the study of the history of various ethnic groups that may or may not exist today....
-correct structure was at the time of its construction the first introduction for may park visitors to the architecture and life of the native peoples of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. A variety of interior spaces provide museum, sales and demonstration space.
Description
Hopi House is a stepped structure executed in sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
of varying size, texture and coursing. The roof surfaces function as terraces in the same manner as traditional Hopi dwellings. Windows are small and sparse, with doorways on the same small scale. Interior walls are plastered with adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
, while ceilings are composed of saplings, twigs and grass covered with mud. Fireplaces are located in the corners of rooms. The stair to the second floor is decorated with murals by an unknown Hopi artist. The second floor houses a shrine, erroneously called a kiva
Kiva
A kiva is a room used by modern Puebloans for religious rituals, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, kivas are square-walled and underground, and are used for spiritual ceremonies....
with Hopi religious artifacts. Floors on the second floor are adobe. The third floor is an apartment for the building's manager. It has been updated, but a number of original features have been preserved. Most of the original furnishings in the main level, most picked out by Colter, have been preserved.
Historic designation
Hopi House is a component of the multi-site Mary Jane Colter Buildings National Historic LandmarkMary Jane Colter Buildings
The 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...
, It was incorporated into the 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...
group on May 28, 1987. Hopi House and the 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...
are also major contributing structures 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...
.
External links
- Parkitecture in Western National Parks: Hopi House
- M.E.J. Colter Buildings, Architecture in the Parks