Trading Room Glass Art © 2010 Bo Mackison

During the rehabbing of the Painted Desert Inn in the 1930s under the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the architect, Lyle Bennett, was in charge of the Painted Desert Inn project. Though Bennett joined the park service as a ranger, his expertise about the fine arts (he had a degree in fine arts) made him sought after for many Park Service architectural projects. Under his guidance, the CCC crew designed and built tables and chairs based on Native American designs. Two CCC workers hand-painted these lovely skylights in the Trading Room with designs based on prehistoric art found in Southwestern archeological sites. Even the concrete floors were painted with patterns based on Navajo blankets.

Mural by Fred Kapotie © 2010 Bo Mackison

In 1947, the Painted Desert Inn changed ownership and was purchased by the Fred Harvey Company. The company placed their architect, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, in charge of again renovating and repairing the buildings. She added a new color scheme to harmonize with the Inn’s surroundings, and also hired Fred Kobotie, a famous Hopi artist, to paint blanket sized murals on the walls of the diningroom and lunchroom. Kapotie’s murals depicted his culture in these paintings and provide glimpses into Hopi culture. Included subjects were the Buffalo Dance, a journey to a sacred place, spring planting time, and a sun face. The sun face also became the logo of the Fred Harvey Company.

Even though the Painted Desert and the Painted Desert Inn (Museum) are in the Petrified Forest National Park, I haven’t posted any photographs of the actual prehistoric wood yet. I promise, the next posts will contain the namesakes of the National Park.

Autumn Blossoms, Painted Desert Inn © 2010 Bo Mackison

On our swing through some of the Southwestern National Parks in October, we stopped at the Petrified Forest National Park in the east central region of Arizona. This park also includes the Painted Desert and this building, the Painted Desert Inn Museum. The architectural style of the inn was influenced by Pueblo Indian dwellings and Early Spanish architecture. It was built to harmonize with its surroundings and blends well with the surrounding Painted Desert.

Desert Garden and Painted Desert Inn © 2010 Bo Mackison

The original inn was built in the 1920s, mostly of available stone and petrified rocks and the builders used a mud mortar to hold the structure together. It was a trading post and had a lunch counter, but it had no water or electricity. The Park Service purchased the building in 1936 and used WPA funds and Civilian Conservation Corps labor to essentially rebuild the entire structure.

In the late 1930s, National Park Service architect Lyle Bennett redesigned the building, utilizing the Pueblo Revival Style. The Painted Desert Inn re-opened for business on July 4, 1940 and was a stop on the Historic Route 66. (Petrified Forest National Park is the only national park that has a portion of the Historic Route 66 within its boundaries.) The inn’s life as an oasis in the middle of the desert lasted only a couple of years, and ended with the beginning of World War II. Traveling was greatly curtailed and the inn closed in 1942.

Not to be ignored for long, the Inn again opened and was operated from 1947 through 1963 by the Fred Harvey Company, a company who was a concessionaire in many of the Western National Parks. Then, after sitting unused for a dozen years, the building was scheduled for demolition in 1975. However a public outpouring of concern for the historic building convinced the Park Service to save the Painted Desert Inn. It opened in 1976 as a museum and bookstore on a limited basis.

Painted Desert Inn, National Historic Landmark © 2010 Bo Mackison

It again underwent extensive repair in 2004-06 and then reopened as the museum and bookstore now pictured. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a National Historic Landmark.

The building is a stunning example of architecture, and has a history well worth exploring. There are exhibits inside the Inn which shed light on its fascinating history. A walk around the entire structure and through its many rooms reveals small architectural gems such as arched doorways and windows, hand crafted metal lamps, and an intriguing wooden beam support system in the ceilings.

In the next posts, I’ll feature the interior of the Painted Desert Inn, so lovingly and meticulously restored, and filled with art and intricate design features, and also photographs of the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest landscapes.