Mary Coulter

At the age of 20 years, Mary Colter attended the California School of Design in San Francisco and eventually graduated with a degree in Architectural Design..  In 1901 Mary was hired by the Fred Harvey Company and was given the job of decorating the Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque.  In 1910 she moved to the position of Architect.  In those days it was very unusual for a female to be hired in such an important position.  Over the next 30 years she completed 21 projects for the Fred Harvey Company.

Desertview Watchtower

Lookout Studio

Lookout Studio

Hopi House

When the Santa Fe Railroad began developing the Grand Canyon to bring tourists, the Fred Harvey Company was hired to build and design many of the buildings you see now at the Grand Canyon.  Mary was assigned the task.  She designed the Hopi House in 1905, Hermit’s Rest in 1914, the Lookout Studio in 1914, the Desert View Watchtower in 1932, and the Bright Angel Lodge in 1932.  Those four buildings as a group were listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

Desertview Watchtower

During those times when she was designing the building for the Grand Canyon most the architectural designs were being crafted with a European look.  Mary wanted here buildings to complement their surroundings and look as if they had been there all the time.  If you look at her work in the Grand Canyon, you do get that impression that they had been there forever.  The Lookout Studio looks like its part of the canyon.  Hermit’s Rest is a peaceful place that time has forgotten.  Hopi House looks as if it were built by the original Anasazi people centuries ago.  The Desert Watchtower is a magnificent piece of architecture.  Mary was very fastidious about the building of her creations.  She hands-on personally directed the placement of almost every stone.  When the Desert Watchtower was being built, she took a vacation for a couple of weeks.  Before she left, she gave very precise instructions to the builders as to where each stone was to be placed.  When she returned, there was one stone out of place near the bottom of a wall.  She insisted that the wall be torn down and done correctly.