Did you know you could see Native Art by the Grand Canyon?

Some of you here might have visited Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, still others may have this natural attraction on your travel wishlists, and almost everyone’s heard of this grand feature on the Colorado Plateau. Did you know that this national park also boasts of a wealth of art in the form of Native American murals at the Desert View Watchtower in the park? You’ll find not just murals but also native ‘drawings, petroglyphs and decor’ here.

Some years ago, after I’d visited the Grand Canyon, I’d promised to give the readers of Tipsy from the Trip a tour of the art I found here. And here it is, finally. Now, before we dive into this aboriginal wall art, let me set the scene for those who are not familiar with this national park or the exact location of these murals.

The art you are about to see adorn the walls of a tall red structure that almost blends with the red rocks of the landscape. From afar, the building adds drama to the view but that’s not all; it also promises you grand views of the grandest canyon of them all. And then, of course, there’s the art that dominates the interior decoration of the tower.

The Desert View Watchtower

This watchtower that stands tall and imposing on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, almost looks like it’s rising from some ruins that ended up becoming a part of the canyon walls. The ruble at its base, the seemingly unpolished exterior, those randomly placed windows and even the ‘cracks’ on the building were put there to give it an ancient look.

The 70ft-tall tower housing 4 floors and made to look like a charming ruin, has a history of its own. This carefully designed structure is a masterpiece created by architect Mary Coulter. She is said to have toured several parts of the US, studying Native American buildings for around 6 months before she designed this structure.

This watchtower was erected in this rocky scenery in Arizona in the year 1932. Encased in rocks that are said to have been sourced from the Grand Canyon area, is a skeleton made of steel and concrete. This red-rock-building was designed on the lines of ancestral towers that used to be built by the Puebloan people who were native to the Colorado Plateau.

It’s believed that towers like this were used for ‘protection and storage of food’ or as a watchtower for astronomical purposes hence the name of this building, says an informational panel I came across inside the Desert Watchtower.

After the stone structure was put together with its holes-that-let-in-light, its observation windows on the top floor, make-believe cracks and debris, some Native American murals, aboriginal drawings and even petroglyphs were added with a flourish.

Native American murals and drawings in the Desert View Watchtower

Fred Kabotie, a Hopi artist painted the murals on the first floor of the tower. The ancient drawings on the walls can be attributed to Fred Geary who is said to have replicated them from ones he found in ancient native sites.

And the Petroglyphs were added by another Hopi artist, Chester Dennis.

Now, to the art (that I’ve been teasing all along :)) —

Things to know before you visit the Desert View Watchtower

• The watchtower is situated on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
• It is close to the East Entrance of the national park, just off Arizona State Route 64, which is also called Desert View Drive.
• The name of this stop on this 23-mile drive on the South Rim, is Desert View.
• Note: The park allows 25 people to be in the tower at a given point of time. Once in, visitors have 20 minutes to walk the stairs that spiral up and down the tower and take in the art inside as well as the views from the circular balconies that make up the floors of the building.
• Entry into the watchtower is on a first-come, first-served basis.
• For alerts, or to make sure the tower is open, visit the NPS site

More:
from the Grand Canyon
Native American art
Murals on TftT

Linking to–
Monday Mural on Colorful World
My Corner of the World

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