Designs on a Canyon

When President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Grand Canyon in 1903, no permanent structures stood along the rim. He said, "I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a hotel, or anything else, to mar the wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the great loveliness and beauty of the Canyon. Leave it as it is. ... Man can only mar it." But the Santa Fe Railroad was expanding westward, bringing visitors to this remote area. They needed lodging and restaurants, and in 1905, construction began on the first hotel, located on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter was hired to design the building next to the hotel, and she went on to design many more buildings in the Canyon; now, millions of visitors each year spend time in at least one of the buildings designed by Colter. Learn more about her design, style, and impact in this article, made available by The World & I Online.