Grand Canyon Depot, also known as Grand Canyon Railroad Station, was constructed in 1909–10 for the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...
at the South Rim of the
Grand Canyon, in what is now
Grand Canyon National Park. It is one of three remaining railroad depots in the United States built with
logs as the primary structural material. The station is within of the rim of the canyon, opposite the
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, United States.
The hotel was designed by Charles Whittlesey, Chief Architect for the Atchison ...
, also built by the railroad.
The depot is designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
, is listed the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
, and is included in the
Grand Canyon Village National Historic Landmark District.
History
![01316 Grand Canyon Historic Railroad Depot Winter 1938](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/01316_Grand_Canyon_Historic_Railroad_Depot_Winter_1938.jpg)
The Santa Fe Railway obtained the rights to develop the South Rim of the Grand Canyon as a
destination resort at the beginning of the twentieth century before the area had been designated a
national park. As an outpost on the edge of the wilderness, the railroad designed a fittingly rustic structure for its Grand Canyon terminus, presaging the later use by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...
of the
National Park Service Rustic style for park structures in the surrounding
Grand Canyon Village Historic District. It was the railway's goal to develop the Grand Canyon branch line to feed passengers into its system, stimulating rail traffic. The result was the only railroad line to a destination within a national park. The original developer of the line to the Grand Canyon was the Santa Fe and Grand Canyon Railroad, established in 1897 to serve a copper mine.
This venture failed, with the tracks eight miles short of the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon Railway, a subsidiary of the Santa Fe, bought the project and completed tracks to the South Rim in 1901, and developed a rail yard at the terminus with a small frame terminal building. The El Tovar Hotel was completed in 1905, and it became apparent that a more suitable terminus was needed to complement the destination hotel experience.
[ and , exterior, from 1985. ]
The terminal location was moved to the east, away from the older Bright Angel Hotel, to a location directly opposite the El Tovar.
AT&SF architect
Francis W. Wilson was assigned to design the new station, following his work on remodeling the Bright Angel Hotel. Wilson designed the only log structure of his career, using materials that echoed and complemented the El Tovar across the street, only with superior attention to construction and detail. The station's first career as a passenger depot ended in 1968. The property was acquired by the National Park Service in 1982.
The
Grand Canyon Railway
The Grand Canyon Railway is a heritage railroad which carries passengers between Williams, Arizona, and the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
The railroad, built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, was completed on September 1 ...
was revived as a tourist line in 1989 with service from
Williams, Arizona
Williams ( yuf-x-hav, Wii Gvʼul) is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, located west of Flagstaff. Its population was 3,023 at the 2010 census. It lies on the routes of Historic Route 66 and Interstate 40. It is also the southe ...
to the South Rim, reviving the use of the depot for passengers.
Description
![Grand Canyon Village-Grand Canyon Railroad Station-1901-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Grand_Canyon_Village-Grand_Canyon_Railroad_Station-1901-2.jpg)
The Grand Canyon Depot is a 2-½ story wood structure of about , built primarily of logs with frame construction for the second floor. The main facade faces south, away from the canyon. The log structure is primarily a one-story building with a broad, moderately-pitched gable roof with the ridge running on the long axis, parallel to the train tracks. The frame second story occupies the center third of the building, of frame construction, sheathed with flush planking framed by vertical log posts. This central portion is covered with another broad gabled roof at right angles to the main roof. The second story overhangs the first, supported by heavy vertical log posts, and the attic in the deep gable overhangs the second story, supported by log brackets. An extension of the main roof to the west at a slightly lower elevation shelters a large two-bay porch supported on vertical log posts. A small one-story bay projects slightly from the central block.
[
The interior comprises four main rooms, from west to east a ticket office-waiting room, an agent's office, a parcel storage room and a baggage room. Men's and women's restrooms are between these rooms and the platform. Interior walls are plastered, with log-slab wainscoting. A small apartment for the station agent is upstairs, with a living room, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms. Much of the original hardware is present, stamped "GC."]
Historical designations
The Grand Canyon Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
on September 6, 1974 and was declared a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
on May 28, 1987. It is also included in the Grand Canyon Village National Historic Landmark District.
See also
* Architects of the National Park Service Architects of the National Park Service are the architects and landscape architects who were employed by the National Park Service (NPS) starting in 1918 to design buildings, structures, roads, trails and other features in the United States Nation ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Grand Canyon National Park
* Rustic architecture in Arizona
References
External links
Architecture in the Parks: A National Historic Landmark Theme Study: Grand Canyon Depot
by Laura Soullière Harrison, 1986, National Park Service.
at the Grand Canyon Railway
Parkitecture in the Western National Parks
*
*
{{NRHP in Arizona by county
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway stations in Arizona
Buildings and structures in Grand Canyon National Park
Former railway stations in Arizona
Grand Canyon
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1909
Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona
National Register of Historic Places in Coconino County, Arizona
National Historic Landmarks in Arizona
Railroad-related National Historic Landmarks
Historic American Buildings Survey in Arizona
1909 establishments in Arizona Territory
Rustic architecture in Arizona
National Register of Historic Places in Grand Canyon National Park
Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Arizona